Theo Pourchaire says that he is “pretty sure” he wouldn’t have landed a Formula 1 seat in 2023 had he won the Formula 2 Championship this year.
The Frenchman finished the junior championship second in the standings, a long way off runaway title winner Felipe Drugovich.
Pourchaire has long been linked to a seat in F1 and has been part of the Sauber Academy for a number of years.
He received his first F1 outing with the Alfa Romeo team during a private test at the Hungaroring last year, before making his FP1 debut in 2022 at the United States Grand Prix.
Alfa Romeo opted to retain Zhou Guanyu for a second season in 2023, with no other F1 opportunities sprouting for Pourchaire.
However, the 19-year-old believes that even with the F2 title in his pocket, he wouldn’t be competing in F1 next year.
“To be honest, even if I’d won the championship, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be in F1 in 2023,” Pourchaire told Motorsport.com.
“Because of many things, and that’s the sports nowadays, it’s like this, it’s built like this. So I’m okay with that.
“I understand that I’m still young, and I’m ready to work on myself and to build myself to be ready to grab a seat in 2024. My dream is to be a Formula 1 driver, Formula 1 world champion.
“The rest, I’m not really interested in doing, I’m not really interested in being a GT driver, Formula E driver or other things.
“I mean, if I cannot get to F1, maybe I will drive those cars, those championships, but my dream at the moment is to be in F1, that’s it.”
Pourchaire says third F2 season an option
Pourchaire’s 2022 campaign was his second in the F2 championship.
His racing plans for next season are not yet finalised – however he has not ruled out returning to the series for a third stab at the title.
“We were talking about this with the Sauber Academy a few days ago,” he said. “It’s an option because Formula 2 is, in my opinion, the best championship after Formula 1.
“We are on the same weekends as the Formula 1 teams, we are watched by every Formula 1 team.
“I am still very young. I am capable of winning this championship for sure, at least I will give my best if I do this for another year, I don’t know yet.
“Let’s see how it goes in the talks for my future. But if I have a good contract, a good option, why not do a third season in F2?”
