IndyCar – Takuma Sato delighted to find a top team

Takuma Sato is delighted to be able to defend the colors of Andretti Autosport in IndyCar after having evolved in more modest stables in previous seasons. The former resident of AJ Foyt Racing must regain his bearings in a much larger structure, but his experience of F1 seems more to be valuable to adapt.

“Evolving within such a crew is obviously beneficial, declared the 40-year-old Japanese. We have seen in recent years that the Andretti Autosport team is very competitive with its drivers and with the way the team is managed. They have a very developed engineering program. Pilots share data. »

“I'm not surprised because I was used to working in F1 in a factory that had 600 people. Nothing compares here, IndyCar is more like a small family. I really enjoyed my time at AJ Foyt Racing, but the staff was very small. At Andretti, with all the programs in place like Indy Lights, we are close to a hundred people. It's hard to remember all the names. »

Takuma Sato and his team nevertheless experienced difficult tests in Phoenix (Arizona) since the Japanese and his teammate Alexander Red both made mistakes.

“Our settings for the race were satisfactory. We have been able to try different programs and it seems very promising. It's unfortunate that Alex and I had this problem during the qualifying simulations, but the tests were still very productive," he said.

Andretti Autosport drivers will enjoy a final private test session in Sebring (Florida) a few days before the start of the season with the Grand Prix of St Petersburg (Florida) on March 12.