Théo Jérôme Julien Pourchaire (; born 20 August 2003) is a French racing driver who currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Peugeot, serves as development driver in Formula One for Mercedes and is set to compete in the 2026–27 Formula E season for Opel. He is the 2023 Formula 2 champion, and the 2020 Formula 3 runner-up.
A former member of the Sauber Academy, Pourchaire started racing in single-seaters in 2018, and came third in the French F4 Championship. The following year, he won the 2019 ADAC Formula 4 Championship for US Racing–CHRS, scrapping with Dennis Hauger to the title. Pourchaire signed with ART Grand Prix for the 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship and ended the season as runner-up behind Oscar Piastri by three points.
ART then promoted Pourchaire to the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2021, ranking fifth in his rookie year. He was runner-up to Felipe Drugovich in 2022, and claimed the title in 2023. In 2024, he temporarily raced in IndyCar with Arrow McLaren, initially to substitute for the injured David Malukas before being signed permanently, and then dropped in favour of Nolan Siegel. He returned to full-time racing in 2025, joining the European Le Mans Series with Algarve Pro Racing.
Junior racing career
Karting (2010–2017) Born in Grasse, Pourchaire began karting at the age of two and a half and made his competitive debut at age seven. From there, he claimed multiple championships in his native France, as well as finishing third in the CIK-FIA OKJ and DKM Junior championships.
Formula 4 (2018–2019) 2018: French F4
In 2018, aged fourteen, Pourchaire stepped up to single-seaters, contesting the French F4 championship. Despite being ineligible for the main championship on account of his age, he made an immediate impression at the opening round in Circuit de Nogaro, taking second and third in the first two races to secure his maiden podium finishes in car racing. Pourchaire’s breakthrough moment came in Spa-Francorchamps, where he claimed his first single-seater victory in Race 2 after a composed drive from the front of the field.. It would be his only win of the season. Pourchaire returned to the podium in Magny Cours finishing second in Race 1 before being forced to retire from the second with a mechanical issue. He recovered strongly in Race 3 to take another second-place finish. but overall claimed seven podiums during the season. More podium results followed as the season progressed, including a fourth place in Jerez; promoted due to a guest driver finishing ahead; and a double podium at the season finale in Paul Ricard. Across the season, Pourchaire recorded seven overall podiums and finished third in the championship standings behind Ugo de Wilde and champion Caio Collet. In the junior category, he claimed sixteen junior victories to be crowned Junior Champion.
Three years later in 2021, Pourchaire completed a French F4 test at Circuit Paul Ricard.
2019: ADAC Formula 4
Pourchaire remained in Formula 4 for 2019, switching to the ADAC Formula 4 championship with US Racing-CHRS outfit. He recorded his first podium in the series with second place in the second race in Oschersleben. Another runner-up finish followed at the Red Bull Ring, where a post-race penalty for Dennis Hauger promoted Pourchaire to his maiden ADAC F4 victory. He followed it up with third place the next day. At the German Grand Prix support round in Hockenheim, Pourchaire secured a pair of podium finishes, before collecting two further third places in Zandvoort. His strongest weekend came at the Nürburgring, where he took two victories to extend his championship lead. The second visit to Hockenheim proved more difficult; he collided with fellow Sauber junior Arthur Leclerc in the first race and stalled at the start of the second. With Hauger winning all three races, Pourchaire's advantage shrunk from 68 to just one point. At the Sachsenring title decider, a win and two runner-up places secured Pourchaire the championship over Hauger by seven points.
FIA Formula 3 (2020) Pourchaire took part in the 2019 post-season test at Circuit Ricardo Tormo with Carlin Buzz Racing and ART Grand Prix. In December, he joined ART to contest the 2020 season. Pourchaire encountered a difficult start at the Red Bull Ring, qualifying 20th and finishing outside the points in both races. One week later, he rebounded strongly, qualifying fifth and taking ninth in Race 1. Starting second for Race 2, he took the lead from Jake Hughes into the first corner. Despite losing positions to Hughes and Liam Lawson, their later collision handed Pourchaire Formula 3 victory, making him making him the youngest winner in FIA F3 history at sixteen. At the Hungaroring, Pourchaire qualified third and moved into the lead after Logan Sargeant and Alexander Smolyar made contact. He dominated the red-flagged race to take his second win by nearly twelve seconds. He completed a solid weekend with sixth place in Race 2. Pourchaire had a tougher outing in Silverstone, finishing twelfth in the first race and eighth during the second. During the second Silverstone event, Pourchaire qualified sixth held the position in Race 1 after battles with Bent Viscaal and Oscar Piastri, and climbed to third in Race 2 to secure his third podium of the year. Consistent points followed in Barcelona, where he finished seventh and sixth.
