Sebastien Bourdais admitted that it took him a while to re-acclimatise to a
Formula One car after joining Scuderia
Toro Rosso for this week's
Jerez group test, but also revealed that he had enjoyed the challenge.
Speaking at the end of what was the final F1 test of the year, the Frenchman said that there was little to compare between the STR machine and his Newman/Haas Lola Champ Car, and not much that related to the F1 cars he drove for Arrows and
Renault after clinching the
FIA F3000 title in 2002.
"It has been four years since I last drove a
Formula One car, so I have enjoyed every minute this week," he smiled, "There is obviously quite a difference between the slick Bridgestone tyres which I use in the Champ Car World Series and the new-style grooved Bridgestone F1 tyres, which are narrower at the rear than Champ Car tyres.
"It was quite a challenge as the grooves offer less contact with the track surface and I have been used to more mechanical grip. At the beginning of the week, the car was a little nervous on braking and entering corners but, with some adjustments, we found the tyres to be very reliable and consistent. It has been a very interesting experience and, even though these tyres are for a single tyre championship, they have definitely progressed since I drove an F1 car in 2002."
Although he has ruled out a possible switch to F1 next season - despite STR having yet to officially confirm its line-up - Bourdais admits to hoping that his run with the team, and his new management links with Nicolas Todt, will bring him back onto the radar while he chases a possible fourth Champ Car title.
"It has been a very positive test, and I hope that I have been able to help the team at this early stage of their 2007 preparations," he said, "I certainly hope that I have helped the team make some productive changes to their car so that they could get the most out of the Bridgestones."
Of the three drivers to run the STR1 at Jerez, Bourdais set the fastest time, impressing the Faenza team as he continued its schedule following Scott Speed's accident.
"Luckily, after two days acclimatising himself, Sebastien was up to speed and able to complete our final day's programme," chief engineer, Laurent Mekies, noted, "We were again concentrating on a familiarisation programme with the Bridgestone Potenza tyres, which were the same as those we tried last week. However, the stable weather meant we were also able to try major changes to car set-up with a view to understanding how this was affected by tyres."
