Toro Rosso reportedly replaces Sebastien Bourdais with 19-year-old Jamie Alguersuari
Those pulling for Sebastien Bourdais will undoubtedly be disappointed by the latest reports emanating from the Formula One paddock. After winning the now-defunct Champ Car title four times in a row, the French driver switched to Formula One with Scuderia Toro Rosso last season, but while his team-mate Sebastian Vettel scored race wins, Bourdais never managed to do better than a couple of seventh-place finishes. Now, after his third early retirement this season at the German Grand Prix this past weekend, reports indicate that he's been given the axe.
Taking Bourdais' seat at STR for the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix will be Jamie Alguersuari, a Red Bull prodigy, recently promoted reserve/test driver for both Red Bull Racing and reigning champion in the British Formula 3 championship. Reports suggest that Alguersuari's promotion to the race seat serves as preparation for his full-time campaign next season and was fueled, so to speak, by a pending sponsorship deal with Spanish oil company Repsol, which supports Alguersuari's career. If the reports are confirmed and the 19-year-old racer starts the Hugarian GP for STR, he'll be the youngest ever to race in F1.
While the news undoubtedly comes as a disappointment for Bourdais and his fans, it surely disappoints another French multiple-champion as well. As rumors have escalated over the past few days about Bourdais' departure, five-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb publicly threw his hat into the ring to replace his countryman. Loeb previously tested an F1 car for sister team Red Bull Racing, and has long contemplated a switch of disciplines. But while Loeb's declaration infuriated Bourdais, but it looks like his move from WRC to F1 will have to wait a little longer.
[Source: Autosport | Image: Peter Fox/Getty]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Vega 9:08AM (7/15/2009)
Seems driver skill levels are a much higher in F1 than in the current US open-wheel racing world. It's a shame really. Before the whole ego-driven IRL-CART split initiated the decline it was a really world class racing series...
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Alan 11:46AM (7/15/2009)
I was viewed as minor leagues back then too. Look what happened when Alex Zinardi and Michael Andretti moved over to F1. Same story. Zinardi didnt even score a point.
Nigel Mansel retired from F1 and came to Indy cars (early 1990s, before the split) for one year. Won the championship.
I am suprised that Bourdais lasted this long.
Ian 1:21PM (7/15/2009)
Some facts.
Mansell drove in CART in both 1993 and 1994 season. He then returned to F1 and won races in F1.
Mansell was Champion in 1993 in CART and raced the whole 1994 season, but could then come in no better than 8th in that Championship. Yet he was good enough to later win in F1....
Those who beat Mansell in 1994 include lousy drivers such as.
Michael Andretti, Robby Gordon Pault Tracy and Jaques Villeneuve. The latter of course came to F1 around 1996 and was an immediate Championship contender. The CART Champ in 1994 was AL Unser Jr perhaps the best driver in the last 2 decades not to be an F1 driver (7 wins at Long Beach GP will probably never be repeated).
It's all too easy to dismiss Bourdais driving talents. Suffice to say that he was head and shoulders above guys like Glock.
Also don't auomatically think he is yet out of the STR seat. ALso one guy who admires his abilities and drivng style is one Peter Windsor. Sure SB has had a rotten record in F1 that happens for a variety of reasons. The right guy in the wrong car has happened many times in F1.
Zanardi was never going to succeed in F1 because his driving style was FAR more suited to the heavier, but powerfull CART vehicles and not the lighter and more sensitive F1 cars. Everyone saw this but SFW.
J Villeneuve came from CART to F1 and became a font runner and WDC.
JP Montoya came from a CART Championships to F1 and won many a race and for a while was the nearest competitor to a certain Michael Schumacher.
Overall driver talent is only one ingredient in making a winning combination. The type of car and its inherent characteristics can favor one driver and absolutely destroy another. ZDOn't merely dismiss drivers because of their performances for a single team in F1.. It's never that easy.
Marco Andretti, a couple of years ago, tested in a Honda and received warm reviews from the team and set a good pace immediately. But he is a mid packer these days in Indycar.
Go figure? As I say there are so many variables the easy answer is seldom the true one.
pippin4652 2:28PM (7/15/2009)
Right Ian, time to set a few things straight. You have made a few points using facts which dont quite tell the whole story..
Ian... First of all, you say 'Mansell was Champion in 1993 in CART and raced the whole 1994 season, but could then come in no better than 8th in that Championship. Yet he was good enough to later win in F1....'
Yes, he won one race out of six or seven through 1994 and 1995, he won that race because Schumacher took himself and Hill out of a dominant lead to wrap up his championship. Mansell at his best was a superior driver to Hill, yet at that race, and the others where they competed in equal machinery, Hill was a long way ahead of Mansell, showing he was past his best. This was proven in 1995 when Mansell tried to race a few races for McLaren, but was basically too fat to drive the car.
