Of course, Toro Rosso did score for a few hours in Japan after team-mate Tonio Liuzzi climbed into the top ten for the first time this season in eighth place. However the Italian was then give a time penalty for passing
Adrian Sutil under yellow flags – promoting the Spyker man into the points. With the point being enough to move Spyker ahead of Toro Rosso in the constructors’ championship, the Italian team has appealed against the decision.
Liuzzi ran well in China last season as he qualified in 13th place and came home tenth. He will now aim to improve on that this time around to help Toro Rosso get off the mark for a second time as the battle towards the bottom of the championship standings intensifies.
Spyker F1 – Sakon Yamamoto (#20), Adrian Sutil (#21):
Fresh from scoring its first-ever world championship point in last weekend's Japanese Grand Prix - albeit one still under the threat of appeal from Toro Rosso - Spyker moves to Shanghai confident that, after a strong all-round performance at Fuji, it can add to its tally at Shanghai International.
Adrian Sutil drove a storming race in the rain last weekend, underlining his reputation as a bad weather specialist by scything up the field from 20th on the grid to ninth at the chequered flag before being promoted to eighth by the stewards.
"It was very important for our team, and I have to say we deserved it," Sutil said of the result, "We already got a lot of motivation after Spa, and now we have been successful here and got our first point.
"The conditions were very special, so I think even to finish the race was a very successful result. This was the main thing, don't make mistakes, go through to the end, and then we'll see what's going on. But we also had some times where we were very competitive. I passed at least four cars in braking for turn one, and braked maybe 100 metres later than everybody, but I was fighting, and always the first three laps after the restart our set-up was very strong. To get a point was the best feeling and I now really want to get going in China and get some more!"
"Our aim was to finish in the top ten [of the constructors' championship], so to be ninth is beyond our expectations," team MD Colin Kolles added, "Financially, it will be very important but, for the motivation of all the team members, it is a real boost. Of course, now we have got it, we will still want more! We've been quicker than the Hondas in the past two races and they have two points, so this is now our target.
"A lot of people thought, after the mid-point of the season, that Adrian was quick, but I believe they also thought he was a little too 'enthusiastic'. We always knew that taking a rookie driver on will have these risks, but also knew that he had the potential to be very, very good. In Turkey, he kept calm when he was being put under pressure by the Hondas; in Belgium, he showed he could be patient and attack only when the time was right, and now, in Japan, in difficult conditions, he kept it on track and got past a lot of experienced drivers. I think this shows clearly how far he has come and how much he has matured."
Sakon Yamamoto also put in a strong performance in the exceptionally difficult conditions, finishing twelfth for his best-ever finish in
F1, boosting his confidence for the final two races at circuits he is familiar with.
"It was a very tough race for me, but I was really pleased to get the best finish of my career," he said, "It was a really amazing feeling, and the reaction from the fans was very good too. I am very happy with the team and the new B-spec car, which is much improved over the A-spec. Every time we go to a new circuit, we see an improvement and I can't wait to drive the car again in China. Now we have got 12th place in the last race I want to do even better and get a higher finish in the last two races."
Despite the celebrations, the team can still improve, according to chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne.
"It's very satisfying and it really exceeds our expectations as a team. We've introduced a new car, we have a 100% finishing record with it and have raced other teams with a much higher budget than ours," he said, "To score a point is all we could have asked for and it's a just reward for all the team. Just because we are at the back of the grid, we don't work any less than the teams at the top, so I am very pleased we have got this point and am very proud of everyone involved.
"However, Saturday was disappointing as we didn't show what we were capable of in the wet. In the race, we were much more competitive, and we were more competitive on Friday in the dry. We've now had two cracking races with the B-spec car, and six finishes out of six with it as well, so the team is doing a good job. Teams with far more resources than us have not been as successful or seen such a step forward with the new mods they have introduced, so this result in Japan is very good for the team."
Super Aguri F1 – Takuma Sato (#22), Anthony Davidson (#23):
The home race for the small Japanese team didn’t go to plan and neither Takuma Sato or Anthony Davidson was able to secure any points as
Formula 1 returned to Fuji. A throttle sensor failure was enough to remove Davidson from the action while Sato was involved in numerous incidents – including a fire in the pit lane – before his car cried enough and he was forced to park up just two laps from the finish.
