Four-time Champ Car champion and former Toro Rosso driver Sebastien Bourdais believes Formula 1 lives in a “little bubble” which makes it impossible for drivers racing in America to get noticed.
The Frenchman’s comments follow a strong reaction to Haas team boss Guenther Steiner’s claim that no current IndyCar drivers are ready to compete in F1, drawing criticism from the likes of Mario Andretti and Gil de Ferran.
Adding his view, Bourdais, who was notably teammate to Sebastian Vettel at the junior Red Bull team in 2008 and replaced by Jaime Alguersuari midway through 2009, talked about the difficulties he faced in making it to the F1 grid.
“It took me three championships in the U.S and the Formula 3000 championship to finally get an opportunity,” he was quoted by Crash.net. “There is just no consideration. They are in their little bubble on their own island.
“I completely understand that the American drivers take it personally because it’s not fair, but since when is F1 fair? It’s never been fair.”
IndyCar is included on the current list of series in which the top finishers in the championship are given points towards the 40 which are required to obtain an F1 superlicence, suggesting the path is not impossible and Bourdais did admit the lack of successful transitions haven’t helped.
“I really didn’t help the Americans because I failed,” he said. “So, you see the way people can perceive Indy car drivers. [Alex] Zanardi was before me and stuff like that, and it didn’t turn into a fairytale.”
