Sakon Yamamoto

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Sakon Yamamoto
Friday Practice at 2006 British GP
Nationality	Japanese
Car #	23
Current team	Super Aguri
World Championship career
Races	7
World Championships	none
Wins	0
Podium finishes	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	2006 German Grand Prix


Latest race	2006 Brazilian Grand Prix
2006 Championship position	26th (0 pts)

Sakon Yamamoto
2007 GP2 Series driver
Nationality	Japanese
Current team	BCN Competicion
Car No.	18 (TBC)
Starts	0
Wins	0
Podium finishes	0
Poles	0
Fastest laps	0
Debut season	2007
Best season	N/A
2006 position	N/A

Sakon Yamamoto (山本左近, Yamamoto Sakon^?, born on July 9, 1982 in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture) is a Japanese racecar driver.

He began his racing career in 1994 at the Suzuka Circuit Racing School (Karting). In 2005 he was the test/third driver for one Grand Prix weekend with the Jordan Formula One team.

On June 8, 2006, Sakon Yamamoto joined the Super Aguri F1 team as their test driver and third driver on grand prix weekends, helping Takuma Sato and Franck Montagny in Friday's free practice sessions. Yamamoto replaced Montagny in the second team car at the German Grand Prix in Hockenheim. He did not enjoy a particularly successful start to his career, however, with a mechanical failure and a stalled engine restricting him to a total of one lap in his first two races. He also damaged one of the team's new SA06 chassis in a crash during Free Practice at the German Grand Prix. He then spun out of his third Grand Prix in Turkey, a disappointment after outqualifying Sato for the first time.

At the 2006 Italian Grand Prix, Yamamoto had a major effect on the championship after suffering a tyre delamination during qualifying, which consigned him to last place on the grid. Later on in the session, Fernando Alonso punctured a tyre on debris from this incident, an occurrence which would eventually result in the points leader being penalised for blocking Felipe Massa and dropping from fifth to tenth on the grid. During the race, Yamamoto suffered hydraulic problems and had to start from the pit lane, eventually retiring when it became terminal. At the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix, however, he finished for the first time, albeit four laps down in sixteenth place. After the race, his enjoyment was spoiled when Nick Heidfeld admonished him for an incident on the last lap which had dropped the German from 4th to 7th place. However, Heidfeld had mistaken Yamamoto for Sato, the driver who caused the incident, and apologised for his mistake before the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix.^[1]

Yamamoto finished the season strongly with three consecutive finishes, an upturn in form after retiring from his first four Grands Prix. He also set the seventh fastest lap during the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix.^[2] However, this was not enough to prevent him losing out to Anthony Davidson in the race for the second Super Aguri race drive in 2007. However, he will remain as a test driver at Super Aguri.^[3] This will be combined with him competing in the 2007 GP2 Series season with BCN Competicion.^[4]

[edit] Complete Formula One results

(key)

Yr	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	WDC	Points
2005	Jordan Grand Prix	Jordan EJ15B	Toyota V10	AUS	MAL	BHR	SMR	ESP	MON	EUR	CAN	USA	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	TUR	ITA	BEL	BRA	JPN TD	CHN	-	-
2006	Super Aguri F1	Super Aguri SA05	Honda V8	BHR	MAL	AUS	SMR	EUR	ESP	MON	GBR TD	CAN TD	USA TD	FRA TD									26th	0
2006	Super Aguri F1	Super Aguri SA06	Honda V8												GER Ret	HUN Ret	TUR Ret	ITA Ret	CHN 16	JPN 17	BRA 16		26th	0