Sauber Academy’s Théo Pourchaire triumphs in Monaco F2 race
Sauber Academy’s Théo Pourchaire capped an incredible weekend by winning the FIA F2 Championship feature race in Monaco, dominating the race from pole and only relinquishing the lead briefly during the pit-stop phase.
17-year-old Pourchaire, a Sauber Academy inductee since 2020 and in his debut full season in F2, had never driven the streets of the Principality before, but did not let his lack of experience get in the way of a dominant display of sheer class.
The Frenchman produced a brilliant lap to clinch pole on Thursday before working his way through the field in races one and two, crossing the line in P7 (from tenth) and P4 respectively. But it was on Saturday that Théo truly delivered in style, with a perfect start off pole that helped him retain the lead and opening a solid gap over his pursuers. A pit-stop late in the race briefly gave the lead of the race to Guanyu Zhou, but when the Chinese driver finally stopped for his tyre change, the Sauber Academy racer controlled the remaining handful of laps to claim a famous victory.
“It’s a dream come true for me,” said Pourchaire after the race. “It feels like winning at home, as I live only half an hour from here: I came here to watch so many races with my family, and now I won in Monaco – I can’t believe it. It has been an incredible weekend, with the pole and a win in the feature race: I want to thank my team, ART, the Sauber Academy and my family for their support, without which this would have not been possible.”
The weekend’s results lift Théo to P3 in the standings, with the next round of the championship taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan, on June 4-6.
Source | Photo: Florent Wooden / DPPI