MEXICO CITY — With thirty-one race wins and four series championships in just five years, there is no doubt Sebastien Bourdais is one of the greatest drivers in the history of Champ Car racing.
Just ask his teammates and rivals.
Bourdais overcame a pre-race penalty and a late caution period to claim what is likely to be his final Champ Car race win at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. He was set to begin testing for his new employer — the Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula 1 team — Nov. 13 at Barcelona.
During his five-year American career with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, Bourdais worked with engineer Craig Hampson, who offered effusive praise for his driver.
“A lot of the speed you have seen out of the team the last five years is due to his ability to develop the car and its setup and guide the mechanics and engineers in terms of what we need to do to be better,” said Hampson. “It’s really sad that we’re losing him and he’s meant a tremendous amount to the McDonald’s team. He’s clearly very fast and a very canny, smart racer.
“I’m happy for him with his new Formula One gig,” Hampson continued. “He deserves it, certainly. And honestly if that team listens to him and tries to deliver what he asks for and what he needs and gives him the kind of support that he’s used to, he’ll be capable of doing some giant-slaying over there as well.”
Oriol Servia was Bourdais’s teammate at NHLR in 2005, winning one race to the Frenchman’s six while completing a 1-2 finish in the championship for the team co-owned by Carl Haas, Paul Newman and more recently Mike Lanigan.
“There’s not much to say about his record and I was lucky to be his teammate,” said Servia, who finished third for PKV Racing at Mexico City. “When you race for another team, you look at Sebastien and you always think he’s on the best team, and Newman/Haas, they are so much better. Fortunately — or unfortunately! — I loved to be his teammate and see how much it takes. The team is great obviously, but he definitely drives to the limit every second he’s out there, and I learned a lot from him. I think I became a better driver when I was his teammate.
“I feel he’s the fastest guy out there, and I think he’s going to show Formula One the level that we have here,” Servia added. “He’s going to do a great job there.”
With five poles and two race wins, Team Australia’s Will Power came closest to matching Bourdais’s pace in 2007. The Australian also paid tribute to his victorious rival.
“He’s the best and most complete race driver I’ve ever raced against,” Power observed. “He’s always working at it, just looking at every single aspect. He’s not just a really quick driver, he’s very technical and very good on the engineering side of things. He’s been the pacesetter for four years in Champ Car, and he really deserves a Formula One chance.
“I think he’s going to do a really good job there.”
Even Paul Tracy, who developed into Bourdais’s most bitter rival during his five years in America, was full of praise for his competitor. 
With 31 race wins apiece, Bourdais, Tracy and Al Unser, Jr. are tied for sixth place on the all-time Champ Car victory tally.
“All the Champ Car people want to see him do well in Formula One and I just wish him luck,” Tracy said. “He’s a great driver, and he’s a fantastic personality. Me, him and Al, Jr. are all on the same number (of wins), so I’m going to try to get ahead of that next year.”