IndyCar: McLaren Sacked Theo Pourchaire In 'One Minute Phone Call' Weeks After Signing Multi-Year Deal

Saajan Jogia | Jul 17, 2024

Apr 20, 2024; Long Beach, California, USA; Arrow McLaren driver Theo Pourchaire (6) of France during qualifying at Long Beach Street Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Former Arrow McLaren driver Theo Pourchaire has revealed that he was unexpectedly ousted from the team just months after committing to a multi-year contract. The 20-year-old driver was 'disgusted' by the manner in which he was dismissed through a brief, one-minute phone call.

After making his debut with McLaren at the Grand Prix of Long Beach in April as a one-time event, Pourchaire's impressive performance led McLaren to sign him for the remainder of the season. However, his tenure abruptly ended on June 18, just before the Laguna Seca race weekend, leaving him bewildered as McLaren provided no explanation for its decision to remove him from the team.

Pourchaire was replaced by Nolan Siegel, who secured a multi-year contract with McLaren. The outfit clarified that the Frenchman was a temporary hire to cover the damage caused by Alex Palou, who backtracked on his 2024 McLaren contract.

Speaking to Auto Hebdo, Pourchaire revealed he was 'disgusted' with the way McLaren handled the matter and never offered reasons for his removal. He said:

“To be 100 percent transparent, McLaren had signed me to a multi-year contract to drive with them in IndyCar.

“And then, on the Tuesday morning before Laguna Seca, I learned from my manager that they had decided not to have me drive at Laguna Seca, as well as for the rest of the season.

“At first, I was very surprised, I didn’t understand, I thought it was fake. We had only signed a few weeks before. I was disgusted.

“The team ended up calling me for a minute, around 11 am that same day, the day before my planned departure for Laguna Seca, to tell me that I was excluded from the program. They didn’t give me the specific reasons.”

Clarifying the situation, Arrow McLaren's sporting director Tony Kanaan explained that Pourchaire had been brought on board to fill a seat primarily due to limited alternatives, emphasizing that the team's primary focus was on achieving race victories. He told Motorsport.com:

“It started back last year with that driver [Palou] that decided not to come over and breach his contract.

“Then we decided on continuity, and it’s been quite a few six months for me. I did not sign up to have to choose four drivers. And then every option we had, because we had to make a decision quick, a lot of them had schedules already.

“I just told the guys out there, ‘You change race cars all the time. You come in, you make a change.’ Not that we want to do that with drivers, but we’re here. I’m in this to win races. That’s all I care [about]. And then I think eventually we look for continuity.”

Stating further, Kanaan said there were no complaints about Pourchaire or his performance but it was "just a situation" he got caught in. He added:

“He didn’t do anything wrong.

“It was just a situation.

“It was a call that we had to make. It wasn’t personal. It wasn’t because of his performance. He’s done whatever he could do. He wasn’t happy, but he understood.”