Theo Pourchaire has admitted that he was taken by ‘surprise’ after making the switch from Formula 2 to IndyCar.
The Frenchman raced three seasons in Formula 2 with ART Grand Prix, winning six races and grabbing a total of 20 podiums in that time.
Pourchaire also won the 2023 world championship after a tense title battle with Frederik Vesti, becoming champion at the final round of the season in Abu Dhabi by 11 points.
At the same time, the 20-year-old served as Sauber’s reserve driver in Formula 1 and competed in two FP1 sessions. He also remained the team’s reserve driver for 2024 after Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu were retained for the race seats.
Theo Pourchaire says he ‘underestimated’ the competitiveness of the IndyCar championship
After winning the Formula 2 title, Pourchaire had been set to compete in Super Formula after it was announced that he would race the season with Team Impul.
He finished 18th in the opening race of the season at Suzuka after he lost a number of places following an off-track excursion.
Yet following his Super Formula debut, Pourchaire withdrew from the championship entirely as he was offered the chance to race in IndyCar by Arrow McLaren to replace the injured David Malukas.
Driving the No. 6 Chevrolet, the Frenchman made up 11 positions on his debut at Long Beach to finish in 11th, the most places gained by any other driver in the race.
Pourchaire replaced Malukas again at Barber Motorsports Park, after which McLaren released the American and announced that the 2023 F2 champion would race for the team for the remainder of the season, with the exception of the Indianapolis 500.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Pato O’Ward from net worth to Rolex 24 at Daytona
And speaking with IndyCar driver Conor Daly on his Street Speed podcast, Pourchaire admitted that he was surprised by the category’s competitiveness and that it is underestimated by people in Europe.
“Yeah, I think it was a little bit of a surprise because I think overall, in Europe, most of the people underestimate the level of IndyCar,” Pourchaire said.
“Now, I completely agree and the competitiveness of the championship is crazy in my opinion.
“It’s a really competitive championship, and that’s why I like it because you drive probably the second fastest cars in the world after F1 with almost the best drivers in the world and on difficult race tracks, as well.
“Compared to the tracks on the F1 calendar, I can tell you there are much more bumps [and] closer walls to the track. But I like it, so it was fun.”
Pourchaire was released by Arrow McLaren after five races
Pourchaire’s 22nd-place finish at Barber was followed up by 17th place at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis after he was confirmed to race for Arrow McLaren for the remainder of the season.
Following the Indy 500, the 20-year-old also recorded his best finish to date with 10th at Detroit and then 13th at the Grand Prix of Road America.
However, after this appearance, it was announced by Arrow McLaren that they had signed Nolan Siegel on a multi-year deal and that Pourchaire would be released by the team after just five IndyCar races.
Following Alexander Rossi’s injury in Friday’s practice for the Grand Prix of Toronto, the Frenchman was called up by McLaren to replace the American for the race, where he finished 14th.