Sebastien Bourdais arrived in Formula One as a four-time Champ Car series champion, but the French racer’s 18-month stint with Toro Rosso was an ill-fated one. He was dropped by Red Bull’s sister team after the German Grand Prix, allegedly by text message.

Bourdais did not arrive in F1 through the usual feeder series route, instead joining Toro Rosso after a legendary Champ Car career that produced four consecutive titles. However, after finishing seventh on his debut in Australia, he recorded just three more point-scoring finishes and was dropped by the team just nine rounds into the 2009 campaign.

“The way they got rid of me was very disappointing,” Bourdais told French outlet Auto Hebdo. “Dietrich Mateschitz was at the Nurburgring, but he did not speak with me. He did not call me. Everything was done by SMS, which to me has no style.”

Team principal Franz Tost disputed Bourdais’ claim. “I understand that he is disappointed, but his performances were not at the level we expected,” he said. “I personally told Mr Bourdais that he would no longer drive for the team and did not send any text messages.”

Bourdais’ replacement within Toro Rosso was Jaime Alguersuari, who became, at the time, the youngest driver ever to compete in an F1 Grand Prix when he made his debut at the Hungaroring. Unfortunately, the Spaniard didn’t fare much better than his predecessor.

Alguersuari ended the 2009 campaign with five retirements in eight races and a best finish of 14th at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Then, in 2010, he scored points just three times, finishing 19th in the Drivers’ Championship standings.

The 2011 season was an improvement for the Barcelona-born driver, who recorded seven top-10 finishes in an 11-race stretch during the middle portion of the season. However, this was not enough to secure his seat, and Alguersuari was dropped for the 2012 campaign.

Alguersuari didn’t take kindly to the dismissal. “Without Red Bull I would never have had the chance to be in F1,” he told the Daily Star in 2023. “But what is also crystal clear is the way they sacked me was not the way they should have done it. They waited until the very last minute of the season to do that.

“That hurt a lot because it was the end of my career. I had talks with other teams, but they were asking for money, which we didn’t have. That hurt a lot because I did the job asked of me. I always thought, ‘if you get beaten by your team-mate, if you don’t perform, you should leave’.

“But if you’re putting a car that isn’t supposed to be in the points in the points, and you’re consistently beating your team-mate and beating world champions, it’s crystal clear that you deserve that chance.”