Bourdais relaxed about F1 future

The Frenchman has disliked the balance of the STR3 since an aerodynamic package was introduced at the French Grand Prix, but an update delivered in Singapore has made things much better for him.

And now that he is able to push teammate Sebastian Vettel harder, Bourdais feels he is better able to prove to his bosses that he deserves another contract for next year.

"We have a bit more of a connected car," Bourdais told autosport.com. "We can manage the balance a bit better, so it definitely shows and I tend to be a lot closer to Sebastian. It is going in the right direction. Obviously it is a little bit late, but it is better late than never."

Bourdais had originally hoped a decision about his future plans would be made prior to this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix, but now he says he is in no rush to get an answer from team chiefs.

"I don't even really think about it too much," he said about his plans for next year. "I am just basically going through it.

"Fortunately the global context is very complicated for everyone in every series, so nobody is really pushing for answers. I haven't really been pushed by anyone to take a decision, and that has saved me from going to Franz (Tost, team principal) and saying, 'so what do we do now?'

"It (the changes to the car) definitely helped to ease a little bit the situation until the end of the season, and we can kind of go through it a bit easier I guess."

He added: "Obviously there is nothing I can do that will change their way of thinking, other than driving the best I can. They will take a decision when they feel it is time for them, and if I need one before then I will be straightforward and ask them what they want to do. That is the only way I can manage the situation basically."

Sebastien Buemi is expected to secure one of the race seats at Toro Rosso, with team chiefs making it clear they want at least one experienced driver on board.