F1 Feature - Bourdais Gets The Call17/12/2006

Sebastien Bourdais had all but given up on his Formula 1 dream. Repeatedly he’d asked the Formula 1 teams for a chance to show what he could do and, except for a day each with Arrows and Renault back in 2002, the doors had remained closed.

In 2003 he sought refuge in the United States, where he moved into the Bridgestone-shod ChampCar Series with Newman Haas. He won three consecutive titles (2004, 2005 and 2006) and, until a couple of weeks ago, it looked as though his career would remain in the US indefinitely.

"I have nothing more to prove in the US," he said when he visited the United States GP in June 2006. "But none of the F1 teams seem interested in me."

That was until Nicolas Todt, son of Ferrari boss Jean and manager of Felipe Massa, picked up the telephone a couple of weeks ago. Todt wanted to help his compatriot and managed to convince Toro Rosso boss Gerhard Berger to try Bourdais at Jerez last week.

"I've been following Sebastien's progress in America," says Toro Rosso boss Gerhard Berger, "and I'm interested to see what he can do."

It wasn’t a publicity-seeking one-day test; he was given three days in which to prove what he could do. The deal left tongues wagging around the F1 paddock. "I think they must be serious about him," said Honda Racing F1 sporting director Gil de Ferran. "You wouldn't give one guy a three-day test unless you were serious to see what he could really do."

Sebastien (above) arrived at Jerez last Monday. He met the mechanics and had a seat fitting on Tuesday, before getting down to work on Wednesday.

"The F1 car is like a completely different world," he said after completing his first laps in the car. "It's been a long time since I drove one of these, and there is a bit less power than before, but it is still the fastest car on the planet!

"It is a light car, so it is fun to drive. You can push the limit, and when you get to the limit, you really have a feeling of speed. The fact that the car is 150kgs lighter than a ChampCar makes a pretty big difference in the way that it generates g-forces."

He ended day one the slowest of the 17 drivers present, but only 0.7s slower than his team-mate for the day, Vitantonio Liuzzi. On day two, Scott Speed partnered Bourdais at Toro Rosso and the Frenchman improved his fastest time by 0.1s to be less than 0.1s slower than Speed.

On day three, the media limelight shifted away from Bourdais because IndyCar star Marco Andretti was having his first F1 drive with Honda, and Fernando Alonso was enjoying his first test with McLaren.

It meant that Bourdais could focus on his work out of the limelight, and he did a very good job. On a low fuel run at the end of the day, he set his fastest time of the week (1:21.277s) and was quicker than the Williams-Toyota of Alex Wurz.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my three days with the team," he said. "It's been a great experience and I have really enjoyed driving the car. I must state, however, that my commitments for 2007 are in the United States, with Newman Haas in the ChampCar Series. Beyond that, nothing is confirmed."