George Russell gets new team-mate as Mercedes sign F2 champion | F1 | Sport
Mercedes have confirmed the signing of a former Formula 2 champion as the newest addition to their driver portfolio. Theo Pourchaire, who won the F2 title in 2023 but failed to find a place on the Formula 1 grid, has joined the Silver Arrows as their new development driver, it was confirmed on Monday.
“Delighted to announce Theo Pourchaire as a development driver for the team,” read a post on the official Mercedes F1 Team account on X. Accompanying those words was an image of Pourchaire, arms folded, wearing a white Mercedes T-shirt while smiling at the camera, clearly delighted to have worked his way back into an F1 team’s setup.
Pourchaire finished as runner-up in Formula 3 in 2020 and repeated the trick in F2 two years later. He then went one better in 2023 by winning the F2 title but, back then a junior at Sauber, did not land a place on the F1 grid for the following campaign. And because he was now an F2 champion, he was not able to continue racing on the FIA feeder series ladder.
So he looked to Japanese Super Formula, signing with Team Impul but withdrawing from the season after just one round, having been approached about an opportunity in IndyCar. He was signed by Arrow McLaren to race in place of the injured David Malukas, initially on a temporary basis before a deal was confirmed for him to see out the whole season, with the exception of the Indy 500 flagship event.
However, he would not see out the season after all as, only a month after he had been confirmed by Arrow McLaren for the rest of the year, the team U-turned and replaced him with Nolan Siegel who stepped up from junior series Indy NXT. He was told just hours before the announcement, and one day after he had posted on social media to express his excitement ahead of the next race, clearly oblivious of the process to replace him.
Ensure our latest sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as your Preferred Source in your Google search settings.
Pourchaire has since found a home in the World Endurance Championship, having driven in the European version last year and driven in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Frenchman, now 22, has earned a place on the WEC grid for the upcoming 2026 season with Porsche, as team-mate to Nick Cassidy and former F1 driver Paul di Resta.
It has not yet been confirmed whether Pourchaire will have any reserve driver duties for the Mercedes F1 team over the coming season. But the Silver Arrows may need to have him on standby at some races as backup to George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, as last year’s main reserve Valtteri Bottas has left to race for F1 newcomers Cadillac and their other reserve, Frederik Vesti, still racing elsewhere.
Pourchaire is one of four development drivers now on the books at Mercedes. Former F1 driver and current Sky Sports pundit Anthony Davidson has now joined in an official capacity, having worked as a simulator driver for the outfit for many years. Joshua Duerksen is another new face, having been recruited ahead of his sophomore F2 season this year, while Doriane Pin remains affiliated despite not racing in F1 Academy this year, following her title success in 2025.
