The young French driver made his IndyCar debut in the past Long Beach round, leaving a very positive impression on everyone by achieving a P11 from his starting P22.
Pourchaire, who is competing full time in Super Formula with Team Impul, was behind the wheel of car no.6 to replace Arrow McLaren’s David Malukas, who is still recovering from his wrist surgery following his pre-season bike accident.
The team manned by Zak Brown confirmed that the impreessive youngster will be competing for McLaren in this week’s IndyCar round in Alabama as well with the following statement:
“The Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team announced today that Théo Pourchaire will pilot the No. 6 NTT DATA Arrow McLaren Chevrolet at the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix on April 28 alongside Pato O’Ward and Alexander Rossi.”
New information on the former Dale Coyne driver’s health were disclosed as well, confirming that the two times podium finisher is doing his best to return on track as soon as possible:
“David Malukas continues to recover from a left wrist injury and surgery. Arrow McLaren will maintain their evaluation of David’s health and will share updates as appropriate.”
The reigning Formula 2 champion had talked about his wish to drive again in the championship after the end of his first official outing for the papaya team, recalling all the highlights of day including being named the biggest mover:
“Amazing experience. I’m super proud of the performance this weekend. Coming here in Long Beach without knowing the car, the track, and the team as well, first time with the team, it’s an amazing performance.”
“I learned so much during this race with all the pit stops and also we had one safety car and I could overtake a lot of cars, so, and I enjoyed it a lot.”
Pourchaire also mentioned the heavy physicality of the car compared to other series he has competed in previously:
“For me, the racing in IndyCar is amazing, the races are really tough physically. I feel okay. It was difficult because it was the first one, but in the end I’m quite happy about my performance physically as well.”
Photo credits: Penske Entertainment | James Black
“The racing is really good. It’s so tough. We’re fighting for a tenth of a second or even less. I enjoyed it. Fighting with cars, going out of the pit lane on cold tires over taking them; it’s so cool. I enjoyed it. I hope to be back in the future.”
Asked to evaluate the main differences between IndyCar and Formula 2, the young driver, who had been teammates in the European feeder series with now fellow IndyCar driver Christian Lundgaard, mentioned the intensity and the length of the race:
“IndyCar is way longer and it makes the racing really good because we have a lot of opportunities for the strategy.”
