For his first IndyCar race, replacing the injured David Malukas, the driver from Grasse finished in 11th position on the Long Beach street circuit.
Having been in the United States for nearly two weeks, Théo Pourchaire began his American dream in California. Present for the second official race of the season, the driver from Grasse had his work cut out for him. New discipline, environment, car… the changes were numerous. However, upon arriving on American soil, he reconnected with some familiar faces like Marcus Armstrong and Christian Lundgaard, whom he had previously encountered in F2.
In his first qualifying session, Théo Pourchaire ended up 22nd out of the 27 cars. An honorable result given the limited experience he had with this McLaren Arrows, which has a philosophy completely different from other single-seaters the Maralpin had driven before.
A promising debut for Théo Pourchaire
At the start of his first Grand Prix, the Frenchman was cautious and stayed out of trouble. This allowed him to gain three positions in the first ten laps. Despite slight oversteer, he seemed to acclimate well to his single-seater. During the first Full Course Yellow on lap 15, Théo didn’t stop and moved into 8th position just behind Romain Grosjean. His first pit stop on the 30th lap cost him some time, and he rejoined in 23rd, drafting behind his teammate Alexander Rossi.
In this second stint, he even managed to drive faster than the race leader, Scott Dixon. Keeping pace with his teammates ahead of him, the Frenchman improved lap by lap. Assertive against Pietro Fittipaldi, he regained a position by making his first overtaking move. An impressive feat on a circuit where passing is not easy. The Azuréen even had the luxury of passing the one who had been dominating the race until then, Scott Dixon. It was quite an impact for a debut.
The second pit stop went better, allowing him to rejoin in 17th place. Now all the drivers had made their various pit stops, and it would come down to driving skills. In the race’s final quarter, he found himself in 15th. That’s when he chose to attack Christian Lundgaard to gain another position. Up ahead, Scott McLaughlin made a mistake, giving a new position to Théo Pourchaire. Battling with Linus Lundqvist for the best rookie (beginner: Ed.), the driver from Grasse increased the pressure. After three laps of tussle, the Frenchman managed to find an opening. Then it was Marcus Armstrong’s turn to be overtaken by the show-stopping McLaren No.6.
He finally finished his first IndyCar race in 11th place and as the top Rookie. An absolutely remarkable performance. It remains to be seen if McLaren will give him another chance next weekend at Barber.
