Sato Targeting First Formula One Point

Japanese driver Takuma Sato is hoping that some local knowledge will help him score his first point for Jordan in this weekend's British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Sato dominated the British Formula Three Championship last year and team boss Eddie Jordan plucked him from the series and plunged him straight into Formula One alongside Italian Giancarlo Fisichella for the current season.

Victory in front of the Formula One team bosses in last year's supporting Formula Three race helped him secure his place in Formula One, and the Japanese driver is relishing a return to the circuit he knows so well.

"I am looking forward to it," says Sato of this weekend's race. "I was competitive in Formula Three last year and I have good memories of that race. Last year I was just another driver in F3 but now I am at Silverstone in Formula One and that is really exciting.

"It was kind of good to win last year. After the race started I was clear in front and in the end it was an easy win. I'd been at Silverstone before and it was a circuit I really liked.

"Now I am with Jordan which is a Silverstone based team - it is a five-second walk from the circuit. We have done a lot of testing at the circuit so from the team's point of view, and mine, it is a very important race."

Sato has had a difficult start to life in Formula One and has yet to score a point, but he believes the experience he has gained in the nine races to date will prove invaluable to him.

"I think whatever has happened this year is not a problem because everything that happens is good experience for me," he said. "I will always be positive as a driver and I think for the future everything that has happened is going to be very useful to me.

"I've had some very strong opening laps and now I need to concentrate on scoring better results because the team have shown that we can score points. I want to do a similar job to Giancarlo.

"For me the finishing target has to be the top six and every race I am targeting one point. My best finish is ninth so I want to improve step by step and it is going to happen eventually."