The Sauber F1 team has jumped into action to try and help its reserve driver Theo Pourchaire secure a new drive in the NTT IndyCar Series.
Pourchaire was unceremoniously dropped by Arrow McLaren ahead of last weekend’s round at Laguna Seca, just weeks after being confirmed by the team as David Malukas’ replacement for the remainder of the season.
Pourchaire, the reigning FIA Formula 2 champion, was initially brought in as a temporary replacement for the injured Malukas. But his impressive initial outings with Arrow McLaren led the team to offer the Frenchman a full-time contract.
However, that commitment was short-lived. Last week, Arrow McLaren announced a multi-year deal with Nolan Siegel, effectively replacing Pourchaire.
Having already vacated his Super Formula seat in Japan to pursue his IndyCar opportunity, the unexpected move left the 20-year-old in a precarious position.
Sauber, understandably frustrated by the situation according to team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi, acknowledged McLaren's right to make the call but is now actively seeking a new IndyCar seat for their promising talent.
“McLaren needed to change its strategy on the drivers and we understand their position," Alunni Bravi told Motorsport.com.
"Of course, we cannot be happy, mainly because Theo has lost the opportunity to have a strong racing programme.
"This is something that can happen in motorsport, we cannot blame McLaren. But we need just now to look at the future and find another good opportunity for Theo.
©McLaren
"We are already working with him to secure another seat in IndyCar, hopefully he can do some races this year.
"We wanted for him to have an important racing programme because we want to have him always ready to jump into the car, if necessary.
"He showed immediately that he can compete for a top 10 position."
Nolan Siegel’s vacant seat at Dale Coyne Racing comes to mind as a possible opportunity for Pourchaire, although Alunni Bravi did not name any specific team susceptible to take Pourchaire onboard.
“We are focused for him to have a strong 2025 programme with one of the best IndyCar teams," the Italian said.
"This is a very demanding championship, different track layouts, track characteristics, a lot of very experienced and professional drivers with specific knowledge of the category.
"So, it's a good environment for a driver to grow. Now we can't lose any other opportunities for him to race, because for any driver just the role of reserve driver is not enough to keep them in a good racing shape."
Regarding Sauber’s 2025 line-up in Formula 1, Alunni Bravi confirmed that four drivers were of particular interest to the Swiss outfit and to its partner/owner Audi: incumbent Valtteri Bottas, Carlos Sainz, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly.
"There are in the Formula 1 market four Formula 1 race winners and we are discussing with all of them," he said.
"One of the main characteristics we want is a long-term commitment with the Audi project."
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