Bourdais to get snubbed by Renault again

Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais, who won his second Champ Car title in a row this year (the first to ever do that), fears 2006 could be his last chance to break into Formula One. The 25-year-old's new contract with the Newman/Haas team in the US series has a clause allowing him to test F1 at any time should an opportunity come along.

But Bourdais, who was offered an F1 drive with Arrows in 2002 before they folded, says time is not on his side. "I'll be 28 (in 2007). And you don't break into F1 when you're 30," he said.

France was left without a regular F1 driver for the first time in 40 years when Olivier Panis, now a test driver for Toyota, retired at the end of the 2004 season.

France's Franck Montagny was Renault test driver this year but said last month he was leaving the team. The lack of a French presence on the F1 circuit led to a public row between Bourdais and Renault.

And Bourdais knows his accusation that the world champions are reluctant to hire a native driver has helped to effectively end his chances with them. "I don't expect anything from Renault. They have done enough bad-mouthing about me," he said.

"And (Renault F1 president) Patrick Faure's provocative comments on French drivers show they are looking for a reason to justify their policy not to recruit a French driver," he added.

"I don't know the real reasons and, in the end, I don't really care. I just want them to leave me in peace. They should stop having fun demolishing all the French drivers.

"That's the most frustrating thing," he continued. "They won in F1 this year and, sincerely, I say 'Bravo'. I also win and they should also say 'Bravo', even if they are not interested in working with me." BBC Sport

[Editor's Note: And as we know, Montagny was in Mexico City this past weekend eyeing Champ Car….another Frenchman snubbed by Renault because Briatore wasn't his agent. F1's loss could be Champ Car's gain.]