Alfa Romeo reserve driver Theo Pourchaire is clear that his third season in Formula 2 will bring a wealth of opportunity, with a potential seat in Formula 1 possibly on offer, as he looks to become world champion in the future.
Having been with the ART Grand Prix outfit for four seasons now, including his sole campaign in F3 where he finished second in the championship, Pourchaire is set to be the team leader this year with F2 rookie Victor Martins as his teammate.
The Frenchman however believes this experience will prove crucial in helping him achieve his long-term aspirations.
“I need to be a team leader in F2 and learn how to push the team towards success,” Pourchaire exclusively told Total-Motorsport.com.
“It’s important for me to know how to motivate everyone and help push them to the limit it’s very good to be in that position and I have a lot to learn in that position as well.
“I want to be a F1 world champion in the future, that’s my dream and I’m very, very far from it, so yeah for sure it’s a good thing.”
Aiming for F1 world title
Pourchaire will dovetail his F2 campaign with his role as a reserve driver for Alfa Romeo in F1. The Frenchman though is clear in his approach with his F2 title bid taking precedence.
“It will be a very busy season for me,” Pouchaire explained. “The F2 championship comes first as it is very important and I will give me best there.
“But being a reserve driver Alfa Romeo is also an amazing opportunity. I’m doing a lot of simulator work, and I will also do some some FP1 sessions and some tests.
“It’s very good for me, and it will help me improve as a driver, and help me understand the working of an F1 team. F1 teams are much bigger than F2 teams, more people, more engineers, and mechanics.
“There is engineer for the gearbox, for the engine, for the batteries it’s a different world. I can learn a lot from F1 and it will help me in F1, which is very good.”
Poruchaire is also aware that his services might be called upon especially given the fact that driver substitutions are far more common on the F1 grid in the post-COVID world.
“I will work a bit with the F1 team during the weekend to be ready in case if they need me, it’s very important to be ready because you never know what can happen,” Pourchaire explained.
“And if I have to jump in, in the F1 car, I need to know everything, the setup of the car in order to work with the engineers.”
