Sébastien Olivier Bourdais (born 28 February 1979) is a French professional racing driver. He is one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, having won 37 races. He won four successive championships under

Champ Car World Series Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ( ...

sanction from 2004 to 2007. He drove in

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

for the

Toro Rosso Scuderia Toro Rosso (; literal translation of "Red Bull Racing Team"), commonly known as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, was an Italian Formula One racing team. It was one of two Formula One teams owned by Austrian beverage company Re ...

team during , and the start of the 2009 season, returned to America in the united

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...

in 2011, and has raced

sports cars A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

throughout his career, winning his home race, the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

in the GTE-Pro class in 2016. He last competed in the NTT IndyCar Series in 2021, driving the No. 14 car for A. J. Foyt Racing.

Early years

Karting

Born into a racing family in

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

(his father

Patrick Patrick may refer to: * Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People * Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

raced in touring cars, hill climbs and sports cars), Bourdais began his racing career at age 10 in

karts Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...

. During the early 1990s, he competed in a variety of karting championships, winning the Maine Bretagne League in 1991 and the Cadet France championship in 1993. Bourdais was part of the winning Sologne Karting team which won the 1996 24-hour Le Mans kart race at the Circuit Alain Prost on a Merlin chassis with Atomic motors.

Junior formulae

Bourdais progressed to

single-seater An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have the ...

racing in 1995, finishing 9th in the Formula Campus by Renault and Elf Championship. He then spent two years in the

French Formula Renault Championship The Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup (WEC) was a Formula Renault 2.0 championship that replaced the Championnat de France Formula Renault 2.0 as of 2008,French F3. He won the series outright in 1999, with eight wins and three poles.

Formula 3000

Following his success in the lower formulae, Bourdais joined the Prost Junior Team in the International F3000 Championship. He finished ninth in the series with one pole and a best finish of second. In 2001, Bourdais moved to the

DAMS A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...

team in Formula 3000 and took his first win in the series at Silverstone. He changed teams again for

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, taking his

Super Nova Racing Super Nova Racing was a British racing team that has competed in International Formula 3000, Formula 3000/GP2 Series, GP2 and the A1 Grand Prix series. Super Nova first entered racing in 1991. Super Nova was a new incarnation of the pre-existing ...

car to three victories and seven pole positions. He beat

Giorgio Pantano Giorgio Pantano (born 4 February 1979) is an Italian professional racing driver who drove for the Jordan Formula One team for much of the 2004 season before being replaced by Timo Glock. He also raced in Formula 3000. He retired from racing at ...

to the championship by two points after

Tomáš Enge Tomáš Enge (; born 11 September 1976) is a Czech former professional racing driver who has competed in many classes of motorsport, including three races in Formula One. He has twice been sanctioned professionally for drug offences. Career Born ...

, who had scored the most points, was penalised for failing a drug test.

DTM

After his Formula 3000 career and with no prospects for graduation to Formula 1, Bourdais signed with

Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Grou ...

to race in the DTM in 2003.His manager, David Sears, inserted a clause in his contract which allowed him to break his contract without penalties in the event that he managed to secure a drive in Formula 1,

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed tr ...

or the

Indy Racing League The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...

. Bourdais tested for Opel but did not drive in a DTM race because he managed to secure a drive in CART for 2003. Bourdais was to be paid €250,000 for his 2003 season with Opel.

Champ Car career

Following in the footsteps of recent F3000 graduates such as

Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born September 20, 1975) is a Colombian racing driver. He won the International F3000 championship in 1998, the CART FedEx Championship Series in 1999 in his debut year in the series, and the IMSA WeatherTech ...

and

Bruno Junqueira Bruno Junqueira (born November 4, 1976) is a Brazilian race car driver who most recently competed in the IRL IndyCar Series. He is a former Formula 3000 champion and three-time runner-up in the Champ Car World Series. Racing career Early c ...

, Bourdais moved to

Champ Car Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ...

racing in the United States and joined

Newman/Haas Racing Newman/Haas Racing was an auto racing team that competed in the CART and the IndyCar Series from 1983 to 2011. The team operations were based in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Newman/Haas Racing was formed as a partnership between actor, automotive enth ...

for the 2003 CART season. At

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

, Bourdais became the first rookie since

Nigel Mansell Nigel Ernest James Mansell, (; born 8 August 1953) is a British retired racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship (1992) and the CART Indy Car World Series ( 1993). Mansell was the reigning F1 champion when he moved over ...

to claim pole position for his very first race. However, he did not finish higher than 11th until his fourth race, when he led 95 laps en route to his first Champ Car victory at

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently host ...

