Despite reports to the contrary that Takuma Sato’s days at the British American Racing squad may be numbered, the Jock Clear, the Japanese driver’s engineer, Jock Clear has admitted that they would rather have a fast driver who crashes than a slow driver who brings his expensive car back in one piece every time.
"It might not be positive now," said Clear, who was '97 champion Jacques Villeneuve's engineer until last season, "but I think it is in the long run. It's just a measure of his enthusiasm and his balls."
Sato motivated F1 boss Eddie Jordan to reflect on a huge end-of- season damage bill during his spell at Jordan GP two years ago but it was all part of the learning curve.
"Taku is not afraid to take his car to the limit,” said Clear, adding: "We're getting him to take things a bit more cautiously but there's no doubting he's very quick over one lap and we've seen he can convert it over a race."
;)
