There first free practice session of the United States Grand Prix will see Theo Pourchaire’s official debut in Formula 1, promoted by Alfa Romeo for the aforementioned Friday test. The young Frenchman, currently engaged in the Formula 2 championship and selected by the Swiss team also as a reserve driver for the 2023 world championship, will not however be the only one to take to the track for the first time in a race weekend. For the Austin PL1, in fact, the McLaren officially announced the participation of the Spaniard Alex Palou, already protagonist last week of a private test session in Austria with the British team. In that case, the 2021 IndyCar champion had shared his work with the Mexican Pato O’Ward, also promoted by the Woking team for a free session; in this case, the 23-year-old will participate in the PL1 of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prixthe last round of the 2022 World Cup.
“I am delighted to be making my F1 debut this weekend – Palou commented – it’s great to drive in the states in front of the fans who saw me racing in IndyCar. After driving the 2021 McLaren MCL35M in some tests, I can’t wait to put the MCL36 to the test. I can’t wait to help the team prepare for the United States Grand Prix ”.
OFICIAL COMMUNICATION 📢 @AlexPalou and @PatricioOWard to drive for McLaren F1 in free practice 1 sessions at the #USGP and the #AbuDhabiGP, respectively. 👊
Tap the link for more details. 👇
– McLaren (@ McLarenF1) October 14, 2022
Joy and enthusiasm also for O’Wardwho, just like Palou, will make the transition from IndyCar to Formula 1: “I can’t wait to get on the track in Abu Dhabi – added the Mexican, who will take to the track in the United Arab Emirates on November 18 – I have grown as a driver and had a lot of fun testing last year’s car with the team, so it will be a great experience to drive the MCL36. Thanks to McLaren F1 for the opportunity ”. The team principal also intervened in the McLaren official announcement Andreas Seidlwhich thus gave its ‘welcome’ to its new pilots: “We are delighted to give Alex and Pato the opportunity to participate in free practice sessions with McLaren – commented – given Alex’s great successes in INDYCAR, it will be useful for the team to receive his feedback on the car and for us to continue evaluating him as a driver. Alex and Pato have impressed with their recent testing in Barcelona and Austria and we are thrilled to offer them the experience on the MCL36. It is a great opportunity for them to showcase their skills on the global Formula 1 stage, where the focus will be on helping the team prepare for the race weekend and not on maximum lap times ”.
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