Formula 2 world champion in 2023, French driver Théo Pourchaire was the exceptional guest of the Le Paddock RMC podcast. The opportunity to look back on a particularly complicated season marked by two experiences as brief as they were frustrating in Japan in Super Formula and in the United States in IndyCar.
Théo Pourchaire at a standstill. A year after winning the title of Formula 2 world champion, the 21-year-old French driver has been without the wheel since June 18. Promised for a bright future, someone who has been riding since the age of 3 finds himself in a dead end for the first time. His 2024 season consists of one race in Super Formula in Japan and five others in IndyCar in the United States.
“It’s very complicated for me, he admits in the Le Paddock RMC podcast. I’m coming off a Formula 2 title. It was a dream. I thought it was going to happen after that. It didn’t happen. the case. Motorsport is very complicated. Formula 1 is difficult to access. I think I have the track record to at least have a chance to show myself. no full-time driving.”
With the doors of F1 locked after his coronation in F2, Théo Pourchaire began his year in Super Formula in Japan. “Another world, he remembers. Nobody speaks English. Communication is very complicated. It’s really 100% Japanese. I was far from my family. For me, it was an opportunity, but the only one that I had during the winter Afterwards I had the chance to be called by McLaren for a few races unfortunately.
Episode 27: The great French hope Théo Pourchaire, Stake F1 reserve driver and 2023 F2 champion, does he still believe in Formula 1?
“Getting fired in the middle of the season… it came at the worst time”
Asked to replace the injured David Malukas, Théo Pourchaire is living the American dream, “a crazy experience.” “After the two races I was told that I was going to sign a contract until the end of the season. I was super happy.” But if his results are far from disappointing (he finished 10th in Detroit), Arrow McLaren pushes the Frenchman towards the exit after only five races, favoring the recruitment of the young Californian Nolan Siegel : “I wasn’t given many reasons. I’m happy to have been able to show myself but disappointed because I end up with nothing. Getting fired in the middle of the season… it came at the worst time. The results were pretty good. It’s very frustrating.”
With Sauber in F1 in 2025? “It remains a little unclear”
With the year 2024 slowly coming to an end, the native of Grasse is already looking forward to 2025. The one who remains the reserve driver at Sauber still cherishes the hope of taking his first steps in F1: “I feel very more mature than a year ago. I’ve learned to think differently. I feel more ready to get in a car and give it my all. With Sauber? “It remains a little vague,” admits Pourchaire. “I think the team still hasn’t made its choice. I hope to be their choice but it could still be complicated.”
The young Frenchman, however, does not lack arguments to convince Mattia Binotto, operations director at Sauber: “What I can do is tell him to give me a chance. To look at my age and my career. He doesn’t There is no major risk for me to take for a year. The transition with Audi will not take place until 2026. I don’t know their constraints.” If the door to F1 remains closed, Pourchaire won’t make a big deal out of it: “My wish is to drive. F1 is the ultimate dream. IndyCar would make me happy. I’ve had a lot contact but it’s a difficult category to access. I would also like to do endurance in Hypercar.” We will have understood, Théo Pourchaire is motivated like never before. With the 2024 break soon to be over, he is impatiently awaiting a seat to ride and shine. Again.
