Sato Decision Later this Week

The BAR ace went down with a viral infection while on PR duties in Japan following the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and, although he felt fit enough to take part in training prior to Malaysia, his condition worsened so much in Sepang that doctors eventually recommended that he stand down.

After being put on a drip over the weekend in a bid to keep his body temperature in check, Sato was deemed well enough to travel back to England on Monday and, after touching down on Tuesday, he is set to check with doctors that he will be fit enough to take part in the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Although his condition has meant he has had to cancel a schedule PR appearance in Indonesia this week, Sato's management team believe there should be no problem with him competing in the next round of the championship.

Sato's co-manager Matthew Winter told Autosport-Atlas: "The assumption is that he is doing the Bahrain Grand Prix."

It is likely that Sato will be advised to rest at home for the remainder of the week to help further boost his condition, although there is a chance that the team may want to draft him into their planned Paul Ricard test to make sure that he is ready for a full F1 return.

Sato's place at BAR in Malaysia was taken by test driver Anthony Davidson, who will likely be put on standby for a repeat outing in Bahrain in case his Japanese teammate does not fully recover in time.