Arrow McLaren has announced Theo Pourchaire will drive in place of the injured Alexander Rossi for this weekend’s IndyCar Series round on the Streets of Toronto.
Rossi broke his right thumb after clipping the Turn 8 tire barrier in the closing stages of opening practice on Friday, ruling him out for the remainder of the weekend.
The situation left Arrow McLaren to reunite with Pourchaire, who is traveling to Toronto from Europe and will miss the second practice session on Saturday morning. He is set to arrive ahead of the afternoon’s qualifying session and step into the team’s vacant No. 7 Chevrolet.
A statement from Arrow McLaren read: “Following an on-track incident where Alexander Rossi sustained a broken right thumb, Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team announces Théo Pourchaire to race the No. 7 Ryde Arrow McLaren Chevrolet for the remainder of the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto race weekend.
“Théo will arrive to the track ahead of the qualifying session Saturday afternoon, missing Practice 2 as he travels to Toronto from Europe.
“Alexander has returned to Indianapolis to begin his treatment and the team wishes him a quick recovery.”
The decision to call on Pourchaire, the reigning Formula 2 champion and current Sauber reserve driver, comes just a month after the team opted to replace him.
He was originally brought in to substitute the No. 6 entry while David Malukas was out with a left wrist injury, impressing enough on his debut at Long Beach, finishing 11th, to be given another opportunity the following race at Barber Motorsports Park. After that, he was signed for the remainder of the season - minus the Indianapolis 500 - in early May. Meanwhile, the team released Malukas.
However, Arrow McLaren opted last month to sign Nolan Siegel on a multi-year deal to drive the No. 6 entry, effective immediately, pushing Pourchaire out.
Pourchaire’s best finish came on the Streets of Detroit last month, where he collected a 10th-place finish.
