JUNE 3, 2015

Ex-Toro Rosso driver Bourdais slams F1

French driver Sebastien Bourdais has slammed formula one.

The 36-year-old arrived in F1 late last decade with an impressive pedigree on America's premier open wheeler scene.

But his relationship with Toro Rosso soured spectacularly after just a season and a half.

Bourdais is now back in the US, where on Sunday he won at the Belle Isle circuit in Detroit.

"It feels really good," he said. "I'm enjoying my racing again after a horrible experience in formula one."

Bourdais has little positive to say about either his own experience in F1, or the world championship in general.

"I didn't feel wanted or that I could work with the team (Toro Rosso) in formula one," he said.

He also attacked F1's circuits, saying driving in the rain in Detroit was "tougher than any formula one track, including the streets of Monaco," Bourdias told the Detroit Free Press.

"F1 has ruined every track," Bourdais continued. "They have taken the character out of them, made them vanilla. It hurts me. Monaco is now a frigging parking lot with a couple of turns."

He said he thinks Indycar is a better sport than F1.

"Too much in formula one is all about the wrong reasons," said Bourdais. "Money and position -- it is not about the racing.

"In Indycar, no one makes money. It's just great, pure racing."

(GMM)