Left out in the cold, Theo Poolchair will step into both IndyCar and F1 camps following reports he is looking to sign with Arrow McLaren, but Sauber retains option with him It’s planned.
Pourcher’s auto racing dreams of winning the 2023 F2 championship were dashed when Sauber opted to keep Valtteri Bottas and Chou Guanyu in this year’s championship instead of encouraging their long-time juniors.
Theo Pulchere reportedly signs with McLaren’s IndyCar team
However, the highly-rated Frenchman was given an opportunity to compete in IndyCar when Arrow McLaren called him to Long Beach, where he finished an impressive 11th and finished second at Barber Motorsports Park. He earned his second appearance.
Arrow McLaren have since removed injured David Markus from their program after a broken wrist sustained in a mountain bike accident turned out to be more serious than initially thought.
The team is currently in need of a permanent replacement for Poolscheele’s recent oval test, which means he has been given permission by IndyCar to compete at the oval and his future is secured. It is said that
But he will still find his footing in F1 with Sauber.
According to L’Equipe, Pourcher is “looking to sign a long-term contract with McLaren”, but Sauber will retain “the option to send him back to F1 should simulator needs or seats become available”.
Last week, Sauber confirmed half of its 2025 line-up with the team announcing that Nico Hulkenberg has signed a multi-year deal to join the team, which will rebrand as Audi in 2026.
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Theo Pulchere has been cleared by IndyCar to race on the oval.
Adding fuel to the rumors, Poolecher got his first taste of an IndyCar oval on Monday when he drove the No. 6 Chevrolet Arrows McLaren at Worldwide Technology Raceway.
On a rain-interrupted day, the 20-year-old completed 110 laps around the 1.25-mile track and was cleared by IndyCar to compete on the oval.
“I’m really happy to get behind the wheel of the Arrow McLaren IndyCar and it’s great to have this opportunity again,” he said. “And it was my first time riding an oval and it was really exciting and I couldn’t wait to get a feel for what it was like to ride on an oval.
“I can tell you now, it’s really fast, it’s really impressive. The steering wheel, the steering inputs, the power on have to be very smooth, and it has to be very smooth in the car.
“I’m really happy (but) mentally it’s really tiring. It’s going so fast and you don’t want to make mistakes on a track like this.
“If you make a small mistake, you can hit a wall. And we all know that hitting a wall on the oval is very dangerous.
“But it was fun. It was a very good day. The pace was good.”
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