Bourdais: I want to do Champ Car proud.

Sebastien Bourdais says he will be looking to do the Champ Car World Series proud when he makes his long-anticipated debut in Formula 1 this season.

Bourdais, champion in the American open-wheel series for the past fours seasons, has long been linked to a switch to F1 but will finally get the chance to show what he is made of this year after signing up to partner Sebastian Vettel at Toro Rosso.

The Frenchman will be one of two former Champ Car racers on the F1 grid after former rookie of the year, and current GP2 title winner, Timo Glock joined Toyota and he admitted that he saw it as a challenge to show that drivers from Champ Car can get the job done on the Formula 1 stage.

"I want to perform well and prove that not only I am 'worth the trip' but also that the Champ Car ranks are full of great talent," he told the official Champ Car World Series website. "It's very important for me and a personal challenge to go through. Obviously the expectations of the press and the public might be a bit over the top and that's why I want to explain in every interview I do that I am not in a championship winning car like I was last year in Champ Car.

"We have a very, very little chance of winning even one race. If we make one podium it would be extraordinary. Our goal is to try and score points as many times as we can which would already be a very successful season. We will see how it unfolds, but obviously there will be quite a few challenges and we will try to keep the expectations at a realistic level."

Bourdais added that he was facing one big challenge as he seeks to get up to speed in Formula 1, with the extra pressure exerted on his body while driving the F1 machine taking some getting used to.

"One of my first challenges is to get to get my neck performance raised up which is very difficult," he said. "It's something that the more I will be driving the better it will be. Fortunately, we have enough sessions before the first race that I should be up to speed on that. The difference with driving a Champ Car is that it's a bit less important to be very, very strong and weight is not so much of a concern because of the power steering, there is quite a bit of assistance on the steering so it is a bit easier on that front. But for the neck it is hard.

"The car is almost 150 to 200 kilos lighter than a Champ Car. So for example, if you pull 3.5Gs in a Champ Car in a long sweeper, you will pull 4.5 in a Formula 1 and that makes a big difference on the neck."