Takuma Sato

is a Japanese racing driver, who competes part-time in the IndyCar Series for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. He competed in Formula One from to . In American open-wheel racing, Sato is a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 winning in 2017 and 2020, and remains the only Asian driver to win the event.

Born and raised in Tokyo, Sato began his career in karting before moving to Europe in 1999 with support from Honda. Progressing directly to Formula Three, Sato finished third in the British Championship in 2000 and dominated the series in 2001 with Carlin. With Carlin he also won the Macau Grand Prix and the Masters of Formula 3.

Sato signed for Jordan in , making his Formula One debut at the , under Honda power. He moved with Honda to join BAR in as a reserve driver, replacing Jacques Villeneuve at his home Grand Prix in Japan and returning as a full-time driver in . Sato achieved a podium at the as he finished a career-best eighth in the World Drivers' Championship.

Following struggles at BAR in , Sato moved to Super Aguri for his campaign onwards. Amidst financial troubles, Super Aguri withdrew from the sport after the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix, ending both Sato and teammate Anthony Davidson's driving careers in Formula One.

After a year's hiatus, Sato returned to open-wheel racing in the IndyCar Series with KV in 2010. He took his maiden pole position at the Iowa Corn Indy 250 in 2011, and became the first Asian driver to win an IndyCar race at the Grand Prix of Long Beach in 2013 with Foyt.

His one-off entry in Formula E at the 2014 Beijing ePrix marked the first—and to this date, only—time that Sato competed without a Honda power unit in his professional career, using a spec McLaren powertrain.

Sato signed for Andretti in 2017, winning the Indianapolis 500 for the first time. He won several other times across his 2018 and 2019 seasons with RLL, before again winning at Indianapolis in 2020. Sato competed for Dale Coyne Racing in 2022, before moving in 2023 into part-time roles.

Sato is a widely popular figure amongst fans and media worldwide, renowned for his aggressive driving style and motto No Attack, No Chance.

Early career Born in Tokyo, Sato began karting in Japan at the age of nineteen. After winning the national karting title in 1997, he moved to Europe with backing from Honda. He briefly raced in Vauxhall Junior and Formula Opel, before debuting in Class B of the British Formula 3 Championship mid-way through 1999 British Formula Three Championship with class wins at the British Grand Prix and Spa for Diamond Racing. Throughout he showed flashes of speed but also wild driving, eventually scoring fifth place at his home Grand Prix in Suzuka.

BAR (2003–2005) Sato celebrates his only Formula One podium finish, at the 2004 United States Grand Prix. With Honda's focus shifting solely to British American Racing for , Sato joined the Brackley-based outfit as a test driver. However before his late-season racing return to the sport, Sato was overshadowed by the death of Daijiro Kato who was killed during 2003 Japanese Grand Prix MotoGP race. Kato was Sato's closest friend in the Honda camp and Sato led his tribute to his friend during the 2003 San Marino Grand Prix weekend. For the final round in Japan, Sato replaced Jacques Villeneuve and scored the second points finish of his career with sixth place, after a battle with Michael Schumacher. He was signed to race full-time in 2004. During the 2004 season, Sato qualified four times in the top-three, including a front row start and an overall lap record at the European Grand Prix. His efforts helped BAR-Honda to finish second in the Constructors' Championship.

Sato was retained by BAR-Honda for the 2005 season, but the 2005 car was not as close to the front of the pack as the previous year's design. Sato missed the with illness, and both drivers were disqualified from the and the entire team banned from the two subsequent races for using cars that were underweight when all fuel was removed. The Court did not find that this was deliberate. Sato's season never recovered from that point, and he ended the season with eighth place at the Hungarian Grand Prix as his only points finish, despite qualifying seven times in the top-ten. Sato was not re-signed for 2006, despite Honda taking full control of the team.

