Italian web site 422race.com produced an interesting interview with Sébastien Bourdais, ousted from the Toro Rosso Formula 1 team earlier this year and who ended the season racing in the Superleague Formula series.
So what went wrong at Scuderia Toro Rosso in Formula 1? “ It started pretty well, with STR2 last year,” Bourdais revealed.
“Then the STR3 arrived and I just couldn't drive the car and (Sebastian) Vettel was flying in it. And since it was a fast car, there was nothing to say about that, it blew me away and I couldn't do anything about it.”
What was the problem with the STR3? “It was a combination of things between the rear suspension choice and the aero map. It was a car that was pretty understeering in the high-speed corners and very oversteering in the low speed corners. I just couldn't drive it. Every time we were trying to fix the rear in the slow corners, we were increasing the understeer in high speed and vice versa.”
“They carried on with the development with the STR4, which is a RB5, and happened to be the car that I had the most difficulties and the worst time to drive,” Bourdais said.
Bourdais added: “People too often forget that the 20 drivers who are in Formula One are for sure among the 30 best drivers in the world. You do not end up in Formula One because of sheer luck. But nobody cares or wants to know how you made it to Formula One. They just look at results, because that's the only thing they can measure.” And if your results are not good, people think you are not a good driver.
Sébastien Bourdais could have replaced the injured Felipe Massa at Ferrari. It did not happen and Giancarlo Fisichella got the job. The Frenchman is not surprised to see the veteran struggling at the wheel of the F60.
“It proves that Ferrari is a difficult car to drive these days, because obviously Giancarlo didn't became bad and then good and then bad again,” Sébastien said.
“He is another of those drivers who need the car a certain way and is struggling to get what he needs to perform. That's the biggest damage these days. People don't look after enough. They forget too often and too quickly that it's always an interaction between the car and the driver. If the car doesn't suit the driver, it's not going anywhere, it doesn't matter how good the guy is.”
photo:Peter Fox/Getty Images
So what went wrong at Scuderia Toro Rosso in Formula 1? “ It started pretty well, with STR2 last year,” Bourdais revealed.
“Then the STR3 arrived and I just couldn't drive the car and (Sebastian) Vettel was flying in it. And since it was a fast car, there was nothing to say about that, it blew me away and I couldn't do anything about it.”
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What was the problem with the STR3? “It was a combination of things between the rear suspension choice and the aero map. It was a car that was pretty understeering in the high-speed corners and very oversteering in the low speed corners. I just couldn't drive it. Every time we were trying to fix the rear in the slow corners, we were increasing the understeer in high speed and vice versa.”
“They carried on with the development with the STR4, which is a RB5, and happened to be the car that I had the most difficulties and the worst time to drive,” Bourdais said.
Bourdais added: “People too often forget that the 20 drivers who are in Formula One are for sure among the 30 best drivers in the world. You do not end up in Formula One because of sheer luck. But nobody cares or wants to know how you made it to Formula One. They just look at results, because that's the only thing they can measure.” And if your results are not good, people think you are not a good driver.
Sébastien Bourdais could have replaced the injured Felipe Massa at Ferrari. It did not happen and Giancarlo Fisichella got the job. The Frenchman is not surprised to see the veteran struggling at the wheel of the F60.
“It proves that Ferrari is a difficult car to drive these days, because obviously Giancarlo didn't became bad and then good and then bad again,” Sébastien said.
“He is another of those drivers who need the car a certain way and is struggling to get what he needs to perform. That's the biggest damage these days. People don't look after enough. They forget too often and too quickly that it's always an interaction between the car and the driver. If the car doesn't suit the driver, it's not going anywhere, it doesn't matter how good the guy is.”
photo:Peter Fox/Getty Images