São Paulo Indy 300

[Starter]

I thought he was taking chances with those moves, but at the same time I think the first move may have been accentuated by Newgarden's feint. Was certainly robust, let's say that much. Be interesting to see if having the points lead changes his and Foyt's approach. Sato has never been one to play the percentages, but now he's leading the series, he might himself being told to settle for certain results rather than going all out. Be interesting to see how the team handles it.

One thing I did find interesting was how well Sato was able to look after his tyres. Given how hard Newgarden was attacking him, their relative drop off was interesting to observe. Newgarden all but burnt the tyres off his car, yet Sato had enough left to defend against Hinch, even when he was out of push to pass. The error at the last corner was pretty small considering how hard he'd been driving and how long he'd been on that set, and was as much about Hinch being alive to the opportunity as anything else. Seems Taku can be somehow smooth yet aggressive at the same time.

Sato has always been quick. It's the not running into other cars and things which is new this year.

[Anubis]

Sato has always been quick. It's the not running into other cars and things which is new this year.

I know he's always been quick (although not always in the right direction...), it was just the smoothness that genuinely surprised me. To drive that hard and still have the measure of the field up to the last corner was genuinely impressive.