Super Aguri (2006–2008) Sato joined the new Super Aguri F1 team for , run by Japanese former driver Aguri Suzuki. The new outfit was in effect a Honda B-team but ran the first half of the season with a modified version of a 2002 Arrows A23 chassis. Nevertheless, Sato's reputation improved thanks to his professional attitude and competitive spirit. The team introduced a new car, the SA06 at the and by the end of the season, Sato was outpacing the Midland cars. At the season finale in Brazil, Sato finished tenth just two places short of a points finish and comfortably ahead of both Toro Rossos and the Spyker MF1s.

Sato driving the Super Aguri SA07 in 2007. He scored the team's only points. For 2007, Super Aguri ran a reworked version of the previous year's Honda RA106 chassis. Their performance improved drastically as Sato made it through to Q3 at the . He then scored the first point for the team at the . At the , Sato finished sixth after having a race that had seen him move from the middle of the grid to a high of fifth, passing Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen before a pit-stop error dropped him back to eleventh. He moved up five places in the last fifteen laps, passing Toyota's Ralf Schumacher and then on lap 67 the McLaren-Mercedes of Fernando Alonso; the latter pass was met with cheers around the track and received him the "Overtake of the Year" award from F1 Racing magazine. He first drove on 18 September, more than four months since Super Aguri's withdrawal, and tested for the team again for two days in November, setting the fastest time on the seventeenth, three tenths ahead of Buemi, and proceeded by setting the second-fastest time on the 18th. The race seat was eventually given to Bourdais, and in March 2009 it was announced that Sato would not be the reserve driver for the Red Bull team.

IndyCar career KV Racing Technology (2010–2011) Sato driving for KV Racing Technology at the 2011 Indy Japan 300. Sato visited the Indianapolis 500 in May 2009. He signed with KV Racing Technology to drive in the 2010 IndyCar Series season finishing in 21st place. He signed for the same team for 2011 and improved his form, scoring three top-five finishes and two pole positions during the season to finish thirteenth.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (2012) At the 2012 Indianapolis 500, driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Sato chased Dario Franchitti to the finish making a move for the lead and the race win at the first turn of the last lap. While not successful, Sato was respected by Indianapolis 500 fans for "going for it" on the last lap.

A. J. Foyt Enterprises (2013–2016) Sato at the 2013 Grand Prix of Long Beach, where he took his first IndyCar win and became the first Japanese driver to do so. For 2013, Sato joined A. J. Foyt's team, driving the No. 14 car vacated by Mike Conway. In the third race of the season at Long Beach, Sato scored his first IndyCar win, in his 52nd start in the series, making him the first Japanese driver to win an IndyCar race. He then scored six top-five finishes, including two podiums and two pole positions, until he left the team at the end of 2016.

Andretti Autosport (2017)

Sato joined Andretti Autosport for the 2017 season. He went on to become the first Asian driver to win the Indianapolis 500. After the 500 win, he went on to win a pole at the Dual in Detroit on Belle Isle. He also ended up winning another pole at Pocono Raceway in August.

Return to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (2018–2021) On 26 August 2017, it was reported that Sato would rejoin RLL for the 2018 season, driving the No. 30 car alongside Graham Rahal as teammate. The decision came while Andretti Autosport was considering a move to Chevrolet for 2018, however Andretti ultimately chose to remain with Honda.

Sato endured an up-and-down season, including crashing early during the Indianapolis 500, getting caught in an early wreck during the Pocono 500, and a failed pit strategy at Gateway. However, he recorded a top-three finish at Iowa, and had the correct strategy to hold off Ryan Hunter-Reay for a victory during IndyCar's return to Portland, after a low starting position of 20th; the win marked Sato's third career victory, and his first on a permanent road course.

Sato started his 2019 season with a win in the third race at Barber Motorsports Park; he convincingly beat the field after starting from the pole. He endured a difficult Pocono 500; after involvement in a first-lap accident and initial criticism from drivers and media, RLL released on-board camera footage indicating Sato was not at fault for the accident. Sato won later that season at Gateway.

