After a thrilling battle that came down to the very last lap of the final race of the season, Theo Pourchaire claimed the FIA Formula 2 title, putting his name in the history books forever. The Frenchman spoke to Feeder Series and selected media after the final F2 race of his career. 

By Grégoire Devaux

Today, Formula 2 is bleu, blanc, and rouge. Three colours for the three titles clinched by a country that can’t stop producing talents in motorsport. With ART Grand Prix winning the teams’ championship, Theo Pourchaire the driver’s championship, and his French teammate Victor Martins claiming the rookie title, the “Champions du Monde” and festive party in the French team garage could be heard from all over the paddock after what has been a historic season. 

However, for the first time since 2020, the title fight came down to the very last race of the season, proving that it was all but easy for Theo Pourchaire.

A thrilling battle until the end

Like Frederik Vesti and three other F2 drivers, Pourchaire’s weekend in Abu Dhabi started on a high as he drove Zhou’s Alfa Romeo in Formula 1’s first free practice session. However, the Frenchman admitted that it was tough to do F2, F1, and a crucial last qualifying session of the season, in which he struggled and couldn’t do better than 14th position, also due to an issue with his car. 

“I was really happy to have this opportunity in F1 on Friday, but jumping from F2 to F1 and then back into F2 for the qualifying, I was very tired mentally and physically. I did my best, but we also had a small issue with the car during qualifying; otherwise, I think I would have ended up in the top 10 like Frederik. It wasn’t easy to be P14 on the grid, but I was confident still; we had a great pace.”

The ART driver had a great pace throughout the weekend, as he managed to make up seven positions on Saturday’s sprint race to finish seventh and claim two important points ahead of the final feature race of the season. Qualifying ninth, championship rival Vesti started on the front row on Saturday’s inverse grid. Pushing from the start to the end, the Dane claimed his sixth win of the season, a result that was no surprise to Pourchaire. 

“I knew that starting from P2, he was going to win. I was hoping that Enzo or anybody else would win, but I was expecting that.” 

With his championship lead being reduced to 16 points, Pourchaire still had his destiny in his hands but knew that any mistakes could cost him the title. From the start of the feature race, the battle was on, as ART decided to react after seeing Vesti’s strategy to start on the medium compounds. The title rivals started with opposite strategies, as Pourchaire decided to go with the soft.  

“It was very important to have a good strategy. We wanted to try the opposite of Vesti’s strategy. When we saw that he was starting on the mediums, we put in the soft tyres. Soft tyres are always a safe option in F2. Victor was fighting for the teams’ and the rookie championships; he didn’t have anything to lose, so that’s why he started on soft.” 

Being one of the most skilled F2 drivers when it comes to tyre management, Vesti quickly rose through the grid, sitting in third after ten laps. Pitting after only six laps, Pourchaire was ready to go all the way with the medium compounds, grabbing as much position as possible without overtaking, as most of the drivers ahead still had to pit. 

However, Pourchaire’s decision to pit also came down to his struggle to overtake Ollie Bearman, who, as the new minister of defense, did an amazing job keeping the Frenchman behind and playing his role in Vesti’s conquest of the title. Prema Racing’s plan almost seemed perfect when Pourchaire’s undercut on Bearman failed, but the Italian driver couldn’t hold him for too long as he struggled to put his tyres in temperature. 

“Today’s race was very stressful. I had to push every lap, but I didn’t want to make a mistake. I also defended like crazy; I needed to do that to make him lose a bit of time. Overall, it was very good driving from my side and a very good car from the team,” said Pourchaire.

The last battle of an amazing season happened at lap 22 when, after pitting for soft compounds, Vesti exited the pit lane just behind Pourchaire. If the ART driver managed to hold off his rival and old teammate for a few laps, Vesti’s fresh tyres gave him much more pace, and he overtook Pourchaire with five laps to go. 

It was then a race against the clock, as Vesti had to win the race to claim the title because Pourchaire was comfortably sitting in fifth. The miracle didn’t happen for the Dane, who still managed to claim the very last podium in F2 by overtaking Zane Maloney in the last turn of the race. 

A season of ups and down 

With just one win at the first round in Bahrain, Pourchaire’s last season in F2 hasn’t been easy at all. After Felipe Drugovich last season, the Frenchman found another strong title rival in Vesti, who was his teammate last year. 

However, despite claiming sixth wins this season, the Prema driver suffered from his last three feature races in Spa, Zandvoort, and Monza, in which he retired from all of them. Pourchaire insisted on the importance of the weekend in Spa, where two podiums helped him take back the lead in the championship. 

“Bahrain was crazy. I was so ready for this race. It’s one of my favourite tracks. The qualifying was crazy, and the feature race was perfect. 

“The weekend in Spa was really important to take back the lead in the championship just before the summer break. Mentally, it was very important. From this moment on, I knew I was almost in control of the championship. It’s always easier to be P1 rather than chase the leader.”

If the most important thing is that he managed to get the driver’s championship, Pourchaire admitted that there have been a lot of “ups and downs” in a season where he “only got one win but had great consistency.” 

At the end of the day, the Frenchman can enjoy what has been a fantastic season. The pressure of the title has been on him for the past two seasons, and he finally got what he was looking for after missing the F3 title by three points in 2020.

The end of an amazing journey 

At the very last race of his third F2 season, Pourchaire managed to get what he seemed to be promised from his first-ever race: the driver’s title. It probably took longer than what the Frenchman was expecting, but he still broke some records along the way, deservedly putting his name in the history books of the championship. 

“I think I did my best throughout those three years in F2. I’m the youngest ever polesitter, the youngest ever race winner, I won in Monaco. I was a bit unlucky in my first two seasons, especially in the second season. Back then, we had many issues with the car; it wasn’t an easy season.

“I learned a lot during those four years, between F3 and F2. We learned the most in the toughest moments. We never gave up; that’s the most important thing.”

To end his amazing journey in F2, Pourchaire had a few words for ART and the Sauber Academy, which undoubtedly both showed their trust in the Frenchman, who wasn’t expecting to do a third season in Formula 2 last year. 

“ART made an amazing effort to have me on their team; same for the Sauber Academy. Without them, I wouldn’t be there. They trusted me, and I trust them. We did it together. We didn’t manage to win any titles together before today, so everyone was ready for this one. In the end, we won everything this season: driver’s championship, the teams’ championship, the rookie title. It’s a great end to a beautiful journey together.” 

Header photo credit: FIA Formula 2