Ex-Super Aguri driver needs new home. Can Renault help?

After the collapse of Super Aguri, Takuma Sato is without a team for the remainder of the season. That’s a shame, because Sato is one of the most exciting and enigmatic drivers in F1. Yes, he’s inconsistent, but he can be as fast as anyone, given the right machinery.

Rumours doing the rounds at Istanbul last weekend suggested that Taku might replace Rubens Barrichello at Honda in 2009. It’s a credible rumour, given that Super Aguri were powered by Honda, and also that Sato is, like Honda, Japanese.

French magazine AutoHebdo is one of the few sources to ignore the Honda speculation and look elsewhere. It claims that Renault is so pissed off with pointless Nelson Piquet Jnr, that the French team is considering a shootout test to choose his replacement. Sato would be up against Romain Grosjean, the promising French-Swiss rookie who is currently Renault’s test driver.