FEBRUARY 3, 2001

Honda managing director Hosaka backs Sato to be future F1 champion

HONDA managing director Takefumi Hosaka believes British American Racing development driver Takuma Sato can one day become Formula One world champion.

Japanese driver Sato was third in the British Formula Three championship last year and was named as a development driver alongside Anthony Davidson in December.

Sato will combine testing duties for BAR with his F3 competition for Carlin Motorsport in 2001, and Hosaka believes it is the first step to a glittering career in Formula One for the Japanese driver.

"I hope it will be good," Hosaka said. "It would be very good for Japan to have a driver in Formula One and he'll definitely be the next one.

"It's a very good situation for Japan and I hope he grows very quickly. Only time will tell but I'm sure he can be a champion."