. He followed this up with another victory at the

Lausitzring The Lausitzring (formally known as the Dekra Lausitzring for ownership reasons) is a race track located near Klettwitz (a civil parish of Schipkau, Oberspreewald-Lausitz district) in the state of Brandenburg in northeast Germany, near the bo ...

. By the end of the season, he had earned five more podium finishes, including a win from the pole at

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. With a runner-up finish in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, he clinched the Rookie of the Year title and finished 4th in the overall standings. Bourdais was paid US $70,000 to drive for Newman/Haas Racing in 2003. Staying with Newman-Haas for 2004, Bourdais dominated the Champ Car series with seven wins and eight poles in his McDonald's-sponsored

Lola Lola may refer to: Places * Lolá, a or subdistrict of Panama * Lola Township, Cherokee County, Kansas, United States * Lola Prefecture, Guinea * Lola, Guinea, a town in Lola Prefecture * Lola Island, in the Solomon Islands People * Lola ...

, beating his teammate Junqueira by 28 points. His record also included podium finishes in 10 out of 14 events and qualifying results no lower than third all season. Sebastien Bourdais 2007

Bourdais successfully defended his Champ Car title in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

with five wins in six races towards the end of the season, again with the Newman-Haas/Lanigan team. That May, he also finished 12th in his first

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

. Bourdais won a third consecutive Champ Car title in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

. His season began with four consecutive victories at Long Beach, Houston, Monterrey, and Milwaukee, although his winning streak was ended by the emergence of

A. J. Allmendinger Anthony James "A. J." Allmendinger (born December 16, 1981) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Kaulig Racing. Allmendinger's professi ...

, who won three races in a row through the middle of the season. Bourdais responded with a commanding victory from pole at San Jose, leaving him leading the Champ Car points standings. However, an incident with his arch-rival

Paul Tracy Paul Anthony Tracy (born December 17, 1968) is a Canadian-American former professional auto racing driver who competed in CART, the Champ Car World Series and the IndyCar Series. He is known by the nicknames "PT" and "the Thrill from West Hill". ...

that knocked him out on the final lap of the following race in Denver, and a subsequent win by Allmendinger narrowed the gap between the two. Bourdais's win in Montreal and Allmendinger's DNF had widened his points lead to 62 points with three races left, and Bourdais clinched the championship at the next race in Surfers Paradise despite a weak performance in that race. Bourdais became the first Champ Car driver to win three consecutive titles since

Ted Horn Ted Horn (February 27, 1909 – October 10, 1948), born Eylard Theodore Von Horn, was an American racecar driver. He won the AAA National Championship in 1946, 1947 and 1948 and collected 24 wins, 12 second-place finishes and 13 third-place ...

achieved the hat trick in 1948. Bourdais won a fourth consecutive Champ Car title in 2007 with victory at Lexmark Indy 300 on 21 October.

Formula One career

Pre-champ car

In 2002, Bourdais got his first F1 test with the Arrows team and was signed on to drive for the team but the team was on the verge of bankruptcy. In December he tested for

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

at Jerez but fellow Frenchman

Franck Montagny Franck Montagny (born 5 January 1978) is a retired French professional racing driver. He briefly raced for the Super Aguri Formula One team in 2006. Early career Born in Feurs, Loire, Montagny started racing karts there in 1988, winning the cade ...

secured the test drive instead of Bourdais.

Toro Rosso

Sebastien Bourdais 2008 Japan free practice

Bourdais returned to F1 in 2007 after being given several tests with

Scuderia Toro Rosso Scuderia Toro Rosso (; literal translation of "Red Bull Racing Team"), commonly known as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, was an Italian Formula One racing team. It was one of two Formula One teams owned by Austrian beverage company Re ...

