When has fairness ever happened in F1? It is all a factor of who you aligned yourself with.
Pourchaire was in the Sauber academy, Sauber academy is a mess, he pays the price. It has nothing to do with fairness or worth or who won what. How many F2 champions have never even sniffed an F1 seat?
From 2005 (when F2 was re-founded) to 2011, every F2 champion except Giorgo Pantano made it into F1. Valsecchi (2012) and Leimer (2013) didn’t make it, but again from 2014 to 2021 every single champion made it into F1. Drugovich and Pourchaire not so far.
Which is my point. Five out of 19 never made it and this year is looking doubtful (even with all the Audi rumours). Plus, once the driver academies came into being, winning F2 at the wrong time is a problem. Piastri being the clearest example, Alpine screwed up and he only made it to F1 because they are a terribly run team and McL poached him.
And fairness is an irrelevant concept in sports, there is no fairness and there never was. If there was, Jacques Villeneuve would have been kicked out of motorsports once he released his album.
Yeah the academies definitely stopped the idea of “if you win a junior championship you’re on a way to F1”. Nowadays it’s “if you’re in an academy you’re on a way to F1”. And winning a championship might only be a part of enabling you to get into an academy.
And there are a few academies that are now moneymakers, taking drivers that are sons/daughters of rich people and/or have good sponsors, pretending to give them a path into something, and just collecting that money.
Just to cement the point we were discussing: https://x.com/ZakOSullivan/status/1833177788628476134
Race winner, challenging at the front with some consistency, but out of a seat. Not sure what happened, but F1 academy drivers should not lose funding to finish an F2 season…
I imagine Williams wasn’t ready to pay as much for his seat as Art GP wanted. And some other sponsor that should have paid the difference fell through?
It might be a combination of factors, but it is weird for an academy backed driver to be bumped as the season is almost done.
And yes, I would guess that Williams was not paying 100% of the cost. Which again is weird, because the concept, as I understood, was support in exchange for exclusivity of driver’s services and less leeway for the driver to choose his path.
Each Academy works differently. For example, Alpine’s academy is said to be very good in providing training opportunities for their drivers, while Red Bull doesn’t offer any special training and just expects their drivers to be good but gets them way better spots in championships.
Thanks for the stats!
Theo Pourchaire won the Formula 2 championship in 2023 and, as with his predecessors Felipe Drugovich and Oscar Piastri, champions in 2022 and 2021 respectively, did not have a place on the F1 grill the following year.
While Piastri won a seat and a very good one at McLaren - last season and is currently one of the main drivers in F1, both the French and Brazilian seem to have little chance of running in the top category in the near future.
In an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com, Pourchaire was displeased to see drivers such as Franco Colapinto, who will complete the season with Williams after taking the place of Logan Sargeant in Italy, or Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who will go for Lewis Hamilton in Mercedes in 2025, to receive a chance in F1 without having been champions in F2, while he does not have his chance. That list is also joined by Oliver Bearman and Jack Doohan, confirmed in Haas and Alpine for next year, respectively.
“From the outside, sure, if you’re in my position, it seems unfair, as I think it’s unfair to Drugovich, for example, that he won the title, and… you know that’s the case. It’s the world of F1,” he said when asked what he felt when he saw in the top category riders who had not been champions in F2.
“I’m happy to be here again in the paddock (in Monza). I really hope I get my chance one day. I’m willing to give it my all. I’m passionate about this sport. I’m ready to give my best. I’m not asking for anything. I just ask for a seat and a steering wheel, my chance in a car,” he added.
In response to the consultation about what he needs to have an opportunity in Formula 1, Pourchaire replied that it is something he himself does not manage to understand, as he considers having proved worthy of a seat.
“It’s a good question. I’ll make it for myself. Every day. I don’t know. I’ve given the best of me on the track. I’m sure there are people who say winning the championship in the third year in F2 is not very good, but I won it when I was 20. I’m the youngest race winner in F2 history in F2, in F3, so I don’t have to prove anything on the track. I just need a chance. That’s it. I don’t know,” he said.
Pourchaire is Sauber’s reserve driver this year, but does not seem to be very much in mind in the team’s current plans, as the team recently summoned Robert Shwartzman to participate in the first practice in Zandvoort last month.
The Frenchman started 2024 with the aim of competing in the Super Formula of Japan, but left the series after only one race to compete in the IndyCar with Arrow McLaren in place of David Malukas, who was injured, on the second date of the championship in Long Beach.
He was then confirmed to contest this of the season except the 500 Miles of Indianapolis - before being replaced by Nigel Siegel after only four races. He would return in July for a one-time Toronto due to an injury to Alexander Rossi. Anyway, Pourchaire was grateful for the opportunity he had at IndyCar.
“This championship is really impressive. The entire IndyCar community was very kind to me: the drivers, the championship organizers, the members of all the teams, you know, seeing that you are a driver who comes from Europe, F2 champion. Going to IndyCar I think it was very positive for everyone there, and very positive for me as well, because I really liked the car, I really liked the tracks and the fights, everything was very, very good. I enjoyed my time there,” he explained.
"I had a great opportunity with Arrow McLaren. I was hoping to drive a little bit more, of course I’m disappointed I couldn’t finish the season there with them, but I thank them again for the opportunity. At that point it was really crucial to have that kind of opportunity for me, because otherwise I’m not sure I would have been able to keep driving.’
Pourchaire’s future looks uncertain, which he blames on not having the support of sponsors, either to compete in F1 or other championships.
'I’m at a point where I don’t have big sponsors to follow me. I don’t have money to put on the table. I have to be honest. So I’m just a Formula 2 champion, you know, you’re trying to find something to do right now. I’m just trying to find a seat. So, as I said, right now I’m trying to find something," he concluded.
A real shame! A great character, he’d be great fun on the grid
