Mateschitz: « Bourdais was the best option »

The owner of the Toro Rosso team, Dietrich Mateschitz, stated that keeping Sébastien Bourdais as a race driver for an additional season was the only real option to maintain a high level of performance within the Scuderia.

Bourdais and Takuma Sato were both in contention for a spot alongside Sébastien Buemi in the team. Mateschitz believes that the French driver will have great value within Toro Rosso with this second season.

« There was no alternative to Bourdais. Sato has been very good during testing, but unfortunately for him, he did not have a year’s history with the team. »

« Bourdais had some interesting races and was very strong in qualifying last season, but mostly faced incredible bad luck. When you bet on a driver for a year and the season goes well, it makes sense to work with him for a second year. He has the potential to produce a better season, » the Austrian stated.

Bourdais will take a bit more height tomorrow in Jerez by replacing Buemi. It will be the first time since December 10th that he will be behind the wheel of an STR3.