. On 10 August 2007 it was announced Bourdais would replace

Vitantonio Liuzzi Vitantonio "Tonio" Liuzzi (born 6 August 1980) is an Italian professional racing driver who formerly raced in Formula One for the Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Force India and HRT teams. Karting Born in Locorotondo, BA, Apulia, Liuzzi, like many au ...

at Red Bull's b-team, Toro Rosso, as team-mate to Sebastian Vettel. On 16 March 2008 Bourdais competed in his first Formula One Championship race, the 2008 Australian Grand Prix in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. After qualifying in 17th position he took advantage of mistakes made by other drivers, in the first Formula One race since the 2001 San Marino Grand Prix without traction control, and worked his way up to fourth. However, with three laps remaining an engine problem forced Bourdais to retire, but he was still classified 8th having completed more than 90% of the race distance. He later inherited seventh place (and two Championship points) after the disqualification of

Rubens Barrichello Rubens "Rubinho" Gonçalves Barrichello (, ; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who competed in Formula One between and . He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 111 T ...

. Bourdais qualified ninth for the

Belgian Grand Prix The Belgian Grand Prix (French: ''Grand Prix de Belgique''; Dutch: ''Grote Prijs van België''; German: ''Großer Preis von Belgien'') is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula One World Championship. The first national race of ...

. During the race he quickly gained places and held on to fifth place for much of the distance, getting as high as 3rd and was on course for a podium position. As the rain fell harder on the last lap he was overtaken by several cars on wet tyres and finished 7th. After the race, an emotional Bourdais was close to tears following the result. This marked his best weekend of the season and his first World Championship points since Melbourne. Bourdais qualified in fourth place for the 2008 Italian Grand Prix. However, his car would not select first gear on the grid and had to start from the pit lane, a lap down (as the race started behind the safety car, there was no warm-up lap). Although he eventually finished a lap behind the race winner, team-mate Vettel, he set the second-fastest lap of the race; only Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen went faster. At the 2008 Japanese Grand Prix he was 6th on the road but received a 25-second penalty for causing an avoidable accident with

Felipe Massa Felipe Massa (, born 25 April 1981) is a Brazilian racing driver. He competed in 15 seasons of Formula One between 2002 and 2017, where he scored 11 Grand Prix victories, 41 podiums and finished as championship runner-up in 2008 by one poin ...

dropping him to 10th. Few agreed with the decision –

ITV Sport ITV Sport is a sport producer for ITV. It was formed following the merger between Granada Sport and Central Sport.Martin Brundle Martin John Brundle (born 1 June 1959) is a British former racing driver, best known as a Formula One driver and as a commentator for ITV Sport from 1997 to 2008, the BBC from 2009 to 2011, and Sky Sports since 2012. Brundle contested the 1 ...

had stated during live TV coverage of the race that he felt Massa might receive a penalty, whilst his colleague James Allen stated that 99% of experts he spoke to felt that Bourdais did not deserve a penalty; the FIA were under such public scrutiny at the time following a string of controversial decisions that they made the unprecedented step of releasing publicly "stewards only" footage of the incident, to justify the decision. Bourdais tested significantly for the Toro Rosso team during the winter, though he was uncertain of a drive heading into the new year. On 6 February 2009 however he was confirmed as a Toro Rosso driver for a second year, partnering Swiss rookie

Sébastien Buemi Sébastien Olivier Buemi (born 31 October 1988) is a Swiss professional racing driver, who competes in the FIA Formula E Championship for Envision Racing. He competed for Scuderia Toro Rosso in Formula One from 2009 to 2011. After leaving Formula ...

. Despite two points finishes in the year at the

Australian Grand Prix The Australian Grand Prix is an annual motor racing event which is under contract to host Formula One until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Grand Prix has moved frequently with 23 different venu ...

and in

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

, Bourdais struggled to match his less experienced team-mate. In

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Bourdais struck Buemi's car as the field attempted to avoid a spun

Jarno Trulli Jarno Trulli (; born 13 July 1974) is an Italian racing driver. He regularly competed in Formula One from 1997 to 2011, driving for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault, Toyota, Lotus Racing and Team Lotus. His best result in the World Drivers' Cham ...

on the first lap, ending the race for both drivers. At the

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Ch ...

