Sébastien Bourdais still believes in his chances

Sébastien Bourdais’ contract with Team Toro Rosso officially ended on November 7th, but the French driver still wants to believe in his chances of driving a Formula 1 car next season.

He stated: « The highlight of my 2008 year, I hope, will be the extension of my contract. I would like to continue in Formula 1 and with Scuderia Toro Rosso. »

The Frenchman who debuted in F1 at the Australian GP in 2008, on March 16, was able to score his first World Championship points at the very start of the season. However, he then remained more in the background, blaming it on a new-generation car poorly suited to his driving style. This was the case until the Belgian Grand Prix, from which point Sébastien Bourdais was able to demonstrate his capabilities behind the wheel of the STR3, even if luck was not much on his side.

« In the last part of the season, I was very comfortable with the STR3, after several difficult races. Being in Q3 in five of the last six Grand Prix is a nice statistic, and my qualifying lap in Brazil was my best lap of the year, even if I was on the second row at Monza, » defended the French driver.

« My result this season seems to have more than its share of bad luck. For example, when I was heading towards a fourth place in my debut in Melbourne, before I had a mechanical problem… »

Certainly, this season Sébastien Bourdais has often been struck by bad luck, but will it be a sufficient reason to convince Gerhard Berger, the boss of Team Toro Rosso, to keep the Le Mans native?

The Austrian stated recently: « He has talent, but he lacks confidence in himself and in the car. »

Today, there are two seats left to fill at Toro Rosso and the Frenchman will have to compete against Swiss Sébastien Buemi and Japanese Takuma Sato. He would also be threatened by Brazilians Bruno Senna and Rubens Barrichello.

After Vettel’s departure to Red Bull, Bourdais shows himself to be a man of experience in the small Italian team. A definite advantage. To be continued…