Richards has plans for Sato

BAR boss David Richards is grooming Takuma Sato as his next star driver after Jenson Button’s decision to quit the team.

Richards has given the Japanese driver a contract for next season and is expecting big things from the ex-British Formula Three champion.

Who will partner Sato at BAR next season remains to be seen with Formula One’s contract recognition board scheduled to hear Button’s case for joining Williams, despite an apparent deal with Richards, on September 26.

But Richards is focusing his energies on Sato, whose performance in claiming fourth in yesterday’s Italian Grand Prix helped convince the BAR team principal of his abilities.

Sato’s deal for next season has a get-out clause to allow BAR to dump him before 2005 but Richards strongly hinted that was not on the cards.

Asked whether he will keep Sato on for next season, Richards said: “I think that performance is a pretty good indication.

“The contract is signed but it has a break clause in our favour.”

Richards was full of praise for Sato, who earlier in the season saw his seat threatened after a string of wild performances.

Richards, who has nurtured Button and the likes of rally stars Richard Burns and Colin McRae during his career, sees massive potential in the 27-year-old.

“He has been very solid, he’s improving all the time,” he said.

“The pressure has lifted a little bit off his shoulders and he’s starting to be comfortable now.

“I think that’s the key to any great driver’s performance, I think they’ve got to feel confident in themselves and comfortable in the environment they’re in.

“Often with a young driver they are very inexperienced and they make mistakes - you need to support them in that period.

“I would hope the team have given him the support he needed and we are now moving on to a new level.

“I have little doubt about it, even between now and the end of the season, I’ve always had the conviction that he has the ability to improve more that anyone else of the grid because of his lack of race experience.

“It’s early days but certainly he’s heading in the right direction.”

Button took third place yesterday which, combined with Sato’s effort, helped BAR overtake Renault in the chase for second in the constructors’ championship.

Richards was encouraged by that display and has targeted the team’s first-ever win on one of the final three grands prix of 2004, in China, Japan and Brazil.

“Certainly the car’s been quick at every track we’ve been to,” he said.

“Shanghai and Suzuka should be good for us, as should Brazil.

“But this is not a time for complacency – we will be at Silverstone on Tuesday morning testing away as hard as usual.

“That elusive win is all that is missing for us this year and I am sure that we have a good chance of achieving that in the last three races.

“This is a team which has enormous depth in its strength and it’s a highly professional organisation who are not distracted by all these things that are going on around them.

“Now we’ve got a challenge and we are going to do every job to the best of our ability no matter what anyone throws at us.”

Richards will take inspiration from Ferrari, who took a one-two at Monza through Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher, as he seeks to mimic his world rally title successes in Formula One.

He added: “If you have a car that’s that fast and a team that’s that good then there’s no disgrace to be second to Ferrari.

“It shows the strength in depth of their team and the performance of their car at the moment and it’s a great lesson for us all.

“We should all sit back and observe and learn from it and not condemn them for it.

“It makes us realise when you look where everyone else is, we are going in the right direction.”