Sebastien Bourdais Criticizes FIA Driver Classification System as Ageing Stars Face Retirement

As he prepares to part ways with Cadillac following this weekend’s World Endurance Championship finale in Monza, Sebastien Bourdais has voiced strong frustration with the current FIA driver categorisation rules, which he believes leave seasoned veterans like himself with very few viable options.

The 47-year-old French driver will not feature on Cadillac’s Hypercar roster for 2027, as the factory Jota team has finalized a revised lineup featuring Antonio Felix da Costa and Ricky Taylor.

With sportscar racing categories often reserving dedicated seats for silver and bronze-rated drivers, Bourdais believes his platinum status is actively hindering his chances of securing a competitive seat for the upcoming season.

“Unfortunately, the categorisation for guys like me just puts you into retirement,” Bourdais stated. He further explained that the age-based structure of the system means his current classification will remain unchanged for the foreseeable future.

“My window of being a professional racing driver is not going to be extremely long. I’m unfortunately platinum and getting closer to 50 years old. And the platinum status isn’t going to change until I’m 55. And even then, I’ll be gold, so nothing will change. Once I’m 60, I’ll be silver, maybe.”

“Not like Emmanuel Collard, who turned 50 and became silver. That would be really cool, but unfortunately, that’s not my reality. It sucks, but it is what it is.”

#38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Sebastien Bourdais, Earl Bamber, Jack Aitken

Photo by: FIA WEC / DPPI

Looking ahead to his immediate future after Monza, Bourdais confirmed that no deal has been finalized yet, though active discussions are underway across multiple racing disciplines.

“There are talks about next year, but nothing is finalized yet. There are a few different people we are in discussions with, but there is nothing at the point where a contract is on the table,” Bourdais explained regarding his plans for the upcoming season.

A return to IndyCar appears to be off the table, with Bourdais describing that particular scenario as highly unlikely.

He emphasized that he remains open to a wide variety of machinery, ranging from GT and LMP2 to Hypercar, provided he can find a place in a welcoming and collaborative environment.

“All I want to do is drive in a program where someone genuinely wants me to drive their car. For me, that is always where I have delivered my best and enjoyed myself the most. When you feel wanted and somebody believes in you,” Bourdais said.

“I don’t need a specific category to sit in to feel at home. When you are a professional and you are lucky enough to drive a race car—whether it is a GT, P2, or GTP—it doesn’t matter. You can have fun in any series.”

Despite the uncertainty, his passion for competing remains completely intact. “There is nothing that passions me the way that driving a race car does. It is still what I enjoy the most doing,” he reflected.

“I know it is not going to last another ten years. When it is over, there is no coming back. I am not in any kind of hurry to see it disappear. I have plenty of time to enjoy retirement,” he added with a mix of realism and optimism.

Reflecting on his tenure with Cadillac, Bourdais highlighted this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans as a standout memory, alongside several strong performances during the IMSA DPI and GTP eras with Chip Ganassi Racing.

“There have been some good moments, obviously the 1-2 finish at Sao Paulo last year. It makes it a little bit more bittersweet not to continue,” he noted.

“But at the end of the day, I think the high point was definitely our Le Mans weekend this year. We were obviously very competitive, and to be able to lead Le Mans again and feel like we had a proper shot at overall victory was a really cool moment.”

He added that his recent campaign with the JOTA-run car has yielded consistent results despite intense competition in the WEC. “For me, this year was the high point of the JOTA program. We finished second, fourth, and fourth in the last three races with the car that scored the most points in those events. So, yeah, I think we will just try and keep the trend.”

Heading into his final appearance with the team at Monza, Bourdais remains focused on delivering a strong result rather than getting caught up in the emotion of the occasion.

“Not yet,” Bourdais said when asked if he felt emotional ahead of his final race. “I think obviously I have had plenty of time to think about it. At the end of the day, you have to approach it like it is just another race weekend. The same goals as every time: just to try and do the best we can, given whatever performance level we have this weekend.”

He remains optimistic that the track layout in Italy will suit their package better than previous venues. “I think the potential and the qualities of the car should be more in line with Monza than they definitely were with Barcelona,” he explained.

“And obviously, there are no high or low limits as far as results are concerned; we just do the best that is achievable. And if it is a podium, or a win, or whatever, it would be really cool to finish on a high.”

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