“My dream is to access Formula 1,” Alfa Romeo reserve driver Theo Pourchaire not ruling out other similar racing series in order to ‘stay close’ to F1
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Theo Pourchaire at the post-season Abu Dhabi test (IMAGO / ZUMA Wire)
It was another good year for Théo Pourchaire in F2. The Frenchman made his debut back in 2020 as a 17-year-old, but his first full season was the next one, where he finished fifth. This time around, he’s improved that finish by 3 places, finishing quite a way behind champion Felipe Drugovich, but also fairly comfortably clear of the rest of the field – despite not scoring any points in the last 4 races.
He also recently participated in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi, where he ran 106 laps, but was the ‘slowest’ driver of the lot, even if times set in testing are not particularly representative. However, as for F1, no potential doors are currently open, and even in 2024, his chances to get into F1 (with Sauber or otherwise) look rather slim. Valtteri Bottas is on a multi-year contract, and Zhou Guanyu is contracted till at least the end of 2023, and he seems more likely to extend than leave the team.
His options are rather limited, and he wants to stay as close to F1 as possible, but according to Motorsport Week, he does not rule out another year of F2: “I will still focus myself on single-seaters, my dream is to access Formula 1. The best way to do it is to be close to the F1 world, maybe doing another year in F2, maybe just being the reserve driver in the team or maybe doing another category close to F1.”
Théo Pourchaire reflects on his F2 season
It was a solid second Formula 2 season from Théo Pourchaire, even though he ultimately could not challenge Felipe Drugovich for the title for a multitude of reasons. From the Spa-Francorchamps feature race onwards back in August, Pourchaire has only scored 2 points overall, retiring in 3 out of the seven races.
The Frenchman thought that his season was ‘pretty good’ when looking at the positives: “It has been pretty good when you look at the positives, because finishing vice-champion, there’s only one driver above you. It could have been better, could have been worse, I had a lot of bad luck, unfortunately, it’s like this, I accept it, it’s motorsport, but at the end being vice-champion is good, I won some races.”
Pourchaire was unsure of what he would do in the future, saying ‘Let’s see’, but he is sure that he will work hard and improve, and give his best, wherever he ends up racing. In the meantime, he will be moving to Switzerland in order to be closer to the Alfa Romeo-Sauber’s facility. As their reserve driver for 2023, he is set for a significant amount of simulator time, in addition to any practice sessions etc.
Also Read: Sauber junior Théo Pourchaire to make his FP1 debut at the US GP with Alfa Romeo
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)