Sébastien Bourdais: The choice will be financial

During the winter testing in Barcelona, the Toro Rosso team fielded three drivers: Japanese Takuma Sato, Swiss Sébastien Buemi, and French Sébastien Bourdais, with the aim of measuring the intrinsic performance of each.

But did the times really matter for the selection of the 2009 lineup?

Sébastien Boudais stated that the times don’t have real significance: « We’re driving the 2008 car with 2009 downforce, but it’s far from being a 2009 car because it’s the same downforce, yes, but with less drag. So the times are impressive, but they have nothing to do with the 2009 car, not at the moment anyway. »

The Toro Rosso team still needs to finalize its budget for the next season and, of course, the driver who can bring financial support to the team will have a huge advantage over the others in positioning themselves as the official driver.

In his statements, the man from Le Mans added: « The problem is purely financial. The team needs more money, and I think that until they find a driver who is fast enough and has enough money, no decision will be made. »

Despite the fact that Sébastien Bourdais was able to prove his real talent behind the wheel of his car at the end of last season, the driver knows perfectly well that today he does not have the patron who could guarantee his physical and financial place within the Toro Rosso team.

Unfortunately, this late decision by his team could have serious consequences for the future of the French driver in Formula 1, as he stated: « As far as I’m concerned, I don’t think a decision will be made quickly because I don’t see anyone capable of guaranteeing the money at the moment, nor tomorrow or the day after. I think it will take time, I’m a professional driver and at some point, I will need to be certain of having a job next year. And when the time comes, I will have to make a decision. »

The only event that would allow Sébastien Bourdais to be present next year is if no other driver can guarantee a financial contribution to the team.

« If no one can gather the necessary funds, I suppose, based on what Franz [Tost, the team manager] says, that I’m first on the list because changing two drivers in a team is a difficult thing, and it’s certainly not his preferred solution. In fact, Franz wanted to keep Sebastian [Vettel] and me, but he went to Red Bull and I don’t have the money, so it complicates things.

Even though Sébastien Bourdais has signed a three-year contract with Toro Rosso, a clause indicates that the team can choose to retain him or not on a yearly basis.

Is it a strategic clause hiding a manipulation that would allow replacing a talent-sponsored driver with a money-sponsored driver?