Bourdais gets Toro Rosso test - Page 2

luke · 11 Dec 2006, 21:54 (Ref:1788379)

Quote:

Originally Posted by alonso11

how about Liuzzi outqualified Speed, recorded faster fastest laps and scored a point for a starter

I personally didn't follow either closely this season so I can't say much other then Liuzzi I seem to recall was much better then Scott at first, but maybe that was due to experience. Scott and Antonio were pretty much equal throughout the season and I feel Scott put in several good runs in his first year where as Antonio seemed to drop off and by the end of the year he was second pretty much to Scott and not showing his promise we all thought he had.

Leighton Irwin · 11 Dec 2006, 22:00 (Ref:1788387)

I do think seabass is pretty darn good and deserves a fair shot. I wish it was with a stronger team. It is a real test with 3 days of driving. Marco with his one day has not got much of a shot unless performs miracles.

alonso11 · 11 Dec 2006, 22:17 (Ref:1788400)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leighton Irwin

Marco with his one day has not got much of a shot unless performs miracles.

nobody thinks of Marco as a possible 2007 F1 race driver as yet, so its more of a toe in the water for him (plus a great way to grab some media attention for Honda)

Bourdais on the other hand is champion of Formula Renault, Formula 3, Formula 3000 and Champcar, plus he was very impressive during the two F1 tests he had so far with Arrows and Renault respectively. So its about time someone puts him a car for three days , sees how it goes and gives him a bloody race drive, I mean what on earth more can you possibly achieve outside F1 than Sebb did? oh, he was great in Sportcars too..

luke · 11 Dec 2006, 22:20 (Ref:1788405)

Also did Le Mans and won an IROC race in the states on an oval against the best NASCAR drivers...

JeremySmith · 12 Dec 2006, 02:56 (Ref:1788570)

I am hoping that Sebastian drives the wheels off that thing..

Go Seabass!

Chatters · 12 Dec 2006, 05:52 (Ref:1788636)

Bourdais in F1?

Even he himself has said he'd given up on his F2 ambitions...

cptkablamo · 12 Dec 2006, 06:44 (Ref:1788652)

Well I don't think anyone harbours F2 ambitions anymore...

But it is good to see...prob won't lead to anything - but a chance at least, also rumoured for a Pug 908 seat at Le Mans in 2007 - could be a busy year for Seabass...

Chatters · 12 Dec 2006, 07:12 (Ref:1788661)

Edit: F1 ambitions

WebberForWDC · 12 Dec 2006, 09:11 (Ref:1788743)

Quote:

Originally Posted by SALEEN S7R

Bourdais really deserves a shot at F1, he is extremely quick and very consistant and a gutsy racer. I would like to point out 1 thing however, yes he is a former F3000 Champion but he didnt win the title on the track, it was only because Tomas Enge was found to have traces of canabis in his body that Enge got docked several points that Bourdais took the title.

Why no test for AJ? - was able to ruffle Seabass after all.

Surely an F1 career could be just as lucrative as a NASCAR one?

MrTTraces · 12 Dec 2006, 09:23 (Ref:1788753)

Seb has said himself in previous seasons he's frustrated at the lack of F1 interest.

You'd think after all he's done in champ cars a 'better team' would step in and give him a test (no disrespect to Torro Rosso).

I'm glad to see he's finally got a test, go Seb!!!

spider · 12 Dec 2006, 09:24 (Ref:1788755)

Firstly I'm absolutely delighted that Red Bull and Gerhard Berger have thought outside the box and looked at Seb. Compared to Liuzzi and Speed in terms of experience and credentials Sebastien is certainly a considerable way ahead.

I followed Toro Rosso closely last season and both drivers didn't do themselves any favours. Both would fall off on their own and Gerhard made comments such as 'Vitantonio had his normal spin' post-race.

I'm sure it's been mentioned to Seb that with DC on a one-year deal, if he lives up to expectations there could be a space in RBR, which by '08 could be one hell of a seat to have...

alonso11 · 12 Dec 2006, 12:05 (Ref:1788888)

Quote:

Originally Posted by WebberForWDC

Why no test for AJ? - was able to ruffle Seabass after all.

Surely an F1 career could be just as lucrative as a NASCAR one?

AJ could have been in F1 years ago, he was by far more wanted by Red Bull than anybody who did the Driver Search program. Red Bull approached him more than once (obviously knowing that he isnt the same league as Fleming, Speed, Edwards, Maimen and co.) but he and his manager consistently refused all those "race in Europe" offers, saying that they want to make it big in the States and that winning in Champcars means more than winning in some European junior series Americans'd hardly ever heard of.

As a matter of fact, he is still sponsored by Red Bull and will remain that in Nascar, he just isnt a part of the Driver Development / American Driver Search programs, and therfore not a puppet on a string for Helmut Marco.

Then again, if you consider just how painfully mediocre Justin Wilson made it in F1 only to (in an extremely close battle) outqualify and outscore AJ in champcar the years followed ... AJ isnt the huge loss for the world of F1 some of the myth would make you think he is. He is better than Speed tho ..

luke · 12 Dec 2006, 13:05 (Ref:1788929)

Well put alonso11....

