Former Arrow McLaren driver Theo Pourchaire claims he was “disgusted” by how the IndyCar team handled his recent firing after only five races.
Pourchaire’s adventure with McLaren began in the Long Beach Grand Prix, when he was initially scheduled to appear only once. However, his performance impressed the organization enough to earn him a contract for the rest of the 2024 IndyCar season.
Unfortunately, the FIA Formula 2 champion and Sauber F1 junior’s promising run ended abruptly in mid-June.
Pourchaire was informed just days before the IndyCar race at Laguna Seca that his skills would no longer be necessary.
American racer Nolan Siegel, a 19-year-old emerging talent, has been signed as his successor, marking Arrow McLaren’s sixth driver rotation in a year.
The decision represents a significant setback for Pourchaire’s blossoming career. Despite winning the Formula 2 title last year, the 20-year-old was refused promotion to Formula One.
Arrow McLaren, who had originally planned to spend a year in Super Formula, welcomed the unexpected opportunity to travel west in order to maintain his momentum. He is now facing more time on the sidelines.
“To be completely honest, McLaren had signed me to a multi-year contract to drive for them in IndyCar,” Pourchaire said in an interview with Auto-Hebdo, as quoted by PlanetF1.
“And then, on the Tuesday morning before Laguna Seca, I learnt from my management that they had chosen not to have me drive at Laguna Seca or for the remainder of the season.
“At first, I was astonished, didn’t understand, and assumed it was a hoax. We had barely signed a couple weeks before. I felt disgusted.
Adding insult to injury, Pourchaire claimed that his whole chat with the squad following the unexpected news was a one-minute phone call.
“The team ended up calling me for a minute, around 11am that same day, the day before my planned departure for Laguna Seca, to tell me that I was excluded from the program,” he told us.
“They didn’t give me the specific reasons.”
McLaren’s obsession with Siegel, its latest acquisition, appears unusual considering the latter’s limited track record, particularly in comparison to Pourchaire’s accomplishments.
However, in the aftermath of last month’s announcement, Arrow McLaren team principal Gavin Ward provided a hazy response to an inquiry regarding whether Siegel had brought a sponsorship package along with his skills.
Ward plainly avoided the subject, just stating that Siegel had “earned his way”.
