In the round-up: Reigning Formula 2 champion and Sauber reserve driver Theo Pourchaire doesn’t believe he was seriously considered for promotion to Formula 1.
In brief
F1 snub “hurts” – Pourchaire
Pourchaire won the F2 title last year having made his debut in the series two years earlier at the age of 17. However he failed to gain a place in F1 this year.
“It’s tough because I won F2 which is the last step before F1,” he told Speed Street. “Everybody is looking at the Formula 2 drivers in the F1 paddock, which ones are going to drive in F1 for the next few years. But I felt like I was considered, but not that much, and that hurts quite a lot.”
He made one start in Super Formula at the beginning of the year, then made six appearances with McLaren’s IndyCar team as a substitute. He remains hopeful of getting a chance to race in F1.
“I think the door is not closed yet, but you know, it’s Formula 1, you never know what can happen in the Formula 1 world. You see crazy things happening. So I still believe I probably deserve a chance, at least a chance just to show myself.”
He said he doesn’t regard IndyCar “as a plan B” and has had some discussions about returning next year. “I’ve been in talks with some other teams, mainly looking forward to next season. Because if I don’t have an opportunity in Formula 1, IndyCar is really something I want to do.”
Canapino’s exit partly down to performance – Juncos
Ricardo Juncos said the team’s decision to replace Agustin Canapino was partly due to his performance in his second year as an IndyCar driver. Canapino lay 23rd in the standings after missing the Road America round amid the fall-out over his reaction to an online row between his supporters and Pourchaire.“It’s a little bit of everything, is not just one thing alone,” said Juncos when asked to explain the team’s change of driver. “We analysed all the situation with the group, Agustin included. We made the best decision for everyone. It’s not just one thing.”
Canapino, a multiple champion in Argentina’s touring car series, arrived in IndyCar with minimal open-wheel experience.
“We chose him out of open-wheel, it was a big challenge, a crazy move in a way. I think when you see what he did last year, it was really, really good. Surprised a lot of people.
“On the inside, knowing the situation in our country, in Argentina where he came from, it’s tough. We took the risk again based on his performance for this year.
“I think he did an excellent job considering the situation, not just on the sporting side, meaning that he never race in an open-wheel, now here he is in IndyCar. But also coming from a totally different country, culture, language, everything else that he need to adapt. I think he did an outstanding job.
“Obviously the results on this year were not the results we were hoping for. But I’m always going to be thankful for the opportunity and the big chances that he took.”
Canadian GP promoter steps down
Francois Dumontier has stepped down as president and CEO of Octane Racing Group, which promotes the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, an event he has worked on for 30 years. Dumontier became president and CEO of the race in 2009.
He will remain as a strategic advisor and continue to serve on the FIA’s Circuit Sport Committee and Single-Seater Committee. Jean-Philippe Paradis will take charge of Octane Racing Group
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Links
Despite F1 out-clause in Ganassi deal, Palou calls rumours of move to Sauber 'fake' (IndyStar)
'Zero, zero. I know you cannot take it (as truth), but I have not. I’m not going to say much, but I’m not trying to go. I tried. I got a small taste, and it was fun, and I learned, but it didn’t happen, so I’m good.'
Hadjar’s engineers: 'He is talented, professional and mentally strong' (Formula Scout)
'It’s a track where you need to build up your pace progressively through free practice and qualifying, but he couldn’t run in (free practice) due to an issue. Going straight to quali and doing a top 10 less than three tenths (of a second) from pole with such a tight field was very impressive from his side.'
'As you can probably imagine, Toto and myself have had a few opportunities on the track together, and it’s been so much fun. On one occasion in Austin Lewis (Hamilton) was there as well, and I can’t release the footage to you, but all you hear is him laughing inside the car.'
'Given the AI drivers a good talking to, so they will no longer celebrate a victory too early and potentially lose the race.'
''The unsung heroes are the ones that put the work in all those years ago to allow women to even be able to play football,' says Hawkins, who played soccer for Reading growing up. 'I feel like that’s where we are now with motorsport. And in a few years or however long it takes, it is going to erupt like women’s football has.''
London ‘not safe’ any more (The Telegraph)
'(Mercedes F1 team co-owner Jim Ratcliffe) praised Sir Keir Starmer, the prime minister, saying he believed he would 'do a very sensible job', but doubled down on criticism of Labour’s ban on North Sea oil and gas exploration.'
