When four-time Champ-Car champion Sebastien Bourdais announced his promotion to Formula One as part of the Scuderia Toro Rosso, there were many questions hanging in the air.
Why now? Did he not say previously that he wouldn’t consider a move to F1 unless it was to a winning team? And while it can be claimed that Toro Rosso employs the services of famed designer Adrian Newey, no one can argue that even their highest hopes rested in placing solidly in a highly competitive midfield.
The 29-year old Frenchman had established himself as a star in North America, and enjoyed a comfortable life, but as we all know, the mind of a sportsman, and in particular a racer, is always searching for competition.
His titles in Champ Car have not come easily, but after having accomplished it four times, even the cocoon-like security of dominance in the series was not enough to quench the smouldering competitiveness within. As a former F3000 champion and F1 test driver, Europe was where he had always belonged. And so when Toro Rosso offered him a test, he could not help but jump at it.
As a racer, Bourdais is known to be a master of controlling the race and extracting the best result possible, whatever the performance of his car. And while he possesses the prerequisite of every great racer, extraordinary raw speed, it is the percentages game that he is most known for. More of a Prost than a Senna, if you will, in his approach to a race.
This is not to say he is a “cruise and collect” driver, for when the situation arises, Bourdais can be one of the most aggressive on the grid. His many encounters with Paul Tracy and, of course, the pass on Justin Wilson on the last lap in Mexico 2006, is proof that Bourdais will not shy away from any wheel banging (or fist banging for that matter) when required.
Sebastian Vettel is regarded as one of the rising stars in F1. As Bourdais’ counterpart at Toro Rosso, the 20-year old German debuted in a BMW at the 2007 United States Grand Prix, finishing in eighth position, taking home one point. This was an impressive result for a rookie in his first race, and consequently put his name on the map.
It was, of course, his domination of the Formula BMW series, and the impressive pace shown as a test driver that brought him this drive, and consequently, the hype. It is not a negative spin to say hype, but merely the truth, as it stands now. Although Vettel has shown great potential, especially for his age, he has yet to display the real results that place him among the top tier of drivers in F1.
It seems like no one has a negative opinion of Vettel. At worst, he is said to be a young driver with great potential, and at the other extreme, he is the second coming of Michael Schumacher. His genuine and open personality to the media, and charmingly goofy smile do nothing to tarnish his positive public opinion.
Expectations
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8 months ago
This is the most fascinating battle in F1 at the moment.
I think Vettel is a bit overhyped at the moment in my opinion, he only has one good race result to his name(China last season) and he has only done 40 laps in races so far this season. I think he has potential for sure but we don't have enough evidence to suggest how good he is that.
Bourdais has been the better of the two so far in my opinion, in Australia Bourdais did a brilliant race, he stayed out of incidents, made good use of the safety cars and stayed ahead of faster drivers, such a shame he didn't get that 4th place. In the last 2 GP weekends Bourdais has beaten Vettel in qualifying and as Bourdais was worried about qualifying before the season he can be quite happy with himself I think so far.
I think both drivers can progress furthur and I am looking forward to seeing which of the two Sebs has the upper hand at Istanbul.
from 8 months ago
Yea I think this is a really key season for both. Vettel, because he has to show people that he can actually cash in on his potential, and Bourdais to show everyone that he isn't like the other Champ Car drivers. If Vettel crashes and burns, the tide of opinion can quickly change about him, as we know that the F1 media has a short memory and you're only as good as your last race. If Bourdais doesn't show results, then it's all but over for him, this is his only chance to show what he can do.
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