Sato Targets First Win after Podium Breakthrough

BAR's Takuma Sato has set his sights on a Grand Prix win after becoming the first Japanese driver to step on the Formula One podium for 14 years.

Third place in Sunday's US Grand Prix matched Aguri Suzuki's podium for Lola-Lamborghini in Japan in 1990, the best previous result by a Japanese driver. It also took Sato's career points tally to 19, more than any compatriot has managed, albeit under a more generous scoring system.

"Obviously I want to win, everybody aims to be the best of the best but you have to do it step by step and for me I was waiting for a long time to have a result like this," the 27-year-old told reporters.

"This is only the first step. It is an important day today."

Sato had already become the first Japanese to start a Grand Prix on the front row of the grid at last month's European round at the Nurburgring in Germany.

"We are challenging these guys (Ferrari) closely, obviously we want to win, I don't know when, but obviously we will try really hard for the rest of the season," he said.

Coming after three retirements in a row and suggestions his no-nonsense approach might be contributing to his engine problems, Sunday's podium was welcome relief for the softly-spoken driver.

"This is a really great result for the team, not from a personal point of view but also for the team. The mechanics are working so hard, and also the Honda engineers in Japan, everyone working to solve the problem that we had.

"The car was beautiful to be honest. It was working so well," he said.