On 23 August 2020, after qualifying on the outside of the front row for the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500, Sato won the race for a second time.

On 5 October 2021, it was announced that Sato would not return to the team for the 2022 IndyCar season. His spot in the team was taken over by Danish driver, Christian Lundgaard.

Dale Coyne Racing (2022)

On 9 December 2021, it was announced that Sato had signed with Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing for the 2022 season, replacing Romain Grosjean, who had signed with Andretti Autosport. He finished 25th at the Indianapolis 500.

Chip Ganassi Racing (2023) Sato joined Chip Ganassi Racing to run only the oval rounds for the 2023 season, making it the first time he was without a full-time IndyCar seat since 2010.

Second return to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (2024–present) On 18 March 2024, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) announced that Sato would rejoin the team for an Indianapolis 500-only drive. He finished fourteenth after showing significantly more speed than his teammates, making the Fast 12 round of qualifying.

Sato returned to RLL for the 2025 Indianapolis 500. He again displayed significantly more pace than his teammates, qualifying in second – the middle of the front row. Sato ran at or near the front of the field during the first half of the race, and was in strong contention for the victory when he overshot his pit box on lap 86, losing critical time as his pit crew pushed him back into place. He eventually finished eleventh on-track, and was later promoted to ninth place following the disqualifications of Andretti drivers Marcus Ericsson and Kyle Kirkwood. Sato led 51 laps—the most of the field.

RLL confirmed in March that Sato would once again contest the Indianapolis 500 with them. He originally qualified 13th for the race, before being promoted to 12th, after Caio Collet was demoted to the back of the field after his car failed post qualifying inspections. He finished the race in tenth place.

Other categories Formula Nippon / Super Formula On 14 June 2012, Team Mugen announced that Sato would race with the team in the last three rounds of the 2012 Formula Nippon season. He also raced with Team Mugen in the opening round of the renamed 2013 Super Formula season, and later in the year returned to the team to compete in the last three races of the season; he scored his first points with an eighth-place finish in the season finale.

Formula E In November 2013, Sato became a test and development driver for the FIA Formula E Championship. In September 2014, Sato joined his former Formula One team Amlin Aguri to race in the first-ever Formula E race, the 2014 Beijing ePrix, replacing the team's regular driver Antonio Félix da Costa as he could not participate due to other commitments. Sato scored two points after he set the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:45.101, but had to retire from the race with mechanical issues. As it was Sato's only Formula E race, he became the only driver in the series' history with a 100% fastest lap record.

Reception Sato is a widely popular figure amongst fans and media, renowned for his aggressive driving style and motto "No Attack, No Chance".

Honors In 2024, Sato was inducted into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame.

Personal life Sato is married to Chiharu Sato, with whom he has two children. The eldest, Rintaro Sato, made his racing debut in 2024 F4 Japanese Championship.

He was a national cycling champion in high school, and still uses cycling as part of his physical training for his racing career.

He lives in Carmel, Indiana with his manager, Steve Fusek, during the racing season, and spends the offseason in Japan. Fusek has managed Sato since 2012 and been involved in IndyCar since 1987, working as the VP of Sales and Marketing for CART from 2001–2003 and VP of Business Operations at PacWest Racing in 1995–2001. Before Fusek, Andrew Gilbert-Scott was Sato's manager since his junior formula career in Europe until 2009.

