Perhaps it was because there was no championship for the team to fight for, but Super Aguri and Anthony Davidson seem to have enjoyed themselves rather a lot in Brazil.
The team’s cars might not have been terribly fast this race, but they were reliable – and in an afternoon of high attrition that translated into 12th place for Takuma Sato and 14th for Davidson.
“It was a fun last race,” he said. “The car didn’t quite have the pace to match our stronger competitors in the mid-field, but we had reliability on our side again.
“The team did a fantastic job in all the pit stops and considering I got taken out by Sutil early on in the race I thought that my pace was really good towards the end on the prime tyre and I really enjoyed it.
“It was a good race to end the year on and I would like to thank everyone in the team, back at home in Leafield and in Japan, for their hard work this year.”
Sato shared the feeling that Brazil had been an enjoyable end to a season of over-achievement: “It was a tough, but exciting race. I did not get a great start off the line, but into turns one, two and three I was side by side and overtaking lots of people, in fact the whole lap was full of exciting moments and I really enjoyed it.
“I then started to struggle with the balance and pace, but I think that we had done everything we could and it was a tough race for the team. It has been a fantastic season and we have achieved so many things.”
Team principal Aguri Suzuki said his goals for the season had been met: “Our target for the year was to end in a top ten position and with a championship point and we have achieved this, so I am very happy.”