Takuma Sato will be returning to AJ Foyt’s team next season. After having an up-and-down season, AJ Foyt said that he expects to have Sato back in the car next year, and went even further to say that his team will be sticking with Honda engines going forward. Last year, Sato signed a 1-year contract to drive for Foyt’s team.

In a teleconference, the legendary driver and team owner talked about encouraging signs from his driver, and from Honda. “We’ll be with Honda, and we’ll probably be with Sato. We’ve got a pretty good combination going. I think we’re going to work out everything. I definitely know we’ll probably be with Honda. They’re coming out with some new stuff.”

After winning his first race at Long Beach, and leading the championship standings heading into the Indianapolis 500, things went south for the team. Sato did manage to grab the pole for the first Houston race this year, but they have had some bad luck in quite a few races, which resulted in their 17th place finish in the championship standings.

Update: AJ Foyt announced on November 1 that the team is in the “final stages” of signing Sato for next season. He said the plan all along was to bring him back, and that the team’s relationship with Honda is linked to having Sato in the car.