Racing record

Career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Poles Points Position 1998 All-Japan Formula Three Championship Dome Project 1 0 0 0 NC 1999 British Formula 3 Championship - National Class Diamond Racing 7 2 2 103 4th Europa Cup Britain ? 1 ? 48 2nd Formula Opel European Union Series ? 1 ? 115 6thMacau Asian Formula 2000 ChallengeMeritus.GP1110 1st 2000 British Formula 3 Championship Carlin Motorsport 12 4 6 129 3rd European Formula 3 Cup 1 0 0 N/A NC Macau Grand Prix 1 0 0 N/A 14th Masters of Formula 3 1 0 0 N/A 28th Korea Super Prix 1 0 0 N/A 8th 2001 British Formula 3 Championship Carlin Motorsport 25 12 6 345 1st European Formula 3 Cup 1 0 0 N/A NC Macau Grand Prix 1 1 0 N/A 1st Masters of Formula 3 1 1 1 N/A 1st Formula One Lucky Strike BAR Honda Test driver 2002 Formula One DHL Jordan Honda 17 0 0 2 15th 2003 Formula One Lucky Strike BAR Honda 1 0 0 3 18th 2004 Formula One Lucky Strike BAR Honda 18 0 0 34 8th 2005 Formula One Lucky Strike BAR Honda 16 0 0 1 23rd 2006 Formula One Super Aguri F1 Team 18 0 0 0 23rd 2007 Formula One Super Aguri F1 Team 17 0 0 4 17th2008 Formula One Super Aguri F1 Team 4 0 0 0 21st Scuderia Toro RossoTest driver 2010 IndyCar Series KV Racing Technology 17 0 0 214 21st 2011 IndyCar Series KV Racing Technology - Lotus 17 0 2 282 13th 2012 IndyCar Series Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing 15 0 0 281 14th Formula Nippon Team Mugen 3 0 0 0 15th 2013 IndyCar Series A. J. Foyt Enterprises 19 1 2 322 17th Super Formula Team Mugen 4 0 0 0.5 18th 2014 IndyCar Series A. J. Foyt Enterprises 18 0 2 350 18th 2014–15 Formula E Amlin Aguri 1 0 0 2 24th 2015 IndyCar Series A. J. Foyt Enterprises 16 0 0 323 14th 2016 IndyCar Series A. J. Foyt Enterprises 16 0 0 320 17th 2017IndyCar SeriesAndretti Autosport 17 1 2 441 8th 2018IndyCar SeriesRahal Letterman Lanigan Racing 17 1 0 351 12th 2019IndyCar SeriesRahal Letterman Lanigan Racing 17 2 2 415 9th 2020IndyCar SeriesRahal Letterman Lanigan Racing 14 1 1 348 7th 2021IndyCar SeriesRahal Letterman Lanigan Racing 16 0 0 324 11th 2022 IndyCar Series Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing 17 0 0 258 19th 2023IndyCar SeriesChip Ganassi Racing 5 0 0 70 29th2024 IndyCar Series Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing1001937th2025IndyCar SeriesRahal Letterman Lanigan Racing1003628th Season still in progress.

Complete British Formula Three Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Chassis Engine Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 DC Pts 1999 Diamond Racing Dallara F398 Mugen-Honda BDONSILTHRBRHBRHOULCROBRHSILSNEPEMPEMDON SPA SIL THR 4th 103 2000 Carlin Motorsport Dallara F300 Mugen-Honda A THR CRO OUL DON DON SIL BRH DON DON CRO SIL SNE SPA SIL 3rd 129 2001 Carlin Motorsport Dallara F301 Mugen-Honda A SIL11 SIL12 SNE1 SNE2 DON11 DON12 OUL1 OUL2 CRO1 CRO2 ROC1 ROC2 CAS1 CAS2 BRH11 BRH12 DON21 DON22 KNO1 KNO2 THR1 THR2 THR3 BRH21 BRH22 SIL21 SIL22 1st 345

Complete Formula One results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) † Did not finish the race, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.

