"I was disgusted": Axed McLaren driver Theo Pourchaire speaks out against the Zak Brown-led team's treatment of him

Theo Pourchaire recently expressed his sorrow after being dropped by Arrow McLaren in the middle of the 2024 IndyCar series. He revealed how the team handled his exit and the contract he had with them.

Arrow McLaren IndyCar team, led by the company's CEO Zak Brown, hired 2023 F2 champion, Pourchaire, for a one-off IndyCar debut in the Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 21. After seeing the Frenchman's performance, he was promoted as a permanent driver for the team. He raced in Alabama, Indianapolis, Detroit, and Road America.

On June 18, however, he learned that the British team had removed him from the roster and replaced him with Nolan Siegel on a multi-year contract. This was when he was still preparing for the next race at Laguna Seca.

Speaking to Auto Hebdo, Theo Pourchaire opened up about how McLaren initially offered him a multi-year deal for IndyCar. He then claimed that, a few days before Laguna Seca, he got to know about him being axed by his manager.

"To be 100 per cent 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," Pourchaire said.

He then shared that the British team called him in the morning after he received the news from the manager. Pourchaire claimed that McLaren simply stated that he was out of the program and did not give any details as to why.

"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 11am 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," he added.

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Former McLaren IndyCar driver received death threats after two incidents in the Detroit GP

Recently axed Arrow McLaren driver, Theo Pourchaire, once received death threats for his on-track incidents at the 2024 IndyCar Chevrolet Detroit GP.

Pourchaire was involved in a three-wide battle into the third turn at the beginning of the race. His car collided with Will Power's because he had little room in the middle, setting off a chaotic chain reaction that involved six more cars.

A second incident also involved Pourchaire as he attempted to pass Agustín Canapino on the same corner during the race restarts. Conversely, Canapino made his way to the top, closing the gap to Pourchaire. Their cars ended up colliding with each other as a result.

After the race, he received several death threats, which were addressed both by Pourchaire and McLaren. They both released statements against any online hate towards the team and it's drivers.

Theo Pourchaire's official post on X said:

"I’m sad I received so much hate and death threats in the last 24 hours for such a small incident in the Detroit GP. I hope people can understand that we are all humans and we can make mistakes. But it’s not normal to abuse people online. Please be kind to each other."