Alfa Romeo reserve Theo Pourchaire says he is "working hard and staying focused" on his objective of winning this year's FIA Formula 2 Championship, knowing that F1 is watching.
Pourchaire has so far claimed but a single win in the junior series – at the first round in Bahrain – but the young ART charger's consistency has placed him at the top of the standings with a 12-point lead over Prema's Frederik Vesti with three events and six races to go.
The Frenchman, who is still just 19, is currently competing in his third full season in F2.
"It’s great because it helps for my future, even the Formula 1 teams are watching me," he said, quoted by 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."
Pourchaire was enrolled into the Sauber Academy in 2020, and subsequently enjoyed several F1 tests with the Alfa Romeo F1 team.
Last year, he finished runner-up to F2 champion Felipe Drugovich. But Alfa's decision to keep Chinese hopeful Zhou Guanyu in its lineup alongside Valtteri Bottas precluded Pourchaire's promotion to F1 with the Swiss outfit.
But the young gun is hopeful that his positive results and a shot at the title in F2 coupled with his young age and hard work will produce an opportunity to join motorsport's elite at some point.
"I don’t have as much experience as other drivers who have done three seasons in F2," he said.
"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."
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