Pourchaire lands Opel Formula E ride

Opel has signed Théo Pourchaire as its first race driver for its debut Formula E campaign next season.

The Frenchman, a regular tester of Formula E cars in the current GEN3 era, has run in rookie tests for Opel's sister brands Maserati and Citroen – the same team which underwent a rebrand ahead of this season – driving most recently for the latter in the rookie test at the Madrid E-Prix.

“It feels great to be joining the Opel GSE Formula E Team and the Opel family – an iconic brand with a rich racing history which is now making a name for itself in the world championship,” said Pourchaire. “It’s the next step in my career, and the biggest single-seater opportunity I’ve had so far. 

“The new GEN4 generation is a perfect fit for my transition from Formula 2: more power, all-wheel drive and incredible acceleration – that’s exactly the kind of car I love. I want to learn, continue developing further and I will give my all from day one to ensure Opel succeeds.”

Pourchaire's switch to Formula E follows the move of fellow Formula 2 champion Felipe Drugovich to Andretti for this season. Throughout his time in Formula 1's main feeder series, Pourchaire was a test driver for Alfa Romeo and took part in three free practice sessions for the team across 2022 and '23. After winning the 2023 F2 title, he took on a reserve driver role with Sauber and was in contention for a race seat with the team that went on to become Audi, but missed out to another F2 champion, Gabriel Bortoleto. This year he took on a development role at Mercedes' F1 team. 

In 2024 he filled in for the injured David Malukas at Arrow McLaren in IndyCar, making his debut at the Long Beach Grand Prix, where he finished 11th. He was subsequently signed for the remainder of the season, setting aside