Bourdais collided with

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...

driver

Heikki Kovalainen Heikki Johannes Kovalainen (; born 19 October 1981) is a Finnish racing driver competing in the Japan Rally Championship for Rally Team AICELLO. He raced in Formula One between 2007 and 2013 for the Renault, McLaren, Team Lotus, Caterham and ...

, again ending the race for both. At the

German Grand Prix The German Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Deutschland) was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history; the Nürburgring in R ...

he suffered a mechanical failure after qualifying last by over a second. On 16 July 2009, Toro Rosso announced that Bourdais would no longer be driving for the team. Toro Rosso's Franz Tost said the partnership had not met up to his expectations, and Bourdais would be replaced as of the

Hungarian Grand Prix The Hungarian Grand Prix ( hu, Magyar Nagydíj) is a motor racing event held annually in Mogyoród. Since 1986, the race has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship. History Origins The first Hungarian Grand Prix was held on 21 ...

. Bourdais was advised by counsel to file suit for breach of contract by Toro Rosso, as he had a viable case. Toro Rosso settled the matter with a $2.1 million payment to Bourdais to avoid litigation.

24 Hours of Le Mans

Bourdais has frequently contested the famous 24-hour race of his hometown, entering for the first time in 1999 (aged only 20) in a Porsche 911 GT2 run by

Larbre Compétition Larbre Compétition is a French auto racing team founded in 1988 by Jack Leconte. Based at the Circuit du Val de Vienne in Le Vigeant, Larbre has had considerable success in the Porsche Carrera Cup, French GT Championship, and international ...

. The car, which he shared with Pierre de Thoisy and

Jean-Pierre Jarier Jean-Pierre Jacques Jarier (born 10 July 1946) is a French former Grand Prix racing driver. He drove for Formula One teams including Shadow, Team Lotus, Ligier, Osella and Tyrrell Racing. His best finish was third (three times) and he also to ...

, retired after 134 laps with engine failure. He returned in 2000, finishing fourth with

Emmanuel Clérico Emmanuel Clérico (born December 30, 1969) is a French racing driver. He started his single-seaters career French Formula Three Championship whose best finish of second in his debut season. He raced in International Formula 3000 from 1994-1995. I ...

and

Olivier Grouillard Olivier Grouillard (born 2 September 1958) is a racing driver from France. He started racing go-karts from the age of fourteen competing in events such as the Volant Elf. He progressed to Formula Renault winning the title before Grouillard compet ...

for the

Pescarolo team Pescarolo Sport was a motorsport team based in Le Mans, France and founded in February 2000 by French racing driver Henri Pescarolo and his friend and partner, French publisher François Granet. They raced in the Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours ...

behind the three dominant Audis. His next three appearances did not go so well. He shared a

Courage C60 The Courage C60 was a Le Mans Prototype (LMP) racing car built by Courage Compétition in 2000, and used in international sports car races until 2006. A replacement for the Courage C52, it was Courage's first all-new prototype since the Courag ...

with

Jean-Christophe Boullion Jean-Christophe "Jules" Boullion (born 27 December 1969) is a French professional racing driver who raced in Formula One for the Sauber team. Career Born in Saint-Brieuc, near Côtes d'Armor, Boullion started karting in 1982 and moved to c ...

and

Laurent Rédon Laurent Redon (born 5 August 1973) is a former race car driver from Loire, France. Redon began his professional racing career in the French Formula Three Championship, winning it in 1995. He then moved to International Formula 3000 where he finis ...

in 2001 but it retired after 271 laps. He drove the same model the next year and finished ninth in the LMP900 class with Bouillon and

Franck Lagorce Franck Lagorce (born 1 September 1968 in L'Haÿ-les-Roses) is a racing driver from France. He participated in two Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 6 November 1994. He scored no championship points. Career Lagorce competed in French Formula Fo ...

. He missed the 2003 race and returned in 2004, only for the car he shared with

Nicolas Minassian Nicolas Minassian (born 28 February 1973) is a French professional racing driver of Armenian descent. After finishing 2nd place in the 1993 Formula Renault Eurocup, Marseille-born Minassian graduated to the French Formula Three Championship whe ...

and

Emmanuel Collard Emmanuel Collard (born 3 April 1971) is a French professional racing driver. He is a former member of the Porsche Junioren factory team, but also drives for other marques. Born in Arpajon, Essonne, Collard is the winner of the Le Mans Serie ...

to retire after 282 laps. Bourdais' next assault on Le Mans would come at the wheel of a factory-backed

Peugeot 908 HDi FAP The Peugeot 908 HDi FAP is a sports prototype racing car built by the French automobile manufacturer Peugeot to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, starting in 2007 and eventually winning in 2009. This effort, in development sin ...

in 2007. The car he shared with Stéphane Sarrazin and

Pedro Lamy José Pedro Mourão Lamy Viçoso, OIH, known as Pedro Lamy (; born 20 March 1972) is a Portuguese professional racing driver currently racing in endurance races teaming up with Mathias Lauda and gentleman driver Paul Dalla Lana. He was the fir ...

finished the race second behind the winning Audi R10 TDi, despite an embarrassing slide on the first lap in wet conditions that cost Bourdais a place to one of the Audis, and car problems forcing him to park the car for the last minutes of the race, waiting for the lead R10 to cross the line. In his second Le Mans as part of the Peugeot factory team, in 2009, he finished in second place, one lap behind the winning Peugeot. Bourdais was to drive the pole-winning No. 3 Peugeot in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, but a suspension failure halted co-driver

before Bourdais could turn one lap in the race.

Superleague Formula

After leaving Formula One, Bourdais signed up to drive the

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA Euro ...

car in the Superleague Formula series. He won on his debut weekend at the 2009 Estoril round in the Super Final. Bourdais won again at the next round, winning race 1 of the 2009 Monza round. He returned for the 2010 season racing for Olympique Lyonnais.

Sports and touring car racing career

While racing in the junior formulae and Champ Cars, Bourdais made several appearances in other championships. He won the

Spa 24 Hours The 24 Hours of Spa is an Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing event for cars held annually since 1924 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. It is currently sponsored by TotalEnergies. History The Spa 24 Hours was ...

in 2002 with

Christophe Bouchut Christophe Bouchut (born 24 September 1966 in Voiron, Isère) is a French professional racing driver. He currently competes in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, driving for Dexwet-df1 Racing and Alex Caffi Motorsport in a part-time effort. He won th ...

David Terrien David Terrien (born 27 October 1976 in Nantes) is a French racing driver. He has competed in such series as International Formula 3000 and the French Formula Three Championship The French Formula Three Championship was a motor racing series for ...

and

Vincent Vosse Vincent ( la, Vincentius) is a male given name derived from the Roman name Vincentius, which is derived from the Latin word (''to conquer''). People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003), Maltese sculptor *Vincent van Gogh ...

in a

Chrysler Viper GTS-R The Chrysler Viper GTS-R (also known as the Dodge Viper GTS-R when raced in North America) was a successful racing variant of the Dodge Viper developed in conjunction with Chrysler of North America, Oreca of France, and Reynard Motorsport of th ...

. He also won his class at the

2006 12 Hours of Sebring The 2006 12 Hours of Sebring was the 54th running of this event, and took place on March 18, 2006. The race was sponsored by Mobil 1 and was the opening race of the 2006 American Le Mans Series season run by IMSA. This race marked the first ti ...

in a

Panoz Esperante The Esperante is a sports car made by Panoz, an American car manufacturer. First generation There have been several Esperante models: the base model GT, the GTLM, the GTS, the JRD (an aftermarket upgrade brand similar to Roush Mustangs), the ...

. In 2005 he also competed in the

International Race of Champions International Race of Champions (IROC) was a North American auto racing competition, created by Les Richter, Roger Penske and Mike Phelps, promoted as an equivalent of an American motorsports All-Star Game. Despite its name, the IROC was primar ...

, winning his first stock car race at

Texas Motor Speedway Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24 ...

. In 2009, he set the official lap record at Sebring International Raceway, during the 12 Hours of Sebring. In 2010, Bourdais raced with Scott Tucker,

and

Sascha Maassen Sascha Maassen (born 28 September 1969 in Aachen, Germany) is a veteran sports car driver. Early career Maassen began his career in karts, and moved to cars in 1989, in Formula Ford 1600. During the early 1990s, he raced in the German Formula 3 s ...

for Crown Royal in a Level 5 Motorsports prepared Daytona Prototype in the prestigious

Rolex 24 at Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layout ...

, held at Daytona International Speedway in Florida. Bourdais recorded incredibly fast laps before the car retired due to an engine failure with Collard at the wheel. In October 2010, Bourdais drove with Jonathon Webb in the Mother Racing

Ford Falcon Ford Falcon is an automobile nameplate applied to several vehicles worldwide. * Ford Falcon (North America), an automobile produced by Ford from 1960 to 1970. * Ford Falcon (Argentina), a car built by Ford Argentina from 1962 until 1991. * Fo ...

V8 Supercar in the

Gold Coast 600 The Gold Coast 500 (formally known as the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500) is an annual motor racing event for Supercars, held at the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia. The event has been a regular part o ...

. In October 2011, Bourdais drove with

Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup (born 6 February 1983) is an Australian professional racing driver competing in the Supercars Championship. He currently is team principal for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He has driven the No. 88 Holden ZB Commodore, won a rec ...

in the Team Vodafone

Holden Commodore The Holden Commodore is a full-size car that was sold by Holden from 1978 to 2020. It was manufactured from 1978 to 2017 in Australia and from 1979 to 1990 in New Zealand, with production of the locally manufactured versions in Australia endin ...

V8 Supercar in the

, winning Saturday's opening race and finishing second in the second race landed Bourdais the inaugural

Dan Wheldon Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 and 2011, and was co-winner ...

Memorial Trophy, awarded to the international driver who scored the most points over the Gold Coast weekend. Wheldon had been set to contest the event but lost his life in the 2011 IndyCar season finale just a week earlier. Winning the V8 Supercar race meant that he is the only driver to have won a race at the

Surfers Paradise Street Circuit The Surfers Paradise Street Circuit is a temporary street circuit in Surfers Paradise, in Queensland, Australia. The beach-side track has several fast sections and two chicanes, having been shortened from an original length in 2010. It is the ...

in both Champcar/Indycar, as well as V8 Supercar. He has also participated in the

Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most rece ...

once, finishing ninth with

Lee Holdsworth Lee Holdsworth (born 2 February 1983) is a semi-retired Australian racing driver. He won the 2021 Bathurst 1000 alongside Chaz Mostert and finished his full-time career after the 2022 season, after nearly two decades of racing. He plans to retur ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

. In July 2012, Bourdais won the inaugural Brickyard Grand Prix

Rolex Sports Car Series The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed ...

race at

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United State ...

, teaming with Alex Popow in the No. 2 Starworks Motorsport Riley-Ford

Daytona Prototype A Daytona Prototype is a type of sports prototype racing car developed specifically for the Grand American Road Racing Association's Rolex Sports Car Series as their top class of car, which replaced their main prototype racing class, specifically ...

. In October, Bourdais teamed up again with

in the Team Vodafone

V8 Supercar for the

, again taking the victory on Saturday and scoring enough points on Sunday to win the event. This also awarded him the Dan Wheldon Memorial Trophy for the second time. He won the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2014 in the Action Express Corvette DP with

João Barbosa João Barbosa (born 11 March 1975 in Porto, Portugal) is a Portuguese auto racing driver. He currently competes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Sean Creech Motorsport in the LMP3 class. Before the 2021 Six Hours of the Glen, ...

and

Christian Fittipaldi Christian Fittipaldi (born 18 January 1971) is a Brazilian former racing driver who has competed in various forms of motorsport including Formula One, Champ Car, and NASCAR. He was a highly rated young racing driver in the early 1990s, and parti ...

. In

he finished second at the 24 Hours of Daytona and claimed the win at the 12 Hours of Sebring, both with an Action Express Corvette DP. On 22 November 2019, the day it was announced he had lost his IndyCar series ride, Bourdais was announced as one of the drivers for the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing/ JDC-Miller Motorsports entry, alongside Joao Barbosa.

IndyCar career

Sebastien Bourdais car - 2015 Indianapolis 500 - Stierch

Bourdais made his IRL debut at the 2005 Indianapolis 500. In his first full-time season in the IRL (2011) with Dale Coyne, Bourdais wound up 23rd in the championship, scoring the fastest race lap at Edmonton. A switch to Dragon Racing Team for 2012–13, first with the ill-fated Lotus, then with improved Chevrolet power, he finished 25th and 12th, respectively, in the IndyCar championship. By 2014, Bourdais broke through for two pole positions and one victory. By midpoint in the 2015 season, his second year driving for

Jimmy Vasser James Vasser Jr. (born November 20, 1965) is an American former racing driver. Vasser won the 1996 CART IndyCar championship with Chip Ganassi Racing, and scored ten victories in the series. Vasser was the last American to win the CART champio ...

's KV Racing team alongside teammate Stefano Coletti, Bourdais's stock steadily rose, to top 20 status in the world drivers' ranking. On 20 July 2014, having won the 1st heat race in Toronto, Sébastien Bourdais joined

Al Unser Jr. Alfred Unser Jr. (born April 19, 1962), nicknamed "Little Al", "Al Junior", or simply "Junior", is a retired American race car driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner. History Unser was born into a racing family in Albuquerque, New Mexic ...

and

Ryan Hunter-Reay Ryan Christopher Hunter-Reay (born December 17, 1980) is a professional American racing driver best known as a winner of both the Indianapolis 500 (2014) and the IndyCar Series championship in 2012. In each accomplishment, Hunter-Reay became th ...

as the third driver in the history of organised motorsport to score open-wheel Championship Racing victories, under three sanctioning bodies (e.g., CART, and CCWS, and IRL sanction), in North America. Against stiff opposition, Bourdais finished 2014 scoring 5 top-5s and 10th overall in the 2014 IRL championship. On 31 May 2015, in the second heat race at Belle Isle, Detroit, in a drive from far back on the grid harkening back to

Stefan Bellof Stefan Bellof (20 November 1957 – 1 September 1985) was a German racing driver. Bellof was the winner of the Drivers' Championship in the 1984 FIA World Endurance Championship, driving for the factory Rothmans Porsche team. His lap record ...

at Monaco in 1984, effortlessly carving his way by lesser drivers on a tight, composite street circuit, in heavy rain, breaking through with an impressive, high-profile victory and fastest race lap, Bourdais recorded his 33rd victory in

American Championship car racing American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2022, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar. Competitive events ...

, just behind Al Unser Jr. with 34. On 12 July 2015, at the

Milwaukee Mile The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectato ...

, Bourdais dominated the field and had the entire field a lap down at one point and won, his second of the 2015 season. He finished 10th in points. After KV Racing went down to one team for 2016, Bourdais struggled with a lone win again at Detroit. He finished in 14th in points for 2016. In October 2016, it was announced that Bourdais would make the change to Dale Coyne Racing to drive the number 18 for the 2017 season. His KVSH race engineer Olivier Boisson would also follow him to DCR. In his first race back to DCR, Bourdais won the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg to start the 2017 season coming from last after a qualifying crash, on 12 March 2017. He backed this up with another recovery drive at the Long Beach race, starting from ninth and making an early rear wing change, to finish second, extending his lead in the series standings. 2019 DXC Technology 600 19

On 20 May 2017, Bourdais was involved in a single-car accident while qualifying for the

. He suffered multiple fractures to his pelvis and a fracture to his right hip. The surgery was successful but Bourdais was forced to sit out for most of the season to recover. Bourdais would return at Gateway and run the final three races of the season. In 2018, Bourdais returned to the Dale Coyne Racing Team now partnered with investors James "Sulli" Sullivan and former driver

as Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan. The team also found steady sponsorship in the form of SealMaster and SportClips Haircuts. Bourdais started The Firestone St. Petersburg Grand Prix in 14th place. He ended up losing a tire on the opening lap but the misfortunes of

Will Power William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...

and

Tony Kanaan Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho (born 31 December 1974), nicknamed TK, is a Brazilian racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 6 Toyota Corolla E210 for Full Time Bassani a ...

saved him from going a lap down. He went on an off sequence pit strategy and found himself 3rd with a handful of laps to go. On the final restart,

Alexander Rossi Alexander Michael Rossi (born September 25, 1991) is an American professional racing driver and podcast host. He currently competes full-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP. Rossi is best known for winning ...

divebombed the first corner and got his tires locked up on the slick airport runway paint and got into race leader

Robert Wickens Robert Tyler Wickens (born March 13, 1989) is a Canadian racing driver from Guelph, Ontario, driving in the Michelin Pilot Challenge for Bryan Herta Autosport. In 2009 he finished in second place in the FIA Formula Two Championship, and in 2010 ...

who had led 67 laps that day and Bourdais snuck by to win. It was his first win since last year at St. Petersburg and his first since the injury. Bourdais was emotional in victory lane and said "he never doubted that he would run in IndyCar again". Bourdais went on to win pole at the very next race in Phoenix, his first on an oval since 2006. Bourdais was also the only driver to lead laps at each of the first four races of the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season. On 22 November 2019, Dale Coyne Racing announced that Bourdais would not return to the team in 2020. On 4 February 2020, it was announced that Bourdais joined A. J. Foyt Racing to drive part-time in the 2020 IndyCar Series season, running the races at St. Petersburg, Barber Motorsports Park, Long Beach and Portland. He finished fourth in the rescheduled St. Petersburg finale, an effort that kept the entry in the Leaders' Circle program for 2021. On 15 September, Bourdais was confirmed as a full-time driver for Foyt in 2021. At the season finale at Long Beach Bourdais announced that 2021 would be his last year competing full time in the IndyCar Series and that he intended to focus his efforts on sports car racing in the future. Bourdais however did not rule out racing in a select number of IndyCar events in 2022 and beyond, including the Indianapolis 500.

Other racing

In 2005, Bourdais competed in the 29th season of the

, racing

stock cars Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

against a field of 12 drivers from 8 different US-based racing series, winning 1 race in the 4 race season and finishing 5th in the overall standings.

Motorsports career results

Career summary

;Notes * Includes points scored by other Sevilla FC drivers. * Includes points scored by other Olympique Lyonnais drivers. ^* Season still in progress.

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

American open–wheel racing results

(

)

CART/Champ Car

: ^{^} New points system introduced in 2004

IndyCar Series

(

)

Indianapolis 500

Complete Formula One results

(

) ^† Did not finish the race but was classified as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.

Superleague Formula results

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Sports car racing

Le Mans 24 Hours results

American Le Mans Series results

: ¹ Driver competed for the

Intercontinental Le Mans Cup The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (shortened ILMC) was an endurance sports car racing tournament organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) started in 2010.

, no points awarded for the

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The American Le Mans' hea ...

Le Mans Series results

: ¹ Driver competed for the

Intercontinental Le Mans Cup The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (shortened ILMC) was an endurance sports car racing tournament organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) started in 2010.

, no points awarded for the

Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

Intercontinental Le Mans Cup results

: ¹ Driver did not run for the

Intercontinental Le Mans Cup The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (shortened ILMC) was an endurance sports car racing tournament organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) started in 2010.

FIA World Endurance Championship results

^* Season still in progress.

24 Hours of Daytona results

Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series results

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position, Results are overall/class) † Bourdais did not complete sufficient laps to score points Series Summary

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^* Season still in progress.

Touring car racing

V8 Supercar results

† Not eligible for points

Complete Bathurst 1000 results

International Race of Champions

Notes

External links

* *
Sébastien Bourdais
at Driver Database
Sébastien Bourdais
at IndyCar.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Bourdais, Sebastien Living people 1979 births Sportspeople from Le Mans French racing drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers French Formula One drivers Toro Rosso Formula One drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers IndyCar Series drivers Champ Car champions Champ Car drivers French Formula Three Championship drivers International Formula 3000 Champions French Formula Renault 2.0 drivers International Formula 3000 drivers Superleague Formula drivers American Le Mans Series drivers European Le Mans Series drivers International Race of Champions drivers Supercars Championship drivers Rolex Sports Car Series drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers 12 Hours of Sebring drivers La Filière drivers Larbre Compétition drivers Pescarolo Sport drivers DAMS drivers Super Nova Racing drivers Newman/Haas Racing drivers Multimatic Motorsports drivers Peugeot Sport drivers Dale Coyne Racing drivers Dragon Racing drivers Starworks Motorsport drivers KV Racing Technology drivers Action Express Racing drivers Chip Ganassi Racing drivers JDC Motorsports drivers A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers Level 5 Motorsports drivers Formule Campus Renault Elf drivers