We always endeavour to credit original sources. Got a tip for a link relating to single-seater motorsport? Please send it to us via the contact form.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Social media
Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
Practice 1 at St.Louis 🔛✅ pic.twitter.com/bqUsIEXC1P
— Juncos Hollinger Racing (@juncoshollinger) August 16, 2024
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
Is Lando Norris the second-best Formula 1 driver of 2024 so far? Dane disagrees:
I feel like Norris has made too many mistakes or at least failed to capitalise on opportunities to be ranked number two.
Other drivers get every point available to outperform their cars and while that’s sometimes the case for Lando I don’t think he does it with the consistency to be called the best driver not named Verstappen.
Dane
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Luts and Electrolite!
On this day in motorsport
- 50 years ago today Niki Lauda claimed pole position for his home race at the Osterreichring
An Sionnach
17th August 2024, 0:19
The comment about Lando’s inconsistency is correct, but… what are the others doing? Oscar is more consistent and usually does a decent job in qualifying, but seems a bit slow in the races. Russell is usually excellent in qualifying, but he’s also anonymous enough in the races. You can see Lewis is brilliant. I think he even put in some quiet, strong race performances to recover when he was poor in qualifying at the start of the season. He is rarely slow in the actual races and can put in consistent fast laps while managing his tyres. I’m not going to try and work him out. He doesn’t owe anyone anything in terms of performance at this stage, but it would be nice if he got his chin up and stopped letting himself down. Hulkenberg is a great qualifier, but that’s it. He would make a super wing man for a lead driver, or a good development driver to show the engineers exactly what their changes are doing to the car. I won’t go on about the others. If Lando was close to Max with his performances, the gap would look a lot more closable. Other than his silly driving in Austria and bad starts, his main mistakes have been strategic. He should be able to improve that – just cover off undercuts and don’t stay out there all day wondering why staying out there all day and not coming in for fresh tyres is still a terrible strategy.
notagrumpyfan
17th August 2024, 7:33
Indeed!
This is simply not true. All drivers (including Verstappen) have made mistakes in various races so far this year. The difference is that Norris immediately and openly talks about it; whereas the others keep quite, blame something else, or focus on the things they did well.
None of the commenters who criticised Norris for his mistakes have make a convincing argument of who should be ahead of him in the ranking (besides Verstappen).
Nick T.
17th August 2024, 16:44
Max has made far fewer than any others though and I say this as someone who has never liked the man. Lando hasn’t been very impressive for being in what is probably the fastest car on the grid for more of the season than Max. There really aren’t ANY drivers who deserve the title of #2 best in F1 right now. It’s been a year of non-stellar performances for nearly the entire grid, but having this ranking format means someone has to get the ranking. I don’t agree that Oscar has driven better, but he really shouldn’t be at this point. Lando has been in this car and team forever.
notagrumpyfan
17th August 2024, 21:24
If this ranking were about who impressed me most then Piastri would be ahead of Norris.
But it’s a performance ranking and I disregard how long a driver has been on the grid.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
17th August 2024, 23:08
running in to Lando 3 times about the same corner/exit must have been deliberate then ? How about running in to HAM while trying to hurry him off track. Max makes lots of mistakes, the stewards never call him on it though. And hes had a cheat device on his rear brakes for lolz knows how long. Its easy not to make mistakes when your the #1 driver on a car that has ‘traction aids’.
Nick T.
18th August 2024, 2:47
He drove dirty in Austria, but he’s still been the best driver this season by quite a margin. It’s no guarantee it’ll continue.
Jere (@jerejj)
17th August 2024, 6:34
Teams have the right to prefer other drivers & this will most likely continue, so his chance of becoming a full-time driver is only getting lower with time.
Palou’s Sauber switch rumor was unfounded from the get-go as I suspected.
What footage? That particular Pirelli Hot Lap run from one US GP weekend didn’t get filmed, so no footage even exists in the first place.
J765
17th August 2024, 8:44
I can’t agree more with Pourchaire. Looking at racefan’s bottom 10, filled with forgettable drivers and old dinosaurs whose time passed +10 years ago , one wonders how comes the roster has become so stagnant.
Dex
17th August 2024, 9:08
He didn’t look great in F2, and he even showed some “Grosjean” mental signs (not the positive version of what we call killer instinct). He won the title, but not outright, and he didn’t even seem to be the best driver that (pretty poor) year. Drugovich is nothing special, and he destroyed him earlier. I don’t think Pourchaire was overlooked (especially since he did have F1 tests), more like deemed not good enough to be “a must have”.
