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View Full Version : Bourdais Interview (mostly about ChampCar vs F1)



jonovision_man
02-01-08, 02:19 PM
http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2008/2/7317.html

I thought this was was particularly interesting... score one for the DP01, if he can compare performance to F1 with a straight face:


Q: The tests have shown so far that the transition from Champ Car to Toro Rosso was no big deal. Have you been surprised to be doing so well?

SB: Well, these are two different worlds. Champ Car is a series where everybody pretty much has the same equipment - tyres, engines and chassis. In Formula One everything is wide open. Every time you jump in the car there is something different whereas in Champ Car it more or less stayed the same over the last four years. Formula One is a totally different approach. Here the engineers constantly think to improve the pace of the car with new parts. The performance of the car is not that different - what is really different is the weight. Champ Cars are 150 to 200 kilograms heavier and that equates to about four to five seconds on the track. That changes the driving style - with a Formula One car you brake later and in the fast corners you can push a little bit more. It still feels different, but then I am not at the beginning of my career so it should not be a big deal to jump into a new car.