The French Sébastien
If I said that December 15th 2002 was a significant day in the history of Formula 1, you might struggle to recall why. If I also said that January 9th 2003 was an equally important day, you might start to believe I was losing my mind. That may well be true, but first a brief history lesson.
At the tail end of the 2002 season a certain Flavio Briatore was coming under pressure from his paymasters to bring some French blood into the team. The Renault brand had recently returned to the sport and there was an apparent desire to see an injection of national identity.
As the team’s test driver, Fernando Alonso, was being promoted to a race seat, an opening had appeared for such a talent, and Mr. Briatore opted to try two up-and-coming Frenchmen for the role. One was reigning Formula 3000 champion Sébastien Bourdais, while the other was the 2001 World Series champion Franck Montagny.
On the 15th December 2002 the two went head to head during a test at Jerez, and although Franck had previously got the better of Sébastien while they were team-mates in Formula 3, Seb managed to come out on top. He finished both ahead of Franck, and also in front of Fernando.
