Sato will race despite missing the cut

The Japanese driver, 25, suffered a nightmarish day that began when he crashed his Honda-powered EJ12 in free practice, which was caused by a malfunctioning downshift that automatically put him in third gear instead of fourth at the 100mph Stewart Bend. The crash meant he missed the whole of Saturday's second practice session and would have to qualify in the spare car.

The spare car then broke down with another gearbox problem on his out lap in qualifying, leaving him with no option but to wait for team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella to finish his laps. A heavy rain shower then washed out the session after 20 minutes, leaving Sato no chance of getting to within 107 percent of polesitter Rubens Barrichello's time.

"Today was a tough day," said Sato. "I did my best and what happened was nobody's fault. Mechanical problems do happen. It was very difficult to drive Giancarlo's car in the wet. It was his seating position and, for example, I had no heel rest so I was pushing the pedals with my feet in the air! Also the car had a dry set-up."

Jordan claimed that Sato deserved to start the race as he was within 107 percent of the fastest time during the rest of the weekend, and the stewards agreed. He will start from the back of the grid.