Former Sauber Formula 1 protege Theo Pourchaire is a surprise new addition to Mercedes' development driver ranks for 2026.
Pourchaire put together a strong case for being one of the strongest drivers on the junior ladder in the early 2020s not to reach F1.
He came up just three points short of stealing the 2020 Formula 3 title from far more experienced Prema drivers Oscar Piastri and Logan Sargeant (both of whom graduated to F1 three years later) and became the youngest Formula 2 race winner one year later.
His progress somewhat stalled thereafter as his second F2 year didn't deliver the title challenge that was expected.
His third F2 season in 2023 did produce that title, but it wasn't in as emphatic a fashion as F1 graduating F2 champions such as George Russell (2018), Piastri (2021) and Gabriel Bortoleto (2024) all managed.
Sauber supported Pourchaire from 2019 but, despite three FP1 appearances with the team, he never entered serious contention to replace its race drivers, Valtteri Bottas or Zhou Guanyu.
Pourchaire split from Sauber at the end of 2024 - having embarked on a rollercoaster IndyCar switch with McLaren, where he displayed strong pace but was dropped after just a few races, only to then be brought back as a one-off injury stand-in.
He made the switch to sportscars in 2025 and is now part of Peugeot's full-time Hypercar driver line-up for 2026.
And now Mercedes has offered him an unexpected route back to F1 via a development role that will likely involve simulator work at Mercedes' Brackley base.
He joins Formula 2 race winner Joshua Duersken, 2026 F1 Academy champion Doriane Pin, and ex-F1 driver turned Sky Sports F1 pundit Anthony Davidson as the team's official F1 development drivers.
Frederik Vesti - who finished runner-up to Pourchaire in F2 in 2023 - is Mercedes' official reserve driver.
from The Race https://ift.tt/lyxQimA
No comments: