Bourdais: “A rather frustrating season at the moment”

Hello everybody

Finally, a little rest! I am writing to you as I prepare to take my boat out of the port of St Petersburg. On the agenda: a relaxing weekend on a neighboring island with Claire and the children. Between theIndyCar and my commitments Endurance, it had been two and a half months since I had really been able to breathe. There were notably these seven weeks of non-stop competition between the Indy GP and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Since then, IndyCar has only given us a weekend of respite between Road America and Toronto (Canada. Editor's note). It was time to have a little good time before the last four meetings of a rather frustrating season at the moment. Because if the performance was sometimes there, the result was rarely successful.

Mid-Ohio is the latest example. We felt really good the first two days. In Q1, I even set the best time, but in Q3 we paid during our 2nd run for having extracted too much energy from the tires before. We finally start 5th, but we don't make the right strategic choices, especially regarding the tires, and we finish 11th. We set off on new soft tires but we were unable to exploit their potential because we found ourselves stuck behind Simon (Pagenaud. Editor’s note) during the first stint. And then we also lost a few places when Colton Herta hit me while passing me. The next day, he called me to apologize and tell me that he had rushed, but the race management took no action. After a while, it starts to tire me, because as soon as I put one foot next to the line they let me know very quickly, and when I'm the victim nothing happens. It is too often difficult to understand the logic of IndyCar Race Control.

As you know, I also made a new friend in recent weeks: the Japanese from RLL Racing: Takuma Sato. You must have seen this scene where he comes to attack me at the end of a free practice session in Toronto. I find that regrettable, because it's really not the image of IndyCar that we want to give. In fact, several incidents had opposed us during the previous weeks. At Road America, he “boxed me” on the first lap when he had room to pass. Two weeks before, in Texas, he had ruined my race by trying not to let me pass even though he was several laps behind. A rather strange attitude from a driver of his experience, but RLL Racing seems to have a grudge against me since my contact with Graham Rahal at the 500 Miles which forced us to retire. I had nothing to reproach myself for but I had been given a drive-through. When I tell you that I struggle to understand the logic of the race management's decisions...

In short, the Top 5 has eluded me since Barber (3rd race of the season. Editor's note), and far too many races end with "would have been, could have been, should have been" (in French: could, would have been, should have. Ed.). Sometimes this is due to external elements, sometimes to poorly adapted strategies from Dale (Coyne. Editor's note) and sometimes to my mistakes, like at Mid-Ohio, where I received a drive-through for having exceeded the limit authorized speed in the pitlane, or in Toronto, where I fail to brake. In Canada, however, we have made a real leap forward. Our two days spent on the Honda simulator really did us good. For a small team like ours, it's almost a luxury to have access to this tool, and when I see the benefit we get from it in such a short time, it means that we are working really efficiently. In Toronto, we completely changed the platform and found something that worked. Result: we were in the mix for the first time this season on a street circuit, even if I had to settle for 8th place.

I obviously cannot conclude without talking to you about the 24 Hours of Le Mans, this race which is so dear to me. It was my last experience with the Ford program (which puts an end, as planned, to the GT program carried out jointly with Chip Ganassi Racing. Editor's note) started in 2016. I still had a completed car in my hands, but with the BoP (Balance of Performance), we were not able to join in the fight (4th GTE, before the No. 68 was disqualified for non-compliant fuel tank. Editor's note). In particular, nothing could be done in the face of Ferrari which were spraying out of the corner. They were smart because they didn't have top speed and so there wasn't much to say about the BoP. It's the game, and that didn't stop me from really having fun. It's even the year where I think I was the most competitive in the car.

For my future in Endurance, it will depend in particular on what Ganassi plans. In any case, I hope to return next year as part of an ambitious program. The 24 Hours is one of the races where you try to create opportunities for yourself, especially since it's always nice for me to return home to Le Mans. But it’s also a trying week. The IndyCar-24 Hours sequence is quite tough because in Texas we race on Saturday at night and we end our day around midnight-one o'clock, and at Le Mans we are hard at work from Monday afternoon. When you arrive in France, you have the impression of being on the other side of the planet. But the game is worth it, because it is one of the most beautiful events in the world. I will give you some news at the end of my season. With, I hope, better results.

See you soon