Bourdais to F1 in 2005?

[Dov]

From GrandPrix.com... http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns13310.html

His manager David Sears, the boss of Super Nova Racing, for which Bourdais won the F3000 title, is now negotiating to try to get him a drive and says that he expects to see Bourdais test an F1 car this year. Bourdais has previously tested for Arrows and for Renault. If Bourdais does get a drive it is quite possible that Newman Haas Racing might like to re-sign its former CART champion Cristiano da Matta, who looks less and less likely to be retained next year by Toyota.

[spider]

Da Matta won't be retained by Toyota, so perhaps that move is possible. I wonder if McDonalds would be tempted to follow Seb into F1, if he moved? I'd love to see Williams test him - I'm certain he'd shine - he and Webber have a very similar career pattern - see the Prost thread - and he's a born winner. I'd at least give him a test!

[Kicking-back]

This is already being discussed in the F1 forum.

It could help raise the profile of OWRS is he does move and does well.

[Dov]

Even if DaMatta isn't retained by Toyota, I think he'll do all he can to stay in Europe. If Seb does go to F1 in 2005, Newman or Newman/Haas Racing should try to sign up Justin Wilson.

[f1manoz]

Where would Bourdais go, that's the question IF he goes to F1 next year?

Williams has one seat, but I doubt Sir FW is even looking at the USA at the moment for the next big thing.

Sauber have two 'open' seats (doubt Massa will be retained) but expect those to be filled relatively shortly.

Jordan will have two empty seats at season's end and expect one pay-driver in one seat.

Jaguar have one seat open and likely to have two.

Minardi... well, don't think so.

McLaren, Ferrari, Toyota, Renault, BAR are all full-up.

[Amar7605]

Bourdais has to win the OWRS title before he goes to F1. That's the only way that F1 is going to take a look at him. Right now, he's still young and has a lot to prove.

[Amar7605]

Originally posted by spider
I wonder if McDonalds would be tempted to follow Seb into F1, if he moved?

I'd doubt it. Newman Haas, as far as I know, has this person on staff that looks for sponsorship. So I would presume that McDonalds is a Newman Haas sponsor, not Seb.

[Kicking-back]

McDonalds on that car is a business-to-business deal for Paul Newman.

Nothing to do with Bourdais other than him driving it.

[drivergrOupie]

Try not typing in all caps next time, and posting an intelligent response to the thread.

[Dov]

And you know this to be true drivergrOupie because........

[macdaddy]

One likes to see how close to the edge they can stand before falling?

[Omega99]

Originally posted by Amar7605
Bourdais has to win the OWRS title before he goes to F1. That's the only way that F1 is going to take a look at him. Right now, he's still young and has a lot to prove.

Honestly, I think his F3000 championship is enough to get him a seat. His champcar experience has undoubtedly helped him mature into an even better driver, but even without a championship he's shown enough, IMO.

If he does get a ride, hopefully it's with a top team. I imagine that's the only way he'd want to go, also. And if history has taught us anything it's that he'll be fast immediately. With all of the line-up shuffling going on in F1 next year, this is definitely a good opportunity. But who knows...

[gomick]

he wont be in the french renault car - though i think f1 needs a frenchman....

[Amar7605]

F1 needs a GOOD French driver! Not that Alesi or Panis sucked but they just didn't have good rides in their career. I agree... Seb should go to F1 only if he gets a competetive ride.

[therealdeal]

so if toyota start supplying their engines to jordan then you think he should go there? i dont think so... cuase jordan would be like a test team for the toyota f1 team

[Dov]

Amar7605, I'm not sure what you mean when you say that Jean Alesi never had a good ride in his career......he drove for Ferrari and then Benetton Renault which are two out of the "big four" teams in F1?!

[Kicking-back]

He did Dov. Not during great seasons for those teams in terms of competitiveness though.

I suspect if an F1 opportunity emerges next year, Bourdais will take it, regardless of which team it is.

It's where he wants to be.

[Amar7605]

Originally posted by Dov
Amar7605, I'm not sure what you mean when you say that Jean Alesi never had a good ride in his career......he drove for Ferrari and then Benetton Renault which are two out of the "big four" teams in F1?!

Kicing-Back, thank you for backing me up on this one. Yes, Alesi was at Ferrari and Benneton, but they were not that great at that time. And what's more, when Alesi left Ferrari is when they started their F1 domination. Talk about hard luck.

[Kicking-back]

Arguably, Ferrari's upsurge when Alesi left had a lot to do with the driver they brought in

[spider]

Remember that Schuey said that the 95 Ferrari was a superior car to the Benetton he won the championship in, so i think it's fair to say that TGF had a touch to do with the upturn in performance!!

[Dov]

From SpeedTV.com... http://www.speedtv.com/commentary/12320/

In short, he is an ideal candidate to add his name to a list including Michael Andretti, Jacques Villeneuve, Alex Zanardi, Juan Pablo Montoya and Cristiano da Matta – Champ Car champions who turned their titles into a Formula 1 opportunity. Of course, Bourdais hasn’t won the ‘04 Champ Car World Series yet, but he’s the odds-on favorite at mid-season, what with four wins, a useful points lead and a penchant for keeping his car on the road that will stand him in good stead with the new Champ Car scoring system that rewards consistency.

Unlike his predecessors, however, it is not clear Bourdais has the inside track on a decent F1 ride. With the exception of da Matta, the other recent Champ Car grads all stepped into cars and teams that, on paper at least, figured to be competitive, if not winning, propositions. Goodness knows what can and will happen in the Byzantine world of F1, but apart from Williams – where Sears is making a public pitch for his client’s services – it doesn’t appear any frontline rides are open. Ferrari, McLaren, Renault and BAR seem set. Of the rest, I can’t see Bourdais leaving a winning proposition at Newman/Haas for Minardi or Jordan, so that leaves just Jaguar and Sauber, Toyota now being out of the frame with the apparent new regime of Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli.

Just how that all shakes out remains to be seen. Haas is widely believed to be on the verge of an IRL program with Honda, while team co-owner Paul Newman is staunchly committed to Champ Cars. It’s not hard to imagine Junqueira, who has done a fine job in three Indy 500s (two with Target Ganassi, one with Newman/Haas) spearheading an IRL program and da Matta and Bourdais, should his bid for an F1 ride in ‘05 came to naught, running Champ Cars. That might not be the worst thing for Bourdais’ career, for he could learn first hand from da Matta about the trials and tribulations of a Champ Car champion trying to achieve success in Formula 1 with an uncompetitive team.