There are like 50 “solid” drivers who can “do the job”, but he’s neither the fastest among them, nor the most mentally stable. So why would he get a drive instead of any driver expected to be in F1 next season (except maybe, just maybe Stroll, or Bearman if his F2 career is a sign)? Sargeant, Zhou and Magnussen are leaving…
We’re all doing a guessing game a little (how can any of us truly know how a driver X would do in F1?), but I think there are two or three more interesting options in Indycar even, like Palou. Nobody is simply owed a position by default.
What we desperately need are more teams, everything would look better with 26 places on the grid, or at least 24.
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
17th August 2024, 11:03
Indeed. Since Charles Leclerc only Piastri has been really outstanding, scything through F3 and F2, so much that Alpine sidelining him has been a very unpopular move.
I don’t think adding Pourchaire, Drugovitch or any other current candidate would add value to the current crop, bar a few F1 drivers.
Would Pourchaire even beat Stroll? I’d like to see Stroll out, but probably most candidates would not set the world on fire just yet.
I’m not holding my breath for Bearman either, but let’s see. We loose KMag’s antics but his driving has not been great so that is maybe a welcome change?
Let’s not forget that young drivers actually DO enter in F1. And every time they considered someone that has not crushed the competition it’s been a forgettable addition, like Zhou, Tsunoda or Sargeant.
Nick T.
17th August 2024, 16:35
I couldn’t agree less. He looked far from amazing in a mediocre F2 crop. However, based on crazy opportunities and the program they’re part of, drivers with even more mediocre junior careers like Lawson are getting a shot. Life isn’t fair and F1 is especially unfair if you’re hoping to be given a shot. If you’re not bringing a ton of $, you need to absolutely smash the competition to be guaranteed a shot.
There are far more exciting junior drivers right now, including Paul Aaron, Hadjar and Maloney. Kimi does look good for how young he is and being better than a kid who has already been given a seat. It doesn’t hurt that Ollie’s father is bringing about $16m to Haas.
Riccard
17th August 2024, 9:35
One thing that doesn’t help Pourchaire is the rule that F2 champions need to quit.
I like that they have rules to make space for young talent, but by the time you seal the championship, F1 seats have often all gone.
I think it would be much better to allow 1 more year after your victory. We could measure last year’s champion against this year’s contenders, and see whether they can deliver two years in a row.
Meanwhile they would have a drive and be at the front of people’s minds while looking at Hadjar, Kimi, Bearman.
Riccard
17th August 2024, 9:37
Also, if we really want to make space, wouldn’t a better rule be that you need to move on after 5 years where you win or not?
The champion wouldn’t be first in like for a clearout – especially if F1 teams seem to think they have more to prove.
Mooa42
19th August 2024, 4:13
I think 2 years maximum in F2, regardless of finishing position. Which would mean Pourchaire wouldn’t have won the F2 title. He won in his 3rd year, in a mediocre year for good drivers. I don’t think he has been overlooked, he has been looked at, and assessed as not a good option.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
20th August 2024, 20:04
I think it would help if F2 was scheduled to be done and dusted in the first half of the season, then F3 happen during the second half of the season. If F1 teams knew who was good earlier, they’d be able to open negotiations earlier and not feel obliged to stick to occasionally considering drivers who they’ve seen test. In turn, this would lead to fewer champions being forced to decide between staying on the sidelines for a whole year simulator testing for a F1 team or going to America and effectively saying goodbye to their F1 chances.
Don
17th August 2024, 14:36
Pourchaire really got the shaft from McLaren. Hoping he gets another opportunity in IndyCar.
Nick T.
17th August 2024, 16:38
F1 teams should simply be REQUIRED to give two rookies a drive alongside an existing driver in two non-championship races. I, along with many others would pay to attend. It’s really not that hard. Have it at the same location all the teams are about to do testing if need be. This would eliminate the “crazy chances” many drivers these days rely on for a shot.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
17th August 2024, 23:15
F1 is to big too fail. It can’t afford anything but what it already knows or understands. If you want to make F1 great again, have a cost cap of 5 million dollars for the whole team. Make it dirt poor, that’s where greatness begins, not in these political climates.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
20th August 2024, 20:06
@pcxmac The last time anyone tried anything anywhere near that strict, we nearly didn’t get F1 the following year.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
20th August 2024, 20:06
I don’t think it would help, because it would become a pair of novelty races where teams had little incentive to put effort into either driver’s race.