“It really feels like the waiting game is over. To know what I'm going to be doing and to know that we can continue the relationship we started last year is good. It's a big deal in your private and professional life, so it's much better this way. It feels good that now the season is nearly started and we can focus on it,” said Bourdais for the aforementioned site.
The 4-time Champ Car winner recently received a boost from Toro Rosso owner Dietrich Mateschitz, who argued that the Frenchman was the best possible choice for the Scuderia's second racing seat in 2009. He also pointed out that, with a one-year experience in his pocket, Bourdais can only improve himself in the new season.
Mateschitz therefore put an end to allegations coming from Takuma Sato's manager that Scuderia Toro Rosso picked Bourdais because he had secured the most sponsorship money for 2009. The Japanese driver was in contention for a racing seat with STR through the winter testing, but eventually lost out to Sebastien last week.
Bourdais is set to run his first test with the Scuderia as an official 2009 race driver later today, at Jerez. He will take over from Sebastien Buemi, who topped both testing sessions at the Spanish track earlier this week running on a 2008-spec car.
“I'm looking forward to driving the new car. The results are going to be very influential on how 2009 is going to go. Obviously a good driver in a bad car is not going to do anything and the opposite is true as well. You need everything to perfectly work together,” argued the Frenchman.
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