Nicholosophy · 12 Dec 2006, 13:21 (Ref:1788940)

There are too many other drivers in the queue. I think this is a one off and nothing will come of it.

Unless he can drag the thing a full second or two faster than the current drivers.

Red Bulldog · 12 Dec 2006, 14:28 (Ref:1788981)

Quote:

Originally Posted by NickoGP

There are too many other drivers in the queue. I think this is a one off and nothing will come of it.

I'd agree if it were one day, but three days is a serious test.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NickoGP

Unless he can drag the thing a full second or two faster than the current drivers.

If he can match them, that's out performing them. If he can go quicker, then it's a done deal!

davyboy · 12 Dec 2006, 14:32 (Ref:1788986)

I'd be thrilled to bits to see Bourdais in F1. It looked for a while there that he'd be the one that got away... a sort of Gil deFerran. But while his career on the way up has been very impressive... how good has his competition in Champcars really been over the last 3 seasons ?

luke · 12 Dec 2006, 16:19 (Ref:1789037)

Quote:

Originally Posted by davyboy

I'd be thrilled to bits to see Bourdais in F1. It looked for a while there that he'd be the one that got away... a sort of Gil deFerran. But while his career on the way up has been very impressive... how good has his competition in Champcars really been over the last 3 seasons ?

Certainly not as it once was.... But I feel just because of that reason, he is being over looked. I do believe in a merged series in the U.S. he'd still come out on top or be one of the lead drivers...
Lets not forget with his little oval experience he was running 4th or 5th with a few laps to go in his first Indy 500 when on something like lap 196 he had an incident...
He also won his first oval CART race and on pole in his first ever CART Champ Car race at St.Pete '03, I remember the likes of Nigel Mansell and Emmo praising him...

I'm certainly not his biggest fan at all, with the way he always blames others for incidents and is never wrong, but there is doubt in my humble opinion, he has been over looked by Formula 1 and others...lacking deserved credibility...for what he has achived outside of Formula 1... 3 time Champ car champion, F3000 champion in 2002 in what was quite a competitive year.

Marbot · 12 Dec 2006, 16:48 (Ref:1789051)

Berger throws Speed and Liuzzi's seats into doubt.

http://www.f1racing.net/en/news.php?newsID=136719

luke · 12 Dec 2006, 16:54 (Ref:1789054)

So its Doornbos, Karthikeyan, Bourdais and even more possibility...

f1manoz · 12 Dec 2006, 18:04 (Ref:1789104)

I think Bourdais is more than deserving of an F1 shot. He may be dominating a ChampCar series that isn't what it once was, but it's the way that he has done it that makes him look like a prospect - dominant.

He also has many of the traits mentioned above that make him perfect for the current F1 grid.

Bluewolf · 12 Dec 2006, 19:45 (Ref:1789200)

This will be interesting -- he seems very talented to me -- but on the other hand, doesn't everyone who drives for Newman/Haas -- Di Matta wasn't that impressive in his return to F1 after his domination with the Newman/Haas team. Still -- Im happy to see his get a shot, although I think he deserves a chance in a higher level car.

alonso11 · 12 Dec 2006, 21:14 (Ref:1789291)

ive just read that Bourdais and his manager have splited just recently, and Sebass went on signing a deal with Todt's son, Nicolas (who manages Massa and crack GP2 team ATR as well btw)

just prove how essential a good manager in F1 is, Nicolas Todt -> Jean Todt -> Ferrari -> STR .. there you go .. a three day test straight away, after years of nobody even mentioning his name in F1 circles.

Marbot · 13 Dec 2006, 01:25 (Ref:1789435)

Quote:

Originally Posted by alonso11

just prove how essential a good manager in F1 is, Nicolas Todt -> Jean Todt -> Ferrari -> STR .. there you go .. a three day test straight away, after years of nobody even mentioning his name in F1 circles.

So now we know where the money is coming from.

D.R.T. · 13 Dec 2006, 10:25 (Ref:1789702)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bluewolf

This will be interesting -- he seems very talented to me -- but on the other hand, doesn't everyone who drives for Newman/Haas -- Di Matta wasn't that impressive in his return to F1 after his domination with the Newman/Haas team.

In fairness, Da Matta didnt do that bad, it was more the truck he was steering that was the problem

Doc Hollywood · 13 Dec 2006, 10:37 (Ref:1789718)

Quote:

Originally Posted by D.R.T.

In fairness, Da Matta didnt do that bad, it was more the truck he was steering that was the problem

I agree, but I think it left F1 with a bad taste in their mouth when it came to signing Champ Car Champions.

Seb has a good CV, but you have to ask how good are the guys he is racing against....?

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Häkkinen to Toro Rosso?	alonso11	Formula One	35	10 Dec 2006 21:16
Toro Rosso	DeoValente	Formula One	21	14 May 2006 02:27
Toro Rosso Chassis	wi11iamm	Formula One	22	2 Dec 2005 18:47
Scuderia Toro Rosso	OSTKURVE	Formula One	2	25 Nov 2005 07:43
Squadra Toro Rosso renamed Scuderia Toro Rosso	dazbaz_99	Formula One	21	24 Nov 2005 20:46