Bourdais (L) has had an uncertain winter, compared to teammate Buemi (LAT)
A prickly Sebastien Bourdais drew a line under a difficult winter on Monday and looked forward to a brighter future in Formula One.
The Frenchman's seat at Toro Rosso was confirmed only in February, after months of uncertainty with the team also testing experienced Japanese driver Takuma Sato as a possible replacement.
After giving his Ferrari-powered car its test debut at the Spanish Grand Prix circuit on Monday, Bourdais bristled when asked whether he had doubted earlier in the year that he would be back.
"I think it is the start of the season and that is the past, so if we keep on going back to the past we are never going to do anything in the future," he said.
"Obviously it has been very well discussed, we have had a very long winter, very difficult and complicated, but it is over now.
"We are not even a month away from the first race and it is the last test before that, so we should aim all the stuff toward Melbourne," added the winner of four successive Champ Car championships in the United States.
BETTER LUCK
Bourdais struggled to get on top of last year's Toro Rosso while German team mate Sebastian Vettel, now with Red Bull, won the Italian Grand Prix in it.
The Frenchman, who confirmed he had considered a return to America when it looked like he might not be kept on, ended the season with just four points to Vettel's 35.
"I hope we will have a little bit better luck, that's all I can say," Bourdais said of his prospects for 2009 alongside Swiss rookie Sebastien Buemi.
"The STR2 was a car that I wasn't the happiest guy in the paddock with but in the end I was going fairly well and seemed to be a good match with Sebastian. Then STR3 arrived and I struggled a lot."
Bourdais said the late launch was a disadvantage for the team, with rivals having weeks of testing under their belts already, but still hoped Toro Rosso could make the most of new regulations to shake up the hierarchy when the season starts on March 29.
"There are a lot of computer models and a lot of technical tools to get it right, but there is still room to make mistakes, and even the big boys are not safe," he said.
"Potentially it could move the grid upside down a little bit, and hopefully we can move towards the front."
