Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Theo Pourchaire enjoyed his first Super Formula test as he aims to step up to the series, while the scale of his 2024 Formula 1 activies look less clear cut.
Earlier this week he spent two days driving at Suzuka for Team Impul, and was seventh fastest overall in SF’s official post-season test.
In his third season in Formula 2 he achieved the goal set by Sauber to win the title, but was not rewarded by the team with a race seat and instead remains its reserve driver. And that role may not include much track time in 2024.
“As a F2 champion, I think I was deserving a position [in F1],” said Pourchaire. “But it’s like this, it’s life. I think SF is a great category. And it was my first time in Japan this week. The people there are amazing. It’s a complete different culture and the car is fast. I discovered Suzuka as well. Suzuka is a crazy track. It’s so fast and so difficult.
“I talked to some F1 drivers before going there, and they were always telling me ‘Suzuka is an amazing track, is one of my favourites’. And I was like ‘I never drove there, I cannot tell you, but definitely it’s I think one of the best tracks in the world’. So SF plus Suzuka was an amazing experience.”
Pourchaire “I’m the third F2 champion in a row to not be promoted to F1” the year after.
“There is no [rule], it’s not because you are an F2 champion that you will have a place in F1. But I think it’s a bit, I’m disappointed to be honest because I’m an F2 champion, I did some good results in the past. I did my best. And the goal that Sauber Academy told me, it was to win the championship, and I did it.”
His target now is to stay racing in 2024, and SF is “the best option for me” to “prepare myself for 2025” in F1 since his test mileage in 2024 may be quite restricted.
“Driving in an F1 car for some testing days is good, but it’s a lot of money and not every F1 team can can afford that. Unfortunately I think it will not be the case for me with the Sauber Academy.”
However he added that he hopes to do “a lot of simulator work”.
“Probably two free practices as well because there is still the rookie FP1s. But Japan, of course it’s really far from Europe. The car is quick. We saw with Liam Lawson, he drove there, finished vice-champion, and he had an opportunity to drive three F1 grands prix. And he was straight away quick in the car.”
As for 2025, he notes that “in the end of 2024 there’s a lot of drivers without a contract”, so by staying racing will be showing the whole F1 paddock “that I’m able to be really fast and that I deserve a place there”.