Formula 2: Théo Pourchaire crowned world champion at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Théo Pourchaire did not tremble. Favorite for the title of Formula 2 world champion, the antechamber of Formula 1, the 20-year-old French driver confirmed his coronation by finishing fifth in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, won by Australian Jack Doohan ahead of his compatriot and teammate Victor Martins, Sunday. A result which allows the representative of the ART Grand Prix team, through which F1 legend Lewis Hamilton passed, to remain ahead of his rival the Dane Frederik Vesti (Prema), third on the Yas Marina circuit, in the standings. World Championship.

Théo Pourchaire, who had a great fight with Vesti seven laps from the end, applied himself in a race where he did not even have to get on the podium to win the world champion title. Runner-up in the F2 world champion last season behind Brazilian Felipe Drugovich, Pourchaire burst into tears after his coronation at the wheel of his car.

No move to Formula 1 next season

The young man from Grasse (Alpes-Maritimes) becomes the first Frenchman to win the supreme title in this category, even if Pierre Gasly in 2016 and Romain Grosjean in 2011 were crowned in GP2 Series, a category which merged with Formula 2 Théo Pourchaire confirms his status as one of the great hopes of French motorsport, eventually entering the Formula 1 paddock with this title two and a half years after becoming the youngest winner in the history of a Formula 1 race in Monaco. Formula 2 Grand Prix at 17 years old.

These performances will not allow him to join the world of Formula 1, which competes on the same circuits as Formula 2, in 2024. The Frenchman remains under contract as a reserve driver with Alfa Romeo, which maintains the Finn Valtteri Bottas and the Chinese Guanyu Zhou in his single-seaters next season.