Pourchaire qualified on the front row in Spa-Francorchamps, finishing second behind Lirim Zendeli in Race 1. The next day, he placed fifth after dropping from an early podium position. A decisive run of form began in Monza, where he claimed his first pole position, though a five-place grid penalty for driving unnecessarily slowly set him back for Race 1. He surged to the front by passing Lawson on lap 4, before finishing second after a late overtake from Frederik Vesti. A difficult start in Race 2 dropped him to 17th, but he recovered to third, later promoted to second after Lawson’s penalty. Leaving Monza, Pourchaire moved to third in the standings, 24 points adrift of leader Piastri. In the Mugello finale. Pourchaire qualified seventh, ahead of Piastri but behind Sargeant. He passed Sargeant in Race 1 and overtook Zendeli on the final lap to finish third, reducing his deficit to nine points entering the final race. In the decider, Sargeant retired on the opening lap while Pourchaire climbed to third; however, Piastri's advance to seventh ensured the Australian the title by three points over Pourchaire. Pourchaire finished the season runner-up with two wins, eight podiums and 161 points, and was one of only a few full-time drivers to finish every race.
FIA Formula 2 (2020–2023) 2020: Formula 2 debut
In October 2020, it was announced that Pourchaire would make his FIA Formula 2 Championship debut at the final two rounds of the 2020 season at the Bahrain International Circuit. He drove for HWA Racelab, replacing former FIA Formula 3 competitor Jake Hughes and partnering Artem Markelov. Pourchaire qualified sixteenth for the first feature race and finished eighteenth. In the first sprint race, he was forced to retire when his fire extinguisher deployed inside his cockpit. He finished the final two races in 18th and 21st place, respectively.
2021: Learning year and maiden Formula 2 victories In January 2021 it was announced that he would join ART Grand Prix for the 2021 Formula 2 Championship alongside then Alpine junior Christian Lundgaard. Looking towards his first full campaign of F2, Pourchaire stated that "[this] year will be tough, but it is going to be really important." At the Bahrain season opener, Pourchaire qualified eleventh, but was elevated to tenth following Jüri Vips's disqualification, earning reverse pole for the first sprint. After being overtaken by Liam Lawson at the start, he retired from second place with a mechanical issue mid-race. He recovered to score his first points in the second sprint with sixth place having started nineteenth, and finished eighth in the feature race. A breakthrough came in Monaco where he secured pole position, breaking the record for the youngest polesitter in Formula 2 history. After finishing seventh and fourth in the sprint races, Pourchaire converted pole into victory in the feature race, becoming the youngest race winner in F2/GP2 history, usurping the record previously held by Lando Norris. Upon winning, Pourchaire admitted that "he cried on the radio" and it was "a dream come true".
In Baku, Pourchaire qualified fourth and finished fifth in Sprint Race 1. His weekend unravelled in the second sprint when opening lap contact with Ralph Boschung damaged his front wing, leaving him ninth at the flag. A first-lap collision with Marcus Armstrong and Dan Ticktum during the feature race left Pourchaire with a fractured left wrist. He criticised Ticktum after the incident, while Ticktum received an in-race penalty. Despite initially being unsure of competing in Silverstone, Pourchaire recovered in time for the event. before the round began. He finished fifth in Sprint Race 1 and eighth in the feature race, later noting he still felt "a little pain" from the Baku injury.
Pourchaire returned to winning form in Monza with his second victory of the season, overtaking Ticktum early in Sprint Race 1 before hunting and passing Vips for the lead. He narrowly missed out on a second podium that weekend during the feature race after being caught by Ticktum’s fresher tyres late in the feature race. Pourchaire qualified third in Sochi. He finished fifth in Sprint Race 1 after avoiding Jehan Daruvala's late spin, and delivered a strong performance in the feature race was more successful, jumping Oscar Piastri in the pit cycle before losing the position on colder tyres. He eventually finished second, two seconds behind Piastri.
In Jeddah, Pourchaire once again qualified third but crashed out of Sprint Race 1 while running seventh. He rebounded in the second sprint, climbing from 19th to sixth despite reporting difficult drivability of the car from the accident. The feature race was marred by a heavy start-line collision with Enzo Fittipaldi, who struck Pourchaire's stalled car. Pourchaire escaped uninjured, though Fittipaldi sustained injuries. In the Abu Dhabi finale, Pourchaire finished seventh and ninth in the sprint races, which was followed by a fourth place in the feature race after a close battle with Felipe Drugovich. Pourchaire ended his rookie Formula 2 campaign fifth in the standings with 140 points, comfortably ahead of teammate Lundgaard. His season included one pole position, two victories, four fastest laps and three further podium finishes.
2022: Vice-Champion
Pourchaire stayed with ART Grand Prix for the 2022 season, alongside F3 graduate and Mercedes junior Frederik Vesti. Entering his sophomore season, Pourchaire was regarded as one of the title favourites.
He began the campaign strongly in Bahrain, qualifying second, but endured a mechanical retirement during the sprint race having made his way to fifth. In the feature race however, Pourchaire capitalised on strategic opportunities and an incident for polesitter Jack Doohan to secure his first victory of the year, despite a broken visor that caused a lack of concentration. However, he endured a difficult weekend in Jeddah marked by car issues; this ultimately led to a retirement in the feature race and it costed him the championship lead. Pourchaire returned to form in Imola as he secured the feature race victory after benefitting from crashes ahead of him; this allowed him to briefly reclaim the championship lead. Consistent points finishes followed in Barcelona, but lost the championship lead once more after title rival Felipe Drugovich secured both victories that weekend.