Bourdais: I'm closing the gap to Vettel

The four-time Champ Car champion scored two points on his Formula One debut at Melbourne, but has failed to score since and has been out-performed by Vettel in the new STR3 since the Monaco Grand Prix.

He admits that he's been struggling to get the best out of the car but believes he is improving.

"We all have a driving style that suits us, and mine is ill-suited to a car that understeers in fast corners and oversteers in tight corners," he told French newspaper L'Equipe.

"I'm having trouble adjusting to it, one minute I'm not pushing hard enough and the next I'm over-driving, whereas Sebastian is better at adapting to it.

"I have found several small things which helped me to understand the car better, even if I am still not totally at ease with it, but it is getting better, little by little."

Bourdais says he's made more progress since he began concentrating on minor changes, rather than making big alterations.

"I somewhat regret the time I've spent looking for grand ideas on how to adapt the car to my driving style," he added. "Now I'm concentrating on a few details, I'm taking small steps and it seems to be paying off. It's still complicated, but that's just how it is."