Not so long ago he was THE future star of F1, now anonymity threatens
General
- Ludo van Denderen
Formula 1 is a brutal world. One day you are The Next Best Thing, the next day you are forgotten about, and other young talents are eager to take your place. Barely six months ago, for instance, Théo Pourchaire was predicted to have a golden future. But after a difficult start in Japan—to which he was sent as a member of the Sauber Academy—Pourchaire's name has dropped out of the conversation for 2025 seats.
Pourchaire is only 20 years old. A decade or so ago, that would have been the age at which a driver took his first steps in Formula 2 (GP2 series or Formula 3000, as it was previously called). Seriously, thinking about a chance in Formula 1 did not usually happen until a driver was around 23 years old, at the earliest. Times have changed. It almost seems that a young talent has to have a permanent seat in Formula 1 at 20 otherwise his chance is gone.
Pourchaire never got a serious chance
Sauber - or Stake F1 as the team is currently known - has had Pourchaire in their own training programme since 2019. The Swiss team always spoke highly of the Frenchman, who made his debut in Formula 2 at the age of 17. The route to a place with Sauber's F1 team was open. But it didn't materialise. That is justifiable, as Pourchaire only won the title there in year three, and to be fair, last season wasn't the most convincing. He managed to win only one of 26 races.
So when Sauber decided whether Pourchaire would get the chance to replace Gyanyu Zhou or Valtteri Bottas in 2024, it wasn't a difficult judgement to make. A driver who did not excel almost weekly in F2 was no improvement on the two drivers already there. They decided to hold Pourchaire back for a year in the Japanese Super Formula, exactly as Red Bull had done in the past with Pierre Gasly and Liam Lawson, in the hope that he would prove Sauber wrong there.
Difficult start in Japan for Pourchaire
Of course, it was only the first race weekend, and certainly Pourchaire deserves the chance over a longer period of time. But the youngster underperformed during the opening weekend at Suzuka. In the field with only Japanese drivers, Pourchaire qualified in position 16; after the start of the race, he even dropped back to position 19. In the end, the Frenchman crossed the line in 18th place, 1:18 off the winner.
Sauber sees that too, at a time when new owner Audi needs to commit drivers for 2025. Carlos Sainz is mentioned, and Nico Hulkenberg is a serious option. Perhaps Valtteri Bottas or Guanyu Zhou will get a second chance. And in Formula 2, Zane Maloney (20) is currently causing a furore. A member of the Sauber Academy, he leads the championship and has already won twice this season. He may come into the picture.
Théo Pourchaire? That name is not in the conversation. Nor is the Frenchman mentioned at any other F1 team. 20 years only, but cautiously he faces the same fate as, say, Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin) and Robert Schwarzman (Ferrari). They, too, were once young talents and future stars for whom the road to Formula 1 was wide open. But who is still talking about them after a few years on the sidelines?