Theo Pourchaire has explained that a problem with the brake system restricted him to only four out laps for Alfa Romeo during FP1 at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

The end-of-season period has witnessed the teams scramble to ensure they fulfil the regulation mandating that every driver has to give up an FP1 session for a competitor who has started fewer than two grands prix.

Subsequently, Pourchaire was one of five rookies involved in the opening practice hour at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

However, Pourchaire, taking over from Valtteri Bottas, reported trouble with the brake pedal on each of the four occasions he was sent out onto the track by the team.

Clarifying the hitch that curtailed his running, Pourchaire said: “Small problem on the brake system. I cannot go too much into details, and also the team is not 100% sure where it comes from.

“But it’s motorsport, it can happen. Unfortunately, it happens when I’m in the car for the FP1. A bit disappointed for sure because I prepared myself a lot. And last time I drove it was in Abu Dhabi last year, so it was a long time ago.

“I wanted to drive, the track looks cool. I did some small laps, but I couldn’t push as it was not so safe to push, that’s how it is.”

Pourchaire believes Alfa Romeo will have to change something on its C43 in the break to ensure Bottas can sustain a smoother participation in the second session.

Asked if he could feel the issue instantly, Pourchaire replied: “Yeah, straight away. I had an alarm on the dashboard. The team could see as well on the telemetry, the issue.

“We tried many things to solve the issue, but it didn’t work. I think they have to change something on the car, so right now they are going to check everything between FP1 and FP2, and hopefully Valtteri can drive in FP2.”

Alfa Romeo is yet to confirm who will carry out their second rookie outing and at which venue – but it is suspected that Pourchaire will occupy Zhou Guanyu’s seat in Abu Dhabi.

Next weekend’s Brazil Grand Prix will be interrupted by the Sprint format, while the penultimate round of the season in Las Vegas presents a new track configuration.

Regardless of what transpires on the F1 front, Pourchaire insists that his primary focus in Abu Dhabi will remain on securing the Formula 2 championship title.

The Frenchman upholds a 25-point lead over Frederik Vesti – who was also featuring in FP1 in Mexico for Mercedes, wounding up the slowest of those to set a lap time.

“I would be full focused on the F2 in Abu Dhabi,” Pourchaire declared. “Let’s see if I will be driving in FP1 there. But that’s most probably the only track where I can drive again in F1 so let’s see.

“As I said, full focus on the F2 championship; it’s my main goal, and I want to finish on a high my Formula 2 career. I have a title to win, I have two titles to win because there is a team championship as well, so I think we can do great in Abu Dhabi. Let’s see, maybe I will be back in the F1 very soon.”

Pourchaire hadn’t competed at a race weekend since the European leg of the F1 calendar ended at the start of September with the F2 support race at Monza.

Asked how much preparation he had undertaken ahead of this opportunity, the 20-year-old answered: “A lot of preparation because also we had a lot of time – the last F2 race was in Monza so I had nothing to do except a lot of simulator with the Formula 1 team. A lot of physical prep, mental prep.

“Of course I didn’t know I could have an issue like this. I was just focusing on my job and ready to push, but yeah. Of course disappointed but it’s okay. It’s a part of motorsport.”

Isack Hadjar and Theo Pourchaire are the next rookies to be confirmed to be receiving a practice outing at this weekend’s Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix.

The regulations stipulate that every driver in each team has to give up an FP1 session for a rookie, defined as a driver who has started no more than two grands prix.

AlphaTauri handing Nyck de Vries his F1 bow this year counted on one side of the garage, but Liam Lawson filling in for Ricciardo, who replaced the Dutchman mid-season, did not.

Yuki Tsunoda is required to sit on the sidelines in the opening practice hour once across the remaining rounds and AlphaTauri have announced he will do so on Friday in Mexico.

Hadjar will get behind the wheel of an F1 car for the first time when he drives the AT04 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

The Frenchman currently lies 14th in the Formula 2 championship, the lowest of the Red Bull-backed drivers. He has notched one podium with eight further points finishes.

Red Bull’s senior team are yet to field a rookie in either of the cars occupied by Max Verstappen or Sergio Perez. But it’s rumoured that Hadjar will get to drive the title-winning RB19 alongside reigning Formula E champion Jake Dennis in FP1 at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

Meanwhile, Alfa Romeo have confirmed that reserve driver Theo Pourchaire will also replace Valtteri Bottas at first practice in Mexico.

Pourchaire, 20, currently leads the way in his third campaign in Formula 2, 25 points clear of Frederik Vesti with only one round in Abu Dhabi remaining.

