F2 champ Pourchaire to make IndyCar debut as Malukas’ replacement

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Reigning Formula 2 champion Theo Pourchaire will make his IndyCar debut on the streets of Long Beach with Arrow McLaren as the 20-year-old Frenchman becomes the latest replacement for injured driver David Malukas.

Pourchaire said Friday that he was initially contacted about driving both Long Beach this Sunday and the road course at Barber, Alabama, next week. He then clarified that his use at Barber is dependent on both his performance at Long Beach and Malukas’ ongoing recovery from a dislocated left wrist and torn tendons suffered in a mountain biking crash in February.

Arrow McLaren had repeatedly said Malukas would be healed in time for this weekend’s race. The team has so far used Callum Ilott in the season-opening race at St. Petersburg, the $1 million exhibition at Thermal Club and last week’s open test for the Indianapolis 500.

Ilott, who races full-time in WEC, has conflicts that prevent him from driving Long Beach and Barber. So McLaren turned to Pourchaire, who is a reserve driver in F1 for Sauber and currently on a two-month break from his debut Super Formula season.

Pourchaire is committed to Super Formula during Indy 500 qualifying weekend, which has made Ilott the likely candidate to join the McLaren lineup if Malukas is still not healed. But Malukas, who has spent considerable time since his September hiring doing social media and marketing work for McLaren, could be running out of time to get healthy enough to ever get his chance to even make his McLaren debut.

The team currently fields cars for Pato O’Ward and Alexander Rossi, and is fully engrossed in prepping an Indianapolis 500 entry for NASCAR star Kyle Larson. Malukas was hired when reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou breached his contract with McLaren and declined to join the team for the 2024 season.

Now his decision to go mountain biking a month before the season opener has opened the door for both Ilott to slide back into the series – Ilott found himself without a seat when Juncos Hollinger Racing held his option so long last year there were no competitive seats left when he was released – and now Pourchaire is getting a chance in a new series.

Pourchaire and Malukas have spoken and Malukas is with the team in Long Beach.

“He is with us. I saw him already in Indianapolis. Now he’s with us in Long Beach,” Pourchaire said. “I mean, of course, I think it’s not an easy situation for him because he’s injured. That’s the most difficult thing…