Sebastien Bourdais

Sebastien: (on joining Toro Rosso in 2008) I am not pretending we are going to win races in 2008, though it would be awesome – but had I not tried [F1] I would have regretted it for the rest of my life. It certainly feels like it was time for me to go after a new challenge, given the right opportunity, and I think this is the case.

Sebastien: (on earning an F1 drive for 2008) It has been a long time coming, but here we are! I would like to thank everyone at Red Bull for believing in me and giving me this long-awaited opportunity to race in Formula 1. I must also thank Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing for letting me pursue my dream and allowing me to test for Scuderia Toro Rosso a few times this year.

Sebastien: (asked what attracts him to F1) Obviously Formula 1 is the fastest car on the planet - and this is where you want to be when you want to be a top driver. Having won in Champ Cars for three straight years in a row it feels a little bit like: 'What's next?' So we will have to see what the future holds exactly for Sebastien Bourdais.

Sebastien: (on testing an F1 car for Scuderia Toro Rosso at Spa, Belgium in July 2007) It is a lot of fun. Obviously you don't get the chance to test at Spa in a Formula 1 car everyday. It was a great opportunity and even though the weather isn't exactly great, it is still very enjoyable. We have been able to test in all sorts of different conditions - wet, intermediate and dry. It was very interesting.

Sebastien: (after the first test session of 2007) I was surprised myself when the time came up on the dash, but obviously there is a lot more in it as it was six or seven laps into my run when I got the best lap. We know we're not going to get it all figured out in 50 laps. I think we have some bugs to work out still but the car has a lot of potential.

Sebastien: I've got to accept the fact I might have to enter (F1) by way of the small door. This looks like a good way to do it.

Sebastien: (on the chances of a switch to F1 with the Toro Rosso team in the future) You don't get to test a Formula One (car) for three days if the team doesn't consider you for a near future, but that is totally in their hands and nothing is decided yet.

Sebastien: (after being defeated in Race Drivers' semi-final by Mattias Ekstrom in the 2006 ROC) I was a bit behind in my race against Ekstrom, so I started to push and then I locked my front wheels. I knew at once that I was in trouble and I hit the tyre wall. I tried to continue but the oil temperature warning came on and I slowed. I've had a great day: I won some races and I wasn't kicked out of first round in either competition. So that's good. We've had difficult conditions for driving today but I've had a good time.

Sebastien: (giving up his dream of F1) It's frustrating but there are loads of talented drivers who never went to F1. One can always say it's unfair but that's F1, and it's never been fair.

Sebastien (ending speculation of a switch to F1): I can't give up what I've got in America and throw everything away.

Sebastien (on an F1 drive): I don't expect anything. I'm just doing my job, enjoying myself here. I kind of hope at some point somebody is going to say, 'This kid deserves a chance.' It's going to have to happen pretty damn soon. I'm 27 and getting older. The window is getting very narrow for me and I know it. If it doesn't happen, fair enough. I'm going to have a great career in Champ Cars. I think all the positive talks we hear these days are very encouraging for the open-wheel series in America. We'll see what happens..."

Sebastien (on breaking records): No, I don't really care about it that much, breaking records. It's probably important to help bring some attention to the series, there is only so much I can do (to win) and it's not saying that I'm not going to break a record or I am or bringing pressure into the weekend. I don't need that. So I'm just going to do as well as I can, get the best out of the car, and do the very best job that I can. And if that is good enough, great.

Sebastien (NASCAR aspirations): Before I say it is my dream to race in NASCAR, I need to see if I am good first.

Sebastien (An angry Bourdais confronted Paul Tracy after 2006 Denver race, giving the Canadian veteran a shove): I just asked Paul 'What do you want from me?' I had passed him but he crashed into me. I just pushed him because he was asking for it but it didn't go any further. He just crashed us. He was obviously in big trouble. He was running out of fuel but that's no excuse to crash the competitor of your team-mate.
I gave him plenty of room. Basically he completely overshot the braking point, got sideways and ran into the side of the car.
He is on probation so I just hope the race officials do what is necessary to correct that unfair situation because it could have been a brilliant day. Despite all the struggles we worked our way back up on the last stint and would have finished second. It's even more disappointing because we worked so hard to get back to the front.

Sebastien: (on his most memorable racing achievements) My first professional title in French Formula 3. Driving for Newman/Haas and testing an F1 car.

Sebastien: (on his favorite movies) Jour de Tonnerre (French) which was Days of Thunder with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. I was fairly young when I first saw it and I watched it at least fifty times. More generally I'm a big movie fan and I saw much better ones over the years. Lord of the Rings, Phone Booth,… well I've got to stop because the list is too long!!!