Vesti, a Mercedes junior driver, will also be granted an opportunity in the W14 this weekend, standing in for George Russell.

Elsewhere, Haas will run Ferrari Academy prospect Oliver Bearman, while Alpine revealed last weekend that Jack Doohan will receive outings in both Mexico and Abu Dhabi.

Bearman has won four races in his rookie season in the second tier to reside in sixth place, seven points behind Doohan, who has progressed to fourth with a late-season charge.

Alfa Romeo Team Representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi says the side is evaluating the Formula 1 testing opportunities available to Theo Pourchaire next year.

The team, which is set to revert back to the Sauber moniker ahead of its transition to Audi in 2026, confirmed ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix weekend that Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu would be retained.

That announcement has ruled out Pourchaire being promoted to an F1 race seat, with the 20-year-old set to remain as the Hinwil squad’s reserve driver for next year.

Pourchaire currently leads the Formula 2 Drivers’ Championship by 25 points over Mercedes junior Frederik Vesti with only a solitary round in Abu Dhabi remaining.

But with the prospect of the Frenchman being left without a full-time racing schedule in 2024, Alunni Bravi claims it’s evaluating the ideal programme for Pourchaire to be best prepared for a future F1 drive.

“We are ready to make a deal,” he said on Friday in Singapore when asked about Pourchaire being overlooked for a 2024 race seat with the Sauber-owned squad.

“Of course, first of all, as I said, we keep him as a part of our drivers’ line-up. He will be the reserve driver next year. We are discussing together which will be the best racing programme for him to be ready to jump into the F1 car.

“No doors are closed for him in the future. We just felt that will be the best choice for the team, to keep our driver line-up also for next year and this doesn’t exclude any opportunity for him in the future. We have seen with Felipe Drugovich – maybe we have seen in the past that is not… with [Oscar] Piastri as well – that after one year in Formula 2, if there is not actual chance to be a race driver, this doesn’t exclude the possibility for the team to appoint in the future.

“We just need to look at what is the best programme for him. We want him to stay close to the F1 team because this year we asked him to be fully focused in Formula 2 and he’s doing well. I think and I hope that he will win the championship in Abu Dhabi.”

Alunni Bravi pinpoints that the team hasn’t previously possessed the budget to run an older generation car for testing purposes like other sides notoriously have in the past.

However, the Italian underlines it is one of the options they are considering moving forward for Pourchaire’s development.

“Maybe we can also see for him which will be the best to be ready and to be prepared,” he continued. “Let’s imagine that, compared to other teams, we don’t have an old car like Aston Martin, like McLaren, or Mercedes to do a proper testing programme for a driver – and this is a big limitation – maybe this will be available for him next year.

“We are discussing internally; of course budget-wise this is something that for a team is quite expensive but we want to see all the opportunities but for a driver like him, the doors are open. We just need to see the best programme to be ready.”

Pressed on whether Pourchaire would be the driver to fulfil Alfa Romeo’s obligation to run a rookie, defined as a driver with two or less F1 starts, in two FP1 sessions this year, Alunni Bravi said: “Yeah, he will be doing FP1 sessions. We are looking at the best options.

“As you know, the second part of the season we have still a Sprint format weekend or new circuits like Qatar and Las Vegas, so opportunities are quite few but we think that we are targeting Mexico and Abu Dhabi. So we will decide in the next few weeks the best programme for him.”

Theo Pourchaire says his exploits in Formula 2 this season are important for his future as it means “Formula 1 teams are watching me.”

The Frenchman is currently top of the F2 standings with only three rounds to run, leading Mercedes-backed driver Frederik Vesti by 13 points, with Red Bull’s Ayumu Iwasa a further 15 points adrift.

Pourchaire is competing in his third campaign in F1’s premier feeder series, having previously become F2’s youngest pole sitter and race winner in Monaco in 2021.

However, at 19, Pourchaire remains one of the youngest drivers on the F2 grid – something he believes gets forgotten amid his years of experience within the category.

“It’s great because it helps for my future, even the Formula 1 teams are watching me,” the current Alfa Romeo reserve driver was quoted by Motorsport.nextgen-auto.

“Of course, it’s my third season in F2, but I’m still only 19. I’ll be 20 in August, which makes me the seventh youngest on the grid.

“I would say it’s like I’m not really a driver in my third F2 season, I’m just young.”

“I don’t have as much experience as other drivers who have done three seasons in F2.

“This year I feel good in the car and I’m still improving, I’m still improving with ART Grand Prix and with Alfa Romeo F1 as reserve driver. I learned a lot from them, and that’s good.”

“As I said, there are only good drivers in this area and a lot of those drivers deserve to drive in F1.

