Formula One
At age 31, Ide became one of Formula One's older rookies when he landed a seat at Super Aguri for the 2006 season, in part due to Super Aguri's aspiration of fielding an all-Japanese team. Ide had known Aguri Suzuki for a long time, according to a press release, however Ide's meshing with the team had some issues with his lack of proficient English.
In his debut race in Bahrain, Ide was significantly behind his more experienced teammate Takuma Sato and failed to finish. At the next race in Malaysia, he retired after 33 laps.
The third race of the 2006 season went poorly for Ide: He was blamed for blocking Rubens Barrichello during his qualifying lap, causing the Brazilian to be stuck in the first round of qualifying and start 16th on the grid. Ide finished in Australia, two laps down. His weekend in Melbourne was notable for a number of spins, and team principal Aguri Suzuki subsequently suggested Ide's seat was not safe if his performances did not improve.
At Imola, Ide caused a first lap crash with Christijan Albers that put the Dutchman into a series of rolls which ended with Albers' car upside down. Ide was reprimanded by the stewards and warned over future conduct. Many accepted that this was not entirely his fault, as the rushed Aguri project had not allowed him much time in the car pre-season.
On May 4, 2006, Super Aguri announced that following advice from the FIA, Ide would be dropped from the upcoming European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, being replaced by former Renault test driver Franck Montagny. Ide was demoted to Montagny's seat as test driver.
On May 10, 2006, the FIA revoked Ide's FIA Super Licence meaning he could no longer compete in F1 during the 2006 season. Super Aguri remained committed to getting Ide back into F1 until their withdrawal from Formula One.
Read more about this topic: Yuji Ide
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