It also contributed to the fact that I kind of wanted to go and move on to another challenge. I think obviously, at some point, you're going to fall. You're going to not win, and that would have been very hard on everybody. I think we've been extremely fortunate to win it four straight times, and it's all to the credit of, like I said, the relationship we all had together and the efforts that have been put together to achieve these results, and that was a lot of fun. I think it's always a little tough to manage that pressure, although we all kind of took the races one at a time, and that's probably one of the keys of the success we've had.
Q:
If I could quickly follow up, I'd like to ask you about the nature atmosphere of the team and Paul Newman himself. Paul is a very honourable, very honest man. We know that's not necessarily true across the board in racing. But there's that element, you've got to meet this guy, work with him, and I think he reflects a kind of a very honest team in many ways. Could you talk as well a little bit about that?
SB:
Yeah, of course. I think there is no need to deny the fact that Paul is probably the team's first supporter, and whether you have a great day or not such a great day, he's always behind, always supportive, and always pushing to get the best out of everybody, but in a good way, not putting the pressure. I think having a lot of trust in the people he's chosen who are on the team, he's obviously a great engine to that motivation and that spirit that carries through the team, which is do everything you can to win, and when you don't win, try even harder.
Q:
I'm just wondering, who do you think will be sort of the top three guys next year? With you gone obviously it seems a little more wide open than it has been the last little bit. If you were betting on who would be the champion next year in Champ Car, who would you pick?
SB:
Well, obviously I think Justin is a very strong guy, but there are a lot of open questions, who's going to be where, what and how, and I think there are quite a few rookies that have shown a lot of promises between Robert Doornbos and obviously Graham, who's got a lot of potential but had quite some bad luck which really prevented him from being a contender in the championship. But also Simon [Pagenaud] is going to be a guy to be looked at, and then you're going to have the usuals. Obviously Justin, but also Will Power is going to be very strong next year, and that's kind of a tough pick right now. I'd go probably with Justin, but we'll need to find out later.
Q:
And just to follow up, I guess, do you find of feel sort of almost like
Michael Schumacher, five years in a row he won the
F1 World Championship, I think everybody was kind of expecting him to win and, in some ways, F1 got very predictable. Do you think that your leaving is going to sort of spice things up and there will be sort of a renewed interest in Champ Car because people won't go to races thinking Sebastien is going to win all the time?
SB:
Yeah, I don't know, that's a good question, I guess. Domination sometimes for a sport is certainly not always a good thing, though we've only won so many races, and I can't say every time we come to an event, we'd be like, oh we're going to win again. I think it was still pretty unpredictable the way the race unfolded and everything. But you might be right. Maybe some guys are happy to see me leave.
Q:
Was there any moment of realisation the last three or four years that you were like really in the middle of something special and historic? What's it like, pressure or just mentality, to try to ride that wave for as long as you can when everything was sort of lining up for you?
SB:
Well, I guess it's been one of the longest waves ever if we compare it to surfing. It's certainly been a lot of fun. I think when you look back it's a big achievement, and it's also, like I said many times, it's a group success. But, as far as I'm concerned, I never really thought about what was awaiting me in the corner. I arrived in the States in '03, and I took it just as it came to me.
