IndyCar's newest star says championship is an option after impressing at Long Beach

Reigning FIA Formula 2 champion Theo Pourchaire announced himself on the American stage with a superb drive to 11th place at Long Beach, on a track he'd never driven previously.

The Frenchman will return to IndyCar this weekend for Arrow McLaren replacing the injured David Malukas, driving at Barber Motorsports Park.

The track in Alabama will be another new course for Pourchaire — one that his teammate, Pato O'Ward, won in 2022.

The Arrow McLaren driver praised the IndyCar for its car and raw wheel-to-wheel combat, per IndyCar.com's Eric Smith.

"The cars are amazing to drive. It's a pure race. This is what we love as racing drivers. The cars are tough to drive. They are quick. The tracks are bumpy. The racing is so amazing. 

"I could overtake a lot of cars. So many pitstops during the race. I never did that in my entire career. I just enjoyed it."

The 20-year-old gained 11 places at Long Beach, the most of any driver in a battling drive over the 85-lap race.

Barber is a new circuit for Pourchaire, but he has proved to have an ability to adapt quickly when presented with a track he has yet to drive.

The Frenchman took victory on his first visit to Monaco, winning the FIA Formula 2 Feature Race in 2021, becoming the youngest driver to win in F2.

Pourchaire outlined his areas for improvement ahead of Barber and the importance of getting up to speed quickly.

“Barber is a completely different track. I don't have a lot of time to adapt myself to this new challenge. I think we will mainly talk about the points we can improve from Long Beach that can be useful for Barber. I would say probably the out laps, in laps during the race, pit stops, race starts, overtaking, things like that.

“I think we will focus more on Barber right now. When I arrive in practice one, I have to be in the pace quickly because we have a little bit of time in practice one. Practice two is really short. I have to be already in the pace by practice two. Then qualifying; it's super tight in IndyCar.”

The Frenchman is the test and reserve driver for Sauber in Formula 1 and has participated in multiple first practice sessions for the team.

Pourchaire has many choices available for the future and said IndyCar is on the table, via Autosport's Joey Barnes. 

"IndyCar was already on my list last year.

“It's something I always wanted to do. I didn't have an opportunity to drive. I feel like I was also waiting on an F1 drive with Sauber. Unfortunately, I was not able to go to F1.

“There was also the Super Formula, which is a great category. That was also an option for me. I decided to do that. IndyCar is great. Why not coming here full-time in the future? It's an option.”