Tuesday 5 February at 12:22 : Super Aguri may soon be back in action at pre-season test circuits, the team's Japanese driver Takuma Sato suggested on Monday.

The 31-year-old told his official website that although the small Honda-powered squad has been grappling with "financial difficulties", it is scheduled that Super Aguri will be in action for the first time in 2008 at Jerez early next week.

The report said Super Aguri has not tested so far this season while the team "looks to sew up its financial deals for the coming year", but that work on an "updated car" for 2008 is still taking place.

"It has been a tough winter for the team because of the financial difficulties," Sato said, explaining that Super Aguri's participation in the recent Valencia test was cancelled at the last moment.

Admitting frustration with the situation, he added: "Next week we'll go to Jerez and then after that we should have two consecutive three-day tests at Barcelona, so that will be a total of nine days' testing.

"We'll be using an interim car to start with, and we probably won't have the fully updated car until the last Barcelona test. Then I hope we can bring along the whole new package to Melbourne for the first race," Sato said.