Takuma Sato on childhood trips to Suzuka and beating Alonso with Super Aguri

He’s regarded as arguably the fastest Japanese driver of all time, and yet it could all have been so different for Takuma Sato...

A bike racing champion in his youth, Sato caught the racing bug watching Ayrton Senna compete in the very first race at Suzuka in 1987, and though he didn’t start racing until much later than almost all of his rivals, his talent and sheer bloody minded determination lifted him all the way to F1.

On this week’s episode of F1's official podcast - Beyond The Grid, supported by Bose - the Indy 500 champion tells us about his brave switch from Japan to Britain early in his career, his emotional breakthrough performance for Jordan on home soil in 2002, his memorable podium finish in the USA in 2004, beating Fernando Alonso in his unfancied Super Aguri in 2007, and much more.

You can lListen to the full show using the player below, or via your favourite podcast app.

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