With a title, but without a Formula 1 seat next year: Frenchman Théo Pourchaire still has to wait to enter the premier class of motorsport despite the Formula 2 championship title he won in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Even before his first coronation in the anteroom of Formula 1, the fate of the protégé of the Sauber Academy, the academy for young Alfa Romeo drivers in Formula 1, was sealed: “Andreas Seidl, the boss of the team, gave me a “You gave me explained that they had to reappoint Zhou (Guanyu, one of the team’s two riders whose contract was extended until the end of 2024, editor’s note) for certain reasons,” Le Grassois recalls to AFP.
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Far from being discouraged, the 20-year-old claims he “got it straight away.”
The logical step after a coronation in F2 is arrival in the premier class, but even with the backing of a team, free places are rare: next year, when American Logan Sargeant returns with Williams (the decision has not yet been announced) on the grid will be exactly the same as in 2023.
Alfa Romeo – which will change its name after Sauber announced the end of its partnership with its title sponsor at the end of the year – preferred to focus on continuity and retained the Zhou Guanyu-Valtteri Bottas duo.
However, the driver’s resume speaks for itself: Pourchaire was runner-up in Formula 3 in 2020 and moved up to F2 the following year. At the end of his first season he finished 5th in the championship and the following year he finished 2nd behind Brazilian Felipe Drugovich.
Considered a young and promising talent, he became the youngest winner of a race in the F3 category and then in the F2 category at 17 years and 9 months, records for precociousness that he still holds.
On the way to the super formula?
Just as Drugovich won the title in 2022, Pourchaire will also have to make do with a reserve place in Formula 1 next year – at Sauber. The Frenchman was already a reserve driver in the team this year in addition to F2.
According to current regulations, the crowned Formula 2 driver is not eligible to take part in the championship in the two seasons following his title. A system that Pourchaire doesn’t particularly dislike: “It has to work, there can’t be a champion who stays and wins every season.”
“In any case, whatever happens, I have nothing left to learn in Formula 2, I had no plans to go to Formula 2 again,” he also dismissed in 2024. Due to the costs, the Frenchman had already considered quitting at the end of last season.
In addition to his reserve role at Sauber – which, like this year, will consist of looking after the simulator and replacing one of the two starting drivers if necessary – the Frenchman plans to enter the Super Formula championship, the most important Japanese championship, next year Single seater.
“That would be the goal but at the moment it is a bit stalled, it is being discussed but I have no certainty. I also had other opportunities, especially in IndyCar, but Super Formula would be interesting.” Before you enter Formula 1 in 2025?
“There are currently around fifteen drivers whose contract in Formula 1 expires in 2025, so I will be there to knock on the doors of all the teams,” he assures. “And with a Formula 2 title in my pocket, that will help me a lot.”