If you’ve been paying attention to Frontstretch this week, we have had two columns focusing on the open wheel side of things, which together tell volumes.
One was the F1 Midweek column regarding the 2025 Red Bull lineup, where I bemoaned that Liam Lawson may not find a space at the team owing to the presence of Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo.
The second piece, Inside IndyCar, featured the latest circus act at McLaren, which involved them letting Theo Pourchaire go just a couple of months after hiring him for their IndyCar program.
Both topics raise the honest question of why Formula 1 junior programs are even a thing at this point.
Pourchaire has been part of the Sauber Academy for years now, a program where he won the F2 championship in 2023. But Pourchaire has been passed over for an F1 seat in 2022, 2023, 2024, and almost certainly now 2025.
Why? Well, the decision in 2022 made sense because Pourchaire was only 18 years old. This year and 2023 have made less sense, especially with the team sticking with a very un-exhilarating lineup of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyus.
Now that Sauber is being fully operated by Audi, the Germans have looked at their Academy roster and their main driver lineup and shrugged. They have pursued Carlos Sainz to pair with reliable veteran Nico Hulkenberg.
And if Sainz says no, which he is reported to be doing by choosing Williams instead, their next option is Pierre Gasly, as per Will Buxton during F1 TV’s practice telecasts this weekend. Gasly is a fine driver, but he will grab a large paycheck to be just that, a fine driver.
Next year will be a lame-duck season for Sauber. Audi will be in control but will have little say over car development before coming into 2026 with its own car and engine.
Why not take a stab at Pourchaire and try him out over the year? Nobody will notice or care that much if they end up last in the constructor standings. Run Pourchaire, try him out, and compare him to Hulkenberg directly. If he’s not performing by mid-year, they would have plenty of options on the free agent market.
But no, that’s not going to happen. Pourchaire was instead hired away to race for McLaren for two months before being let go for somebody else on the driver market. The Frenchman is still affiliated with Sauber, but what exactly can he do from here if nobody wants him?
Let’s look at the F1 grid for just a second. The last rookies on it outside of injury substitutes…
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