After two successful weeks in Austria and then Hungary, the driver from Grasse experienced more challenging moments at Silverstone.
The fourth round of the Formula 3 World Championship took place last weekend on the legendary British track of Silverstone, located northwest of London. Building on his success in the first race in Hungary, Théo Pourchaire approached this new event as a novice at this circuit he had never raced on before. Unfortunately, success was not forthcoming in qualifying, as the youngest driver on the grid (he will turn 17 at the end of the month) only managed the 13th fastest time, 0.7 seconds off pole position.
Struggling with a capricious car, the ART No. 7 driver suffered in traffic at the start of the race, losing several positions. Despite several Safety Car interventions allowing him to catch up to the leading pack, Pourchaire finished in 12th position, outside of the points. “The lack of experience in the heat didn’t help me this weekend. I didn’t achieve the qualifying result we hoped for, but we know I still have a lot to learn. In the race, I had a good pace, but as we all know, traffic is traffic, and we have to deal with it. The series of Safety Cars, including the last one, halted my progress,” the driver from Grasse stated at the end of the first race.
A solid Sunday
In race 2, while his teammate Smolyar started from pole position thanks to the reverse grid system (the 10th starts 1st, the 2nd in 9th position…), Théo Pourchaire engaged in a fierce battle with one of his title rivals, Dutch driver Richard Verschoor. Starting 12th, the Frenchman finished in a fine 8th place, earning him three valuable points which could prove to be significant at the end of the season.
Following this new weekend of competition, Théo Pourchaire dropped to 6th place in the World Championship, still dominated by Australian Oscar Piastri (despite a retirement in race 2).
