JAPANESE F1 driver Takuma Sato praised the Leafield-based Super Aguri team after a successful three-day test at Silverstone in the run-up to the Chinese Grand Prix.

Sato said the team covered more than 1,000 kilometres testing tyres and aerodynamic adjustments.

He said: "It is great to see the commitment made by our aero and production guys at Leafield to ensure that these new parts were ready in time.

"The car has worked really well here and even though we encountered a few hydraulic-related problems again, we believe that we have found the cause and hope that our reliability level in this area will have improved. It would be great if our good results here at Silverstone are an indication of our performance at the last three races of the season."

Team-mate Sakon Yamamoto said: "I drove on the first and second days of our test here at Silverstone. On day one I completed 53 laps and although we had a small problem following the morning session, we were able to complete our programme in the afternoon.

"On the second day we had another small issue and lost a little bit of running time and we could not finish the planned tyre evaluation, but overall the test went very well. We completed our programmes for the Shanghai and Suzuka Grands Prix and have collected a lot of data, so I am happy with what we have achieved at this important test."

Graham Taylor, chief race engineer, said: "We covered more laps, especially on the final day, and with some pleasing results. We have worked on improving our reliability, run new components and developments on the car and put a lot of work into our Chinese Grand Prix preparations.

"We are confident that we have chosen the correct tyre compounds for the forthcoming races and so overall, but especially today in such blustery conditions, I am happy with our performance this week."