Theo Pourchaire incurred the wrath of more than one Formula 2 rival by crashing into Ollie Bearman during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix sprint race.
Pourchaire is the championship leader coming into this weekend, but failed to finish the sprint after causing the crash on lap seven. He attempted to overtake his ART team-mate Victor Martins on the inside of the first corner, but got it all wrong.
He left his braking far too late and, although he moved past Martins, there was no way he was going to stop in time to make the turn. Instead, he piled into the side of Bearman – taking them both out of the race.
Fortunately, neither of the drivers were injured in the crash. Both of them were quickly out of their cars and Pourchaire immediately jogged over to his rival to apologise, literally hand on heart.
What was said between them remains unknown, though it was clear that Bearman had not been fully calmed down. The Ferrari academy driver was spotted, after taking his helmet off, watching a replay of the incident on a big screen before shaking his head in annoyance.
His frustration was understandable, though it was slightly strange to see Jack Doohan – who was not involved in the incident – speaking bluntly over the radio. After being informed what had happened, the Alpine junior described Pourchaire as "a f***ing nutcase.
A later replay showed Bearman had said while still in his car: "The guy is crazy, he was doing the same in Bahrain." Fans were not impressed by Pourchaire's mistake, including several who pointed out that it was an error which should not be made by someone in their third F2 season.
One fan said: "He isn't helping himself in trying to prove he's a good talent." And another added: "Bearman was looking strong. This is precisely the reason Pourchaire isn't F1 material."
The Sauber junior driver failed to finish or score points in the sprint and will surely received a penalty for the feature race on Sunday. That said, the speed of the ART cars in these early races of the season hints that he and team-mate Martins may still be the drivers to beat in F2.
Martins managed second place in the sprint but could not catch Red Bull junior Ayumu Iwasa, who withstood intense pressure to take the victory. Jehan Daruvala crossed the line third.