American open-wheel racing (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

IndyCar Series Year Team No. Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Rank Points Ref 2010 KV Racing Technology 5 Dallara IR-05 HondaSAOSTPALALBHKANINDYTXSIOWWGLTOREDMMOHSNMCHIKTYMOTHMS 21st 214 2011 KV Racing Technology – Lotus STP ALA LBH SAO INDY TXS TXS MIL IOW TOR EDM MOH NHM SNM BAL MOT KTY LVS1 13th 282 2012 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing 15 Dallara DW12 STP ALA LBH SAO INDY DET TXS MIL IOW TOR EDM MOH SNM BAL FON 14th 281 2013 A. J. Foyt Enterprises 14 STP ALA LBH SAO INDY DET DET TXS MIL IOW POC TOR TOR MOH SNM BAL HOU HOU FON 17th 322 2014 STP LBH ALA IMS INDY DET DET TXS HOU HOU POC IOW TOR TOR MOH MIL SNM FON 18th 350 2015 STP NLA LBH ALA IMS INDY DET DET TXS TOR FON MIL IOW MOH POC SNM 14th 323 2016 STP PHX LBH ALA IMS INDY DET DET RDA IOW TOR MOH POC TXS WGL SNM 17th 320 2017 Andretti Autosport 26 STP LBH ALA PHX IMS INDY1 DET DET TXS RDA IOW TOR MOH POC GTW WGL SNM 8th 441 2018 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing 30 STP PHX LBH ALA IMS INDY DET DET TXS RDA IOW TOR MOH POC GTW POR SNM 12th 351 2019 STP COA ALA LBH IMS INDY DET DET TXS RDA TOR IOW MOH POC GTW POR LAG 9th 415 2020 TXS IMS ROA ROA IOW IOW INDY GTW GTW MOH MOH IMS IMS STP 7th 348 2021 ALA STP TXS TXS IMS INDY DET DET ROA MOH NSH IMS GTW POR LAG LBH 11th 324 2022 Dale Coyne Racingwith Rick Ware Racing 51 STP TXS LBH ALA IMS INDY DET ROA MOH TOR IOW IOW IMS NSH GTW POR LAG 19th 258 2023 Chip Ganassi Racing 11 STP TXS LBH ALA IMS INDY DET ROA MOH TOR IOW IOW NSH IMS GTW POR LAG 29th 70 2024 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing 75 STP THE LBH ALA IMS INDY DET ROA LAG MOH IOW IOW TOR GTW POR MIL MIL NSH 37th 19 2025 STP THE LBH ALA IMS INDY* DET GTW ROA MOH IOW IOW TOR LAG POR MIL NSH 28th 36 2026 STP PHX ARL ALA LBH IMS INDY DET GTW ROA MOH NSH POR MRK WSH MIL MIL LAG 27th* 20* 1 The 2011 Las Vegas Indy 300 was abandoned after Dan Wheldon died from injuries sustained in a 15-car crash on lap 11.

Years Teams Races Poles Wins Podiums Top 5s Top 10s Indianapolis 500 wins Championships16*6223*1061428*77*20 Results as of 2 September 2025

Indianapolis 500 Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Team 2010 Dallara Honda3120 KV Racing Technology 20111033 KV Racing Technology – Lotus 201219 17 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing 20131813 A. J. Foyt Enterprises 20142319 20152413 20161226 201741 Andretti Autosport 20181632 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing 2019143 202031 2021 1514 2022 10 25 Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing 2023 8 7 Chip Ganassi Racing 2024 10 14 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing 2025 2 9 2026 12 10

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rank Points 2012 OAK Racing LMP1 OAK Pescarolo 01 Honda LM-V8 3.4 L V8 SEB SPA LMS SIL SÃO BHR FUJ SHA 80th 1

Complete Formula Nippon / Super Formula results Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 DC Points 2012 Team Mugen SUZ MOT AUT FUJ MOT SUG SUZ SUZ 15th 0 2013 SUZ AUT FUJ MOT SUG SUZ SUZ 18th 0.5

Complete Formula E results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Chassis Powertrain 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pos Points 2014–15 Amlin Aguri Spark SRT01-e SRT01-e BEI PUT PDE BUE MIA LBH MCO BER MSC LDN LDN 24th 2