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Bourdais' Manager Denies Extension Reports

Although Swiss magazine Speedweek has started the rumor of Sebastien Bourdais already being confirmed as official race driver of Scuderia Toro Rosso for the upcoming season, the driver's manager insists nothing has been settled yet. According to Nicolas Todt, the driver is still in talks with the Faenza-based team for securing his second consecutive drive in Formula 1.

However, Todt insisted that the talks are going in the right direction and that he hopes to have a final decision from the Toro Rosso officials by the end of the week. He revealed, however, that the F1 outfit is putting a lot of thought into whether Bourdais will bring the necessary budget to sustain his seat throughout the 2009 season.

“For the moment, nothing is done. We are having discussions with Toro Rosso and also with other series, and right now nothing is set. I am quite confident that something good will come out of it in the coming days. They have been very clear about needing a driver with a budget,” said Todt in an interview for French radio Europe 1.

Last week, several media reports in Switzerland and France have shown that Bourdais is “almost certainly” going to extend his deal with the team and therefore fill in the only available racing seat for the upcoming season. Speedweek magazine was also the first publication to announce the signing of Sebastien Buemi as racing driver for Toro Rosso in 2009, so the reports issued by it were taken quite seriously by the media worldwide.

With Bourdais still to secure his seat with Toro Rosso, Japanese driver Takuma Sato can only hope for a few more days. He was the only driver in contention for a racing seat at STR – having tested with the team during the off-season – and also insisted he has found sponsorship for a full Formula 1 campaign in 2009. Toro Rosso are expected to take their decision until February 1st.
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