'It's all too easy to dismiss Bourdais driving talents. Suffice to say that he was head and shoulders above guys like Glock.' - The main word in this sentence is 'was' - Timo has improved massively since both his first time in F1 for Jordan, and his spell in the US. Still hardly the best driver on the grid, but he outperforms Trulli regularly enough to look respectable.
Montoya had the balls and thes speed to race in formula 1, but not the commitment or the determination to try top stay at the top, he didn't need to try as hard to be a success in America, because he found it easier.
Villeneuve won the title in by far the best car on the grid in 1997, and was run very closely by Schumacher, in the inferior Ferrari.
As for Andretti testing the Honda, there have been quite a few drivers off the top of my head who have recieved warm reviews, but Valentino Rossi got a more positive response than that from Ferrari, and his day job involves two wheels, not four.
The seldom answer isn't always the true one, but in this case, it probably is. Formula 1 is a very fickle sport, and he has had very few, if any, stand-out performances in his year and a half.
Ian 4:26PM (7/15/2009)
prippin,
Yep we agree that JPM was a muliple F1 race winner and WDC challenger in F1. Period.
By the way when JPM won the Champcar title in 1999 it was by a margin of zero points! He won the Championship by dint of having more wins in the season than Dario. That's close... That's not exactly crushing superiority to every other driver...
In 2000 JPM was 9th in the Champcar Championship......
My whole point is re judging standard of driver abilities, don't judge a book by its cover. There are so many variables. And re CART/Champcar Vs F1 until the last few seasons there was some excellent talent in both series, marginally F1 had a few more world class names. Sadly AOW has been in decline every which way the last 3 seasons. I hope F1 does not also experience similar issues (2 competitive series etc).
John Johnson 9:09AM (7/15/2009)
"But while Loeb's declaration infuriated Bourdais, but it looks like his move from WRC to F1 will have to wait a little longer."
Wat.
Also, Piquet may get ousted - he was supposed to have 40% of the points Alonso has by now (Alonso has 13, so he should have 5) - he currently has 0. There are talks of their test driver Romain Grosjean taking his seat.
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ack154 9:15AM (7/15/2009)
Ya, Piquet hasn't really shown much of anything from what I've seen. I've actually been more impressed with Sutil lately than Piquet... even though Sutil manages to get a good run going and then it all somehow falls apart every time.
John Johnson 9:20AM (7/15/2009)
Sutil does a lot with that car - I think he's got some really great potential and I know other teams are watching him. He's just gotta stop getting taken out by Raikkonen :p
Brad 5:28PM (7/15/2009)
I think Sutil can drive and has just had some very bad luck. But in the two clashes he's had with Raikkonen, they each can take the blame for one incident a piece. Yes the incident in Monaco was Kimi's fault but this last one in Germany was Sutil's.
John Johnson 5:37PM (7/15/2009)
Are you blind? He took the racing line. Kimmi came around the outside and hit him. Stewards called it a racing incident, and likely only because Kimmi was already out of the race. Even he said it wasn't Sutil's fault.
Brad 1:07PM (7/16/2009)
Yes I see just fine. Of course Kimi went around the outside, that's where he was supposed to be. Where was he supposed to be, behind him? The car coming out of the pits does not have the right of way. Sutil was on new cold tires and drifted up into Kimi. It was just a racing incident but I think Sutil could have avoided it.
John Johnson 1:13PM (7/16/2009)
Either driver could have avoided it, but the driver with the racing line always has right of way. Sutil was ahead coming into the corner, Kimmi just made a bad pass. You could see it either way I suppose, and that's likely why it's called a racing incident. Sutil couldn't have given him more room on the inside because he needed the full line to make the corner on the new tires. Kimmi was behind and just want to overtake and failed. So, I can see both sides of it I suppose.
Vetmstr 9:52AM (7/15/2009)
Piquet said that he didnt get all the upgrades Alonso has. So he might still have a seat. But I love how Toro Rossa replaced Bourdias BC he couldn't drive a garbage car well !!!! lol lol lol
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audi_arena 9:55AM (7/15/2009)
God I want to be a racecar driver...
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ack154 10:00AM (7/15/2009)
I've found that autox is the closest I can get to this feat within my budget. Not quite "racing" but a hell of a lot of fun.
Kiiks 10:01AM (7/15/2009)
No big loss... With a few new teams joining the fold next year (potentially) maybe these loose stars will get a seat after all.
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Kitko 10:11AM (7/15/2009)
Shame, really.
But, Vettel won only one race while in Torro Rosso, in Monza, where Bourdais had competitive pace but his race and qualifying were rather screwed by factors outside his reach. By that time in the 2008 season, the team lined up behind Vettel anyway.
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Kitko 10:12AM (7/15/2009)
Wait, the new driver is not called Sebastian??? How come, after Vettel, Buemi and Bourdais... who could they....
Kitko 10:13AM (7/15/2009)
.....gosh, that was supposed to come up as HOW could they
John Johnson 10:52AM (7/15/2009)
They need Loeb. Nao.