“They drive at a high level and they push for it. So I have to stay focused and work hard, even though I’m younger than the others.”

Having been a distant runner-up to Felipe Drugovich last year, Pourchaire stormed out of the blocks in Bahrain to convert pole position into a crushing Feature Race victory.

Although he has failed to triumph since taking to the top step of the podium in Sakhir, consistency has reigned supreme for Pourchaire, with the Sauber Junior driver recording nine podium finishes.

Pourchaire reclaimed the championship lead last time out at the Belgian Grand Prix, taking advantage of title rival Frederik Vesti failing to even start Sunday’s main event.

However, Pourchaire could become the third F2 champion in succession to not be rewarded with an F1 drive for the following campaign.

Oscar Piastri had to endure a year on the sidelines last season before he made his bow with McLaren this year, while 2022 champion Drugovich has only landed a reserve role with Aston Martin.

While Pourchaire is a member of the Sauber Junior Academy, Alfa Romeo Team Representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi has revealed the side plans to retain Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu for 2024.

The Sauber-run F1 team will transition into Audi from 2026, dropping the Alfa Romeo moniker at the end of this year.

Ralph Boschung eased to a maiden victory in Formula 2 in the Bahrain Sprint race. It is his first win in 96 races in the series.

The reverse grid saw Ralph Boschung start ahead of Roman Stanek ahead of Arthur Leclerc and Ayuma Iwasa. Theo Pourchaire would have to charge from tenth on the grid after an emphatic pole position yesterday which saw him qualify 7-tenths ahead of the rest of the field.

Boschung nailed the getaway as Stanek dropped down the order. Leclerc and Iwasa fought fiercely for second place which Stanek forfeited, with Red Bull junior Iwasa coming out on top in the first lap. The scrapping allowed Boschung to stretch out a 1.4-second lead by the end of lap 1.

A confidence-filled Pourchaire had made 4 positions by the end of lap 2 before claiming fifth position from Dennis Hauger into Turn 1. As Pourchaire climbed through the field, Leclerc was doing the opposite. he had fallen out of DRS range of Iwasa which saw him under pressure from those chasing behind.

Pourchaire was passing at will in the opening stages of the race as he continued to slice through the field. He swiftly dispatched Leclerc for fourth who had just been handed a 10-second stop-go penalty for a starting procedure infringement.

Victor Martins, the leading rookie in the field, launched an attack on Iwasa on lap 9. Martins got past into turn 1, but Iwasa managed to get back ahead in the middle sector. The fight brought Pourchaire back into the mix who had been managing his tyres 1.6 seconds back.

Iwasa was the cork in the bottle. His relentless defence while struggling on tyres had seen the gap to Boschung reach 4 seconds. Martins finally managed to get past and created a 1.5-second gap to Iwasa in the space of a lap. Pourchaire attempted to follow Martins through at turn 10, but Iwasa managed to keep the ART of Pourchaire behind. Hauger capitalised, demoting Pourchaire to fifth.

A big lock-up into the final corner for Iwasa allowed Hauger to make a move in the first complex successfully. Again, Pourchaire attempted to follow a car past Iwasa but was denied the opportunity. The battle between the pair looked to have put an end to any chances of Pourchaire storming to victory.

With 5 laps to go, the fight had settled down. Pourchaire seemed to accept that the podium places were now out of reach, with the train created by Iwasa some 8 seconds from Hauger in third. Boschung continued to control the race 6 seconds ahead of Martins in second place.

After 96 attempts, Ralph Boschung took a maiden victory in FIA Formula 2. Hauger had managed to get the better of Martins for second and third respectively. Pourchaire’s battle with Iwasa held him to fifth which he had to defend hard for against Jehan Daruvala. Maini and Fittipaldi completed the points-paying positions.

Theo Pourchaire claimed a dominant pole position for the opening Formula 2 Feature Race of the year on Sunday after setting the fastest lap time through qualifying in Bahrain.

The runner-up from last season’s championship led the way from start to finish during the 30-minute session to lay down an emphatic marker ahead of the new campaign.

Although the Sauber Academy driver’s initial effort would have been enough for him to stay on top, Pourchaire’s improved further during the final runs to take the first pole of 2023 by the staggeringly huge margin of 0.751s.  

That deficit was held over Victor Martins as the newcomer slotted impressively into second in his debut F2 qualifying to complete an ART 1-2 under the lights.

All of the 20 drivers immediately ventured out onto the track at the start of the session, requiring two warm-up laps to build up critical tyre and brake temperature.

The returning Ralph Boschung was the first driver to register a competitive lap time and the Dutch driver remained at the top of the pile with a 1:42.010s as the times came piling through.

