Alain Prost and Sebastien Bourdais

[Liz]

http://www.autosport.com/as_asknigel_home.asp?id=20517

Dear Nigel,

Do you think that the modest and self-contained young French driver Sebastien Bourdais can be compared in any way with Alain Prost? We were discussing this at the Molson Indy Toronto following the press conference, especially regarding his ability to get out in front and just sail awy from the carnage behind him, and to drive within himself (which he is developing, or some of us think that he is.) I'm not saying that Bourdais will become another Prost, but I do see some characteristics of the man in him. What do you think?

Kate Shaw

Dear Kate,

Yes, I can see what you mean, at least to some degree. While I don't see evidence in Bourdais of the kind of one-and-for-all talent Prost immediately showed, certainly he does appear to share some of Alain's characteristics, not least that he is a very calm young man, with an exceptionally smooth driving style.

I always thought Prost's genius lay in his ability to make driving an F1 car look easy, but it's sometimes overlooked that he was also fantastically quick. I'm not sure how high the overall driving standard is in Champ cars at the moment, but Paul Tracy's pace has never been in doubt, and Bourdais is having him, as well as everyone else, for breakfast at the moment.

Frankly, we're not going to know how good he is until he gets into a decent F1 car, and that may or may not happen. But on the strength of what I saw of his F3000 drives, I'd put him above quite a lot of the current F1 regulars, and it surprises me that I haven't heard his name mentioned, at least in terms of a test.

I have removed the final part of this post, as it is quite offensive and serves no purpose other than to incite a reaction. We will not tolerate other posters being attacked.
- macdaddy

[Kicking-back]

Nigel says "While I don't see evidence in Bourdais of the kind of one-and-for-all talent Prost immediately showed, certainly he does appear to share some of Alain's characteristics"


Basically - a bit like Prost, but not as good

[Jordi]

He's a young man, still, remember Prost didn't win his first title until he was 30 years old (though he should have had one or two by then...)

At least Sebastien has a straight nose

[Kicking-back]

I think Sebastien would be an Olivier Panis level of talent.

Keeps his head down, gets on with it, but not out of the absolute top-drawer.

[spider]

Kb, he's far more aggressive than Panis ever has been. I couldn't see Panis leading the Champ Car series, I really couldn't - Olivier is quick over a lap, but not over a race - he's a natural test driver.

Bourdais has a good education with Henri Pescarolo (sp?), who holds Seb in very high regard, and has for many years. He's blown away the CC grid, and I can't see anyone beating him over the season. He's aggressive and sparks debate as he does the occasional questionable move, but he is a winner, a natural, and has a well-rounded motorsport background, as Webber did. He was runner-up in F3000, as Webber was, and has been blindingly quick since coming out of the series - making a better career choice for his first season out of F3000, as Webber did. Lets see him in F1 - I'd bet he'd outperform his team-mate and would be mighty impressive. The 2002 test with Arrows at Magny Cours proved his pace - he was quicker than Frentzen has been at the track, and I believe had an agreement to join the team for 03 - then they went under...oops...!

He needs to get into F1 to really be judged, but he's THE man in CC and the series seems on the rise, so why leave?

[BootsOntheSide]

I'd rate him above Panis personally. Right from the word go Seb was fast in both ChampCars and F3000, and he's outshone very good team-mates at times - Panis never really has. Given the chance I think he can be a good F1 driver, and he's certainly wasted in the current ChampCar field.

[Kicking-back]

Olivier won the F3000 championship in 1993, and was "racy" then.

He has been much more circumspect since breaking his legs, but on actual ability I rate him very highly.

As I do Bourdais, but neither is a megastar.

[JohnSSC]

Liz:

You can go on expecting all you want. I find it interesting that a poster is being attacked before he even gets a chance to post.

Oh, and by the way, one of the first things I learned in Journalism 101 is to get the name properly. It is: "JohnSSC."

As far as Mr. Roebuck's comments go, I tend to agree with him. Particularly on the point that Bourdais has not shown the immense talent that Mr. Prost demonstrated at the highest level of racing.

[spider]

To be a tad controversial, as much as Nigel's musings interest me, I really don't listen to his opinions anymore than all of ours - he's a friend to many drivers, a talented journo who's respected through the paddock, but to be honest, he's just another motorsport enthusiast and as much as I respect his views I don't always go along with them. None of us know the level of Bourdais's ability - F1 cars handle unlike any other series - Champ Cars are far heavier, have less mechanical and aero grip, less advanced electronics, less power through a turbo engine, a gear stick (what's that?!), and have far longer brake distances. We can only judge on what he's shown so far - he was a constant F3000 front-runner, came 2nd in Championship (on track) and then has been at the front in Champ Cars - on new tracks, in a new country, in a new series - on that basis, he's been mighty. I'm a fan of his driving style - and he was superb in the Arrows test a couple of years back, so he's got it. He is leading one of the worlds leading single-seater series and IMO deserves at least a test with a top outfit. Newman Haas love him, as they know they've got a super-focussed, blisteringly fast racer on their hands who's intelligent, personable and aggressive - if I was Peter Sauber I would be giving him a run-out, no doubt. As, though David Sears' comments are a tad tactless, what he's getting at is: Paffett is being hailed as a future star for leading a touring car championship, whilst Seb is being a tad ignored for leading arguably the worlds number 2 Single-seater series!? Which is more relevant...? That's what he was trying to get at - badly!

[Kicking-back]

Fair point.

I agree that Nigel is just a fan, although his vast experience and involvement with the sport gives him more of an insight than most of us.

But it's all about opinions - that's what makes a discussion!

[spider]

Exactly, and if we all knew everything and didn't have differing opinions forums would be pointless as we'd know all the facts anyway - and that would be dull!!!!

[jjspierx]

Spider, - I think its unfair not to credit Bourdais with being the 2002 F3000 Champion. If your going to state facts about Champcar drivers on this board, then you need to be correct about them. Making a mistake about a fact is one thing, but I'm pretty sure that you know the whole situation with 2002 F3000 series.

[Liz]

Sorry, John, just going by experience. And I find it interesting that both Mags and I are routinely attacked on this forum and the posts of the attackers remain... but I digress.

As for Mr. Roebuck, I asked his opinion since he's seen both men drive and has had the chance to compare them more closely than I have, and I respect his opinion. One thing I like to do when I am interviewing people is let them tell their own story. That was his and I found it pretty well went along with mine.

P.S. to Jordi, you leave Alain's nose out of this!

[drivergrOupie]

Originally posted by Liz
Sorry, John, just going by experience. And I find it interesting that both Mags and I are routinely attacked on this forum and the posts of the attackers remain... but I digress.

As for Mr. Roebuck, I asked his opinion since he's seen both men drive and has had the chance to compare them more closely than I have, and I respect his opinion. One thing I like to do when I am interviewing people is let them tell their own story. That was his and I found it pretty well went along with mine.

P.S. to Jordi, you leave Alain's nose out of this!

Omg finally someone who makes some sense here! you are 100% correct! sabasstian will be the next prost! he is going to f1 next year to take down the edit hehe!

Omg it must so kewl for u to get your question posted by a respected journalizt!

[Dov]

^^^^^^^^

Is this a dream or a nightmare?

[Jordi]

Originally posted by Liz

P.S. to Jordi, you leave Alain's nose out of this!

Sorry about that!
My first memory of any racing team is the Prost-Hill tandem at Williams, 1993, and a 7 year-old child does not look at suspensions or engines... he looked at noses.

[Dov]

Alain Prost's car sure had a big nose though, didn't it?! LOL

[Liz]

Well you know what they say about men with big noses.

[marcus]

Their hankerchiefs must be HUGE ??????

[Kicking-back]

Big nose, big helmet?

[spider]

Originally posted by jjspierx
Spider, - I think its unfair not to credit Bourdais with being the 2002 F3000 Champion. If your going to state facts about Champcar drivers on this board, then you need to be correct about them. Making a mistake about a fact is one thing, but I'm pretty sure that you know the whole situation with 2002 F3000 series.

That's a fair comment Jeremy, and in no way am i condoning what happened with Tomas, but I'm sure Seb would have preferred to have won the championship in different circumstances. Enge and Bourdais provided some of the best duels F3000 has ever seen, without a doubt.

Seb is more than qualified to be given a chance, and i do agree with DS when he says he should be considered along with some of the other names that have been mentioned. Seb has been at the sharp-end of the 2 single-seater categories that are the highest level outside of F1. He flew in his test in 2002, so surely he is worth a look - if I was Peter Sauber I'd be looking at him.