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Do you think Bourdais should get a F1 seat?
Posted: 11 Apr 2006, 16:54
by DR_K13
Champ Car star Sebastien Bourdais is still holding out hope of a move to Formula One, although he admits time is running out.
The Frenchman has been ignored by Formula One despite winning the Formula 3000 Championship before his dominant stint in the United States.
After opening his bid for a third consecutive Champ Car title with an easy win at Long Beach, Bourdais revealed Formula One remains an ambition.
He said: "I kind of hope at some point somebody is going to say, 'this kid deserves a chance'.
"It's going to have to happen pretty damn soon.
"I'm 27 and getting older. The window is getting very narrow for me and I know it.
"If it doesn't happen, fair enough. I'm going to have a great career in Champ Cars."
Posted: 11 Apr 2006, 17:01
by kilcoo316
When F1 cars revert to the slick tyres in 2008 he could be well worth a punt, but not for 2007.
One one side I would tend to disregard everything achieved in champ cars as I see it as an inferior series in terms of driver talent, but on the other he is bound to be at least as good as Sato....
Posted: 11 Apr 2006, 17:08
by DR_K13
kilcoo316 wrote:When F1 cars revert to the slick tyres in 2008 he could be well worth a punt, but not for 2007.
One one side I would tend to disregard everything achieved in champ cars as I see it as an inferior series in terms of driver talent, but on the other he is bound to be at least as good as Sato....
And where did Montoya come from?
Posted: 11 Apr 2006, 17:32
by kilcoo316
DR_K13 wrote:kilcoo316 wrote:When F1 cars revert to the slick tyres in 2008 he could be well worth a punt, but not for 2007.
One one side I would tend to disregard everything achieved in champ cars as I see it as an inferior series in terms of driver talent, but on the other he is bound to be at least as good as Sato....
And where did Montoya come from?
And what has he won?
Nothing like as much as he did in champ cars. Indeed, apart from 2004 has his team-mates not won as many or as more races as him in the same car each year?
Hardly the great domination he was acheiving across the pond.
Posted: 11 Apr 2006, 17:56
by johny
it's obvious that racing level in CCWS isn't comparable to F1, and i think bourdais won't made good things if he switch to f1
Posted: 11 Apr 2006, 18:31
by DaveKillens
Please don't forget JV came directly from a very successful CART career into F1. Although CART is not as prestigious as F1, and it is true that the better drivers are in F1, there are some decent talent in CART. Right now Bourdais is looking to capture three titles in a row, and his ability is quite impressive.
And some ex F1 drivers are in CART. Pizzonia and da Matta. And there are some very good young talent showcasing their ablities too. Andrew Ranger, Justin Wilson, Charles Zwolsman (much improved since his F3 days), and Katherine Legge, who on my opinion will develop into a better racer than Danica Patrick.
But Bourdais definitely has the driving experience and ability to be competitive in F1. He is easily better than Klien, Liuzzi, Monteiro, Ide, Sato and Albers. He may be equal to or better than Speed and Massa. But he's getting older, and the politics of F1 are fickle.
Posted: 11 Apr 2006, 20:22
by sandaflo
CART has lost its lustre following the defection of several high profile teams to the IRL. From a thriving series with 4 engine and 3 chassis manufacturers at its height, it has become a spec series. THe comparison of JV or JPM to Bourdais isn't fair when you consider the higher quality the latter two had.
Posted: 11 Apr 2006, 20:33
by m3_lover
He lost chance back in the day when he was part of the Renault driver programme, there are other frenchman now that are now more popular then him i.e-Alexandre Premat and Nicolas Lapierre. Also Cart and IRL have not been the same since they split up, it has definately lost it lusture compared to other drives.
Posted: 12 Apr 2006, 00:52
by vyselegend
I remember recently Flavio was annoyed by french journalists asking him everyday why Renault didn't have a french driver, and about Bourdais he said: "If nobody in formula one is giving him a seat, there have to be a reason" But then he refused to explain what sort of reasons it could be. Do you have an idea? Maybe he's asking for too much money...
Posted: 12 Apr 2006, 09:33
by johny
i don't know about his contract but i think it isn't a money issue, if everybody thinks like flavio he'll never have a seat.
the split of Champ and Irl has been so bad for american racing. they should think about what are they doing
Posted: 12 Apr 2006, 14:43
by RacingManiac
Just bad luck I think, there were always so many more drivers who are more than qualified for F1 but never made it because of timing or just plainly overlooked. And then there are those who are just there because they can afford to be there. IMO there is no doubt about the quality of Bourdais, just no seat is available for him at the moment....
Posted: 13 Apr 2006, 17:27
by JB
True, Champ Car (formerly CART) has lost most of its prestige after '02-'03, but it's still the top rung of open wheel road racing in the US. To suggest that it's not even fit to be a feeder series for F1 seems a bit harsh and dismissive. The current crop of F1 drivers have come from a lot of different series, including Formula Renault, GP2, F3000, F3, Nissan World Series, DTM, and Formula Nippon. Surely a repeat champion of Champ Car has the minimum credentials to be on equal footing with other drivers that didn't even win the driver's title in their last non-F1 series. Bourdais has at least the talent of Sato, Ide, Monteiro, Albers, Liuzzi, Speed, etc. He's for real. He probably won't get a shot at F1, but I would think that someone, especially Renault, would give a quality French driver at least a shot as Friday driver. But the guy is used to racing and winning, so maybe he's not even interested unless he gets a full race seat.
Posted: 13 Apr 2006, 18:33
by m3_lover
I say he needs to change his glasses they are so ugly
Posted: 13 Apr 2006, 19:28
by ketanpaul
The guy does deserve a seat but the fact is that there are simply too many racer trying to get into F1 all the time. Many of them are even better than some people on the current grid, but to get into F1 one has too have a lot of luck and be at the right place at the right time with the right finances, only then, you can get a seat.
Bourdais is just one guy who voiced his frustration through media, but there are many more racers around the world equally qualified if not more, having exceptional talent.
It is just sad that talent goes unnoticed like this..........
Posted: 17 Apr 2006, 05:57
by fwa2500
