After a tough few years amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Super Formula re-emerged as a viable stepping stone to Formula 1 last year thanks to the exploits of Liam Lawson. Although Lawson wasn’t quite able to convince Red Bull to give him a race seat at the team now known as RB, success in Japan helped put him firmly on the F1 radar even before his five stand-in appearances for Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri last year.
This season, another high-profile gaijin with clear F1 aspirations is hoping to make a similar impact in Super Formula: reigning F2 champion Theo Pourchaire. Pourchaire finds himself in a slightly different position to Lawson, however.
For one thing, unlike the Kiwi, he comes to Japan with the F2 title under his belt, and as such his stock in F1 circles is arguably slightly higher than Lawson’s was this time a year ago. On top of that, he won’t have the luxury of driving for Super Formula’s dominant team of recent times, Mugen, as Lawson did. Instead, he will be representing Team Impul as it aims to win a drivers’ title for the first time since Joao Paulo de Oliveira back in 2010.
Pourchaire toyed with a Super Formula move for 2023, even entering discussions to succeed Sacha Fenestraz at Kondo Racing, but he and his Sauber Academy backers chose instead to stay in F2 for a third season. After winning last year’s title, a fourth year wasn’t an option for the Frenchman, who called a move to Japan “logical”.
“I had two choices: I could stay as just a reserve driver in F1, which I am really happy to do, but it means almost all simulator work and almost no actual driving, maybe one or two practice sessions all year,” said Pourchaire. “The other option was Super Formula.
“It’s a bit difficult to just stay on the sidelines and wait for something that may never happen. Driving on the simulator is great, but I am super-happy that I can do what I love to do: drive super-fast cars around beautiful circuits, in a great team.”
Source: Autosport