Bourdais' Heart Is In F1, But Says NASCAR Possible
Published: Aug 1, 2007
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With his best hope for landing a Formula One ride for 2008 possibly dashed Tuesday, Sebastien Bourdais said he'll continue to push hard for a shot on the world circuit but will take a serious look at NASCAR if one doesn't come about.
"As of right now, I'm trying to pursue everything I can in the F1 world, and we should have some news pretty soon. If it doesn't come through, then yeah, NASCAR is definitely something I would be interested in," the three-time defending Champ Car champion said from his St. Petersburg home.
Bourdais was in line to replace struggling American Scott Speed, but the Toro Rosso team announced Tuesday that 20-year-old German Sebastian Vettel will take that seat for the rest of this year. Toro Rosso co-owner Gerhard Berger told the news agency Sport Informations-Dienst that Vettel probably will drive for the team next year as well.
Still, Bourdais, a native of Le Mans, France, still could end up with Toro Rosso. The team's other driver, Vitantonio Liuzzi, has, like Speed, failed to score a point in 2007. Bourdais has tested three times for Toro Rosso, and the team took a contract option on him that was good through Tuesday. As of late Tuesday, it had not exercised the option.
"They announced Vettel today, I think that was probably enough to occupy them quite a bit, so all it says right now for us is that it doesn't mean it's not going to happen," Bourdais said. "It means we don't only have a door open at Toro Rosso; now we can try to see if there are other opportunities."
Asked if he has any other good prospects in F1, Bourdais said, "No, not really. But at least now we can talk."
Bourdais said that whether he gets a Formula One offer or not, he feels "it's time for me to move on" from Champ Car, where he has won a staggering 27 of his 68 starts for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing.
He may have an option in NASCAR with the team formed this weekend when Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing and Robert Yates Racing announced they have signed a letter-of-intent to form a partnership. Two of the principals of the combined operation, Carl Haas and Doug Yates, said Friday they've had discussions about bringing Bourdais to NASCAR.
"It's always been something I was interested in," Bourdais said Tuesday. "When I had my little adventure in IROC, it was cool and I liked it."
Bourdais drove a stock car in the four-race IROC series in 2005 and earned a surprise victory at Texas against the likes of Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth and Helio Castroneves. After winning his second Champ Car that season, Bourdais called Martin to see whether there might be a chance to drive one of Roush Racing's Fords.
"It didn't happen," Bourdais said in 2006. "But I would have liked to have given it a try in a real stock car to see if I had what it takes. Really, it would be more to prove it to myself than anything else, but also maybe as a backup if [American] open-wheel racing was to come to an end."
Bourdais makes it clear now that his heart is in F1. He and his wife, former USF track athlete Claire Ragot, have an 8-month-old daughter, Emma. He says they would like to get back to Europe to be closer to family.
And at 28, he knows his window of opportunity to race on the world circuit is closing.
"We've been working really hard at it," he said. "It's a strange and complicated world, so we'll see what happens."
