Two races into the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series, Sebastien Bourdais has a 19-point lead in the championship standings over the rest of the field. He has yet to finish lower than 2nd place.
Sebastien Bourdais, 38, is a 4-time Champ Car champion. Being the championship leader of a motorsports series is nothing new to him, generally speaking. However, leading the modern-day IndyCar championship standings is a little bit in even Bourdais’ unchartered territory. Nonetheless, he currently leads the IndyCar championship standings as the series prepares to head to Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama on Sunday, April 23rd, 2017.
Following a dominant last-to-first season-opening victory at St. Petersburg and a 2nd place finish at Long Beach, Sebastien Bourdais has a 19-point edge (93-74) in the championship standings over the 2nd place driver, Long Beach race winner James Hinchcliffe. However, can Bourdais turn this early season success into an eventual championship run?
Signs Pointing to “Yes”
Recent history shows that drivers who start strong win championships. For instance, in 2011, Dario Franchitti won the championship after winning the first race of the season. Just last season, Simon Pagenaud finished in no lower than 2nd place in any of the first five races and went on to win the championship by a record 127-point margin. Bourdais has two top 2 finishes, including a win, in the first two races this season, so he may very well be on the right track.
Bourdais’ 93 points in the first two races of this season tie him for the highest point total through the first two races of an IndyCar season since Will Power scored 94 points through the first two races of the 2011 season. He is tied with Will Power’s 2014 start for the best two-race start in the DW12 chassis era, which began in 2012.
Also, Bourdais doesn’t cave in under pressure. After all, he is a 4-time Champ Car champion that knows how to win when it matters most. If he can stay at the top of the championship standings, or at least in the top 3 or 5, he will definitely be in a position by the end of the season to have a chance to race for his 5th open-wheel racing championship.
Signs Pointing to “No”
In the history the modern-day IndyCar Series, which dates back to 1996, one driver has won the championship without winning an oval race. One. That driver was Simon Pagenaud last season. This does not bode well for Bourdais, who has just one oval win in IndyCar. That win came at Milwaukee in 2015, but even that win, albeit a dominant effort, was not super convincing, as Bourdais’ car was found to have been too light in the post-race inspection. He did, however, keep the win and the points that came with it.
In addition to this, Bourdais’ top finish in the modern-day IndyCar championship standings in his four seasons with a full-time ride is 10th place (2014 and 2015). To go from 14th place in 2016 to winning the championship in 2017 would take a miracle even with Bourdais’ strong start to the season.
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The Verdict
Well, there is no verdict yet. But all that means is that IndyCar fans will have to wait and see how this season pans out. The past 11 IndyCar championships have come down to the last race, so Bourdais putting himself in an early position as a contender certainly can do him no harm in the long run. Maintaining that high position in the standings, however, will certainly be a challenge with how deep this year’s field is and with how many races the series has left to run.