IndyCar – Sébastien Bourdais: “It wasn’t a bad day”

Resident just outside St Peterburg and title holder, Sébastien Bourdais is one of the stars of the opening round of the 2018 season of theIndyCar Series. For him, this meeting is somewhat special. “ My first race here was in 2003, he remembers. I had taken pole, but until last year, I wasn't very successful there. If it took me 15 years, I'm here as the outgoing winner and that's really nice. I don't feel any extra pressure, but it's nice to sleep in your own bed and be able to count on family and friends at the circuit. »

Second in the first free practice session then seventh in the second, the Dale Coyne Racing resident seems to be in the running, even if circumstances did not allow him to really attack the clocks yesterday afternoon.

« It wasn't a bad day, recognizes the Sarthois. We made changes for the second session, but it seemed that this was not the direction to take. Many have upgraded to red tires (tender. Editor's note), but the red flag was waved that I put them on. Then due to traffic, I was not able to set representative times. You probably have a turn (to set a time with the red tires. Editor's note), or even two if you haven't hit it too hard, but with the red flag and the traffic, it was impossible. With the blacks (harder. Editor's note), it wasn't so bad. We are looking for front grip and haven't found the right way to achieve it yet. »

This is what the Sarthois will tackle this morning during the third free practice session (17:10 p.m. in France), before tackling qualifying (20:20 p.m. French time).