French rising sensation expected to make his F1 debut with Alfa Romeo FP1 outing
Recent reports suggest that championship-leading F2 driver Theo Pouchaire will soon have a chance to drive in an F1 practice session with Alfa Romeo. The young Frenchman is currently competing in the closest feeder series to F1 and is one of the top candidates to get a chance in the top single-seater racing series.
Though there have not been any official announcements about Pouchaire from the Italian team, this news was reported by formu1a.uno. Furthermore, since there is a rule to put at least one rookie in a practice session during the 2023 F1 season, the chances of the young Frenchman getting a chance with Alfa Romeo increase.
To further solidify this, Pouchaire himself hinted at how he could get a free practice drive in F1, especially after Monza. In an interview with Autohebdo, he said:
“It will be after Monza, when there will not be any Formula 2 races for quite a while. It will allow me to learn new circuits and gain more experience in Formula 1. I can’t wait.”
Of course, Alfa Romeo has been the first team for many F1 stars that drive in the sport today. Hence, this could be the perfect opportunity for Theo Pouchaire to show his worth in F1, even though practice sessions are usually aimed at data collection.
Theo Pouchaire is currently leading the F2 world championship with 168 points. He finished second in 2022 and could be on his way to winning his first F2 championship in 2023. Apart from that, he has won the French F4 and ADAC F4 championships in his career so far.
Valtteri Bottas is interested for Alfa Romeo's future
Valtteri Bottas recently spoke about Alfa Romeo's transition to Audi and how that seems interesting to him. Though he does not want to think too far ahead, he admitted it makes more sense for him to stay with the team for as long as they gradually become Audi. He said (via Motorsport.com):
"The more I think about it, yes. For me, it's an interesting era for the team. When you are focused on the here and now, you don’t want to sometimes think too far ahead – but then, if I really think about it, and the long term plan, then it would make sense."
In October 2022, Audi announced that they would be entering F1 in 2026 by replacing Alfa Romeo. This essentially means that the entire F1 team will gradually join hands with Audi and move from one brand to another.