Théo Pourchaire leaves the Stake Sauber team

Théo Pourchaire is leaving the Sauber program and the Stake F1 team at the end of the 2024 season. News which is not really a surprise for the Frenchman who, a year after his F2 title, had still not managed to convince his bosses to hire him in Formula 1.

Even more, the Stake Sauber team, of which he was a reserve during this campaign, has chosen for 2025 to prefer the Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto, who has just succeeded him on the F1 front-row list.

Pourchaire joined Sauber’s junior program in 2019 when it was just created. Champion of F4 Germany at the end of that season, he then moved to F3 where he finished vice-champion in 2020, just behind a certain Oscar Piastri. In 2021, he entered F2 for the first time, winning two races and finishing fifth in the championship.

Figured among the favorites for the title for the following season, he ultimately failed in second place despite three successes, well ahead of Felipe Drugovich. In parallel with its campaign, Audi announced in the summer of 2022 the future and progressive takeover of Sauber, as part of the German manufacturer’s arrival in the premier discipline planned for 2026.

In this context of change of direction and at the end of a difficult season on a sporting level, Pourchaire was finally crowned F2 champion in 2023 while he was also for the first time named reserve of the Swiss team. However, in the absence of promotion to F1 for 2024, the Frenchman – while remaining within the Stake F1 team as a reserve driver – turned to Japan and Super Formula to find a competitive drive, before branching off towards IndyCar when an opportunity presented itself.

Established by McLaren in the American championship following convincing performances, before finally being replaced a few weeks later, Pourchaire found refuge, for 2025, at Peugeot as the brand’s reserve in Endurance.

It should be noted that Pourchaire is not the only one to leave the Sauber academy since Barbadian Zane Maloney – fourth in his second full season in F2 this year and now a Lola Yamaha ABT driver in Formula E – is also leaving.