However, Pourchaire, who topped the sole practice session earlier, blitzed all three sectors to then go 0.480s quicker than Boschung’s previous benchmark. The Campos driver was a further three-tenths ahead of Dennis Hauger in third.

As the drivers cooled their tyres and went again for a second push lap many found improvement hard to come by.

Nevertheless, the rookie duo of Victor Martins and Arthur Leclerc did manage to prop up the order to sit third and fourth respectively at the halfway stage of proceedings.

With the track continuing to evolve, the times rapidly came down. But nobody was able to get within touching distance of Pourchaire’s rapid-fire lap from the first runs.

Boschung’s failure to set a new personal best time allowed several drivers to leapfrog him on the timesheets and he eventually dropped down the order from a provisional front row to P10.

Richard Verschoor impressed to deliver third for Van Amersfoort Racing, while Hauger managed fourth for the reigning champions, MP Motorsport.

Meanwhile, Mercedes junior Frederik Vesti was fifth, with Kush Maini sixth in his maiden F2 qualifying outing. Next came the two DAMS drivers, as Ayumu Iwasa recovered from a poor start to the session to narrowly out-qualify his rookie partner, Leclerc.

Roman Stanek and Boschung rounded out the top 10 – the Campos driver taking solace in holding on to be assured of starting at the front for tomorrow’s shorter Sprint event.

Despite his route to pole position being secure by the time he was conducting his final run, Pourchaire proceeded to go a blistering six-tenths faster than his previous fastest time.

ART team-mate Martins followed him up on the road and in the timing sheets to end up on the front row – but still 0.751s slower than his more experienced team-mate.

Jack Doohan, one of the inform drivers during the latter stages of last year had preferred to run an alternative strategy by utilising a clear track and he initially succeeded in elevating himself up to fourth.

However, the Australian ended up a massively disappointing 17^th by the time the chequered flag dropped as others made use of the better track conditions at the end.

The opening Sprint Race of the year will take place tomorrow at 16:15 local time.

Championship favourite Theo Pourchaire set the early pace in the Formula 2 championship during the single practice session in Bahrain, which was interrupted by two red flags

It was rookie Brad Benavides who was the first to set a lap time, straight out of the box.

Fellow rookie Zane Maloney topped the time sheet quickly after, while his Rodin Carlin teammate and fellow Red Bull junior Enzo Fittipaldi lost power and had to pull over at turn 2, causing a red flag.

Following the brief red flag period to remove the stricken Carlin, Pourchaire topped the timing sheets and remained untouchable for the rest of the session, noting a 1:45.264 as the best overall time.

Returning drivers Ayumu Iwasa, Jehan Daruvala, and Frederik Vesti all looked for the P2 slot, before Pourchaire’s teammate and last year’s Formula 3 champion Victor Martins eventually managed to set the second-best time, making it an ART 1-2.

Richard Verschoor briefly found himself in P4 before getting his lap time deleted for track limits, dropping the Dutch driver back down to P9.

A second red flag came out when Campos’ Ralph Boschung came to a standstill at the exit of the pit lane with less than five minutes left on the clock, causing the session to end prematurely under the red flag.

DAMS driver and rookie Arthur Leclerc found himself in third, just under a tenth of a second adrift of the two Frenchmen, with Prema’s Vesti and Iwasa rounding out the top five.

Maloney, Boschung, Dennis Hauger, Verschoor, and Kush Maini set the rest of the top ten ahead of qualifying later today.

Formula 2 star Theo Pourchaire leads the way as the most notable name included among the Sauber Academy driver roster for the upcoming year.

Pourchaire has been ever-present in the Swiss group’s academy ranks since the scheme was launched in 2020, with the overall aim of nurturing young drivers through the junior categories on the path towards Formula 1.

Following on from making his F1 grand prix weekend debut with a practice outing at the United States GP last year, Pourchaire has since been promoted within the Alfa Romeo set-up to become the team’s reserve driver for the entirety of the 2023 season.

The French driver will conduct his new role alongside full-time racing duties in the F2 championship, as he aims to win the title in his third campaign after missing out in a battle with Felipe Drugovich last year.

“Being part of the Sauber Academy is a massive opportunity for me, and I am thankful for that,” Pourchaire acknowledged.

“I wouldn’t be where I am right now, and I wouldn’t have had the chances I was given without their support. I feel part of a great family and a great team, which gives me a further push to obtain the best possible results.

“This year will be a busy one, splitting my time between Formula 2 and my reserve driver duties, but I am ready and motivated for the challenge.”

