Théo Pourchaire said he will continue to push hard in the title fight, despite his 25-point lead in the FIA Formula 2 Championship.
The Frenchman took a podium in the Monza Feature Race, finishing third having started on pole position. It proved to be a crucial day in the title fight, as his main rival Frederik Vesti crashed out of the race on the opening lap.
Pourchaire was told over the team radio that it was a great opportunity to extend his lead over Vesti, but said he did not let that scare him from going into wheel-to-wheel battle.
Towards the end of the race, on the final of many Safety Car restarts, he went side-by-side with Ayumu Iwasa, who went around the outside of the first chicane, taking second place and very narrowly avoiding contact.
Pourchaire said: “I didn’t want to make a huge mistake like I did in Zandvoort; I had a great opportunity to outscore Vesti.
“I was racing like normal. For sure I was thinking about [the title fight] a bit but I was still pushing a lot. You could see with Ayumu into Turn 1 it was close but still fair and clean.”
Surprisingly, the most likely candidate to be F2 Champion this season has only won one race all year. That demonstrates not only the unpredictability of the series, but also the consistency of Pourchaire, who has scored ten podiums, finishing as the runner-up on six occasions.
Should be be crowned Champion at the final round in Abu Dhabi, he likely will be unbothered by his low win rate. With one race to go, he is the clear favourite, but reminded press after the Monza Feature Race: “I am still not the champion. You never know what can happen.”
Image: Formula Motorsport Limited
