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Sakon Yamamoto is a driver who even his fans would admit has got his openings in racing more through the extravagant backing of his mysterious backers, Sanho Human Service than any on-track achievements.

Yamamoto came through the ranks of karting and before signing for the Super Aguri F1 team in 2006 he had one weekend testing driving with Jordan. Initially the reserve driver, he took the team's second seat from the German GP onwards but his initial experiences were not good - he managed one lap in his first two races and spun out of his third. But things picked up and he finished 16th in China - albeit four laps down - and ended the season with three consecutive finishes; it was not enough for him to be retained although he remained as a test driver.

He continued driving in GP2, and got another F1 chance in late July 2007 when he was hired by Spyker. Again, his debut was inauspicious, crashing on the fourth lap in Hungary. He did finish all other races, but near or at the back of the field.

In 2008 he did some work for Renault, returning to GP2 midway through the season with ART Grand Prix and recording his first points in international competition when finishing fourth in a sprint race at Hungaroring. He raced in the 2008-09 GP2 Asia series, finishing ninth, and spent 2009 hacking round the ADAC GT Masters circuit in Germany.

In 2010 he was signed by HRT as a reserve and test driver but as the team's lack of finances continued to be an issue, Yamamoto's money eventually earned him a race seat.
Martin Williamson