Pourchaire currently holds the record for being the youngest race winner in both the F3 and F2 series and is one of four drivers enlisted in the Sauber Academy this year, including Marcus Amand and Lena Buhler, who will debut in the newly formed F1 Academy series.

Meanwhile, German karting talent, Taym Saleh, is the other name to have been chosen alongside that trio to represent the Hinwil-based squad in 2023.

Their progress will be overseen throughout the year by the Sporting Director of Sauber Motorsport, Beat Zehnder.

“Discovering and nurturing young talent has always been at the centre of Sauber Motorsport’s philosophy, with the ultimate aim of raising the champions of tomorrow,” Zehnder said.

“Sauber Academy’s 2023 roster is very promising, and I am looking forward to working with each of the drivers. Theo’s growth and development ever since he joined have been a source of great pride for us, including his promotion to being one of our Formula One team’s official reserve drivers.

“We are also delighted to welcome Lena, Marcus, and Taym to the Academy.

“We will be by their side in the next steps of their careers, providing them with the tools, the education and the resources needed to succeed in the world of motorsport: we cannot wait to get started and unlock their potential further together.”

Theo Pourchaire will remain in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with ART Grand Prix for the 2023 campaign, the team has confirmed.

It will be the Frenchman’s third season in the junior category.

Pourchaire ended the 2022 campaign second in the Drivers’ standings, missing out on the title to Felipe Drugovich, who held a large margin in the final classification.

He took three race wins across the year, as well as three further podium finishes.

“I couldn’t be happier to extend my career in this top-level Formula 2 championship with ART Grand Prix, which has become a family to me,” Pourchaire said.

“We have had intense moments over the past three years and it’s important to prepare for the 2023 championship with a team that knows me and knows how to put me in the best possible situations.

“We may have lacked success last year, but we gained experience that makes us even stronger. I will do everything I can to bring the title to ART Grand Prix this season.”

Pourchaire also made his Formula 1 FP1 debut last year with Alfa Romeo, as he holds a junior driver role with the Sauber organisation. 

His 2023 team-mate has not yet been confirmed, however reigning Formula 3 champion Victor Martins is a leading contender for the drive.

“Theo will still be one of the youngest drivers on the grid, but he has acquired a technical and personal maturity which, combined with his speed and his combativeness, will be a major asset to be consistently at the front of the field and will help the team in its technical focus,” said team manager Sébastien Philippe.

“Last season showed us how much every detail counts and after two seasons in Formula 2 with Theo, ART Grand Prix’s mission will be to master everything in our power to optimize our chances of winning the title in 2023”.

Theo Pourchaire says that he is “pretty sure” he wouldn’t have landed a Formula 1 seat in 2023 had he won the Formula 2 Championship this year.

The Frenchman finished the junior championship second in the standings, a long way off runaway title winner Felipe Drugovich.

Pourchaire has long been linked to a seat in F1 and has been part of the Sauber Academy for a number of years.

He received his first F1 outing with the Alfa Romeo team during a private test at the Hungaroring last year, before making his FP1 debut in 2022 at the United States Grand Prix.

Alfa Romeo opted to retain Zhou Guanyu for a second season in 2023, with no other F1 opportunities sprouting for Pourchaire.

However, the 19-year-old believes that even with the F2 title in his pocket, he wouldn’t be competing in F1 next year.

“To be honest, even if I’d won the championship, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be in F1 in 2023,” Pourchaire told Motorsport.com.  

“Because of many things, and that’s the sports nowadays, it’s like this, it’s built like this. So I’m okay with that.  

“I understand that I’m still young, and I’m ready to work on myself and to build myself to be ready to grab a seat in 2024. My dream is to be a Formula 1 driver, Formula 1 world champion. 

“The rest, I’m not really interested in doing, I’m not really interested in being a GT driver, Formula E driver or other things.  

“I mean, if I cannot get to F1, maybe I will drive those cars, those championships, but my dream at the moment is to be in F1, that’s it.”

Pourchaire says third F2 season an option

Pourchaire’s 2022 campaign was his second in the F2 championship.

His racing plans for next season are not yet finalised – however he has not ruled out returning to the series for a third stab at the title.

“We were talking about this with the Sauber Academy a few days ago,” he said. “It’s an option because Formula 2 is, in my opinion, the best championship after Formula 1.  

“We are on the same weekends as the Formula 1 teams, we are watched by every Formula 1 team.  

“I am still very young. I am capable of winning this championship for sure, at least I will give my best if I do this for another year, I don’t know yet.  

“Let’s see how it goes in the talks for my future. But if I have a good contract, a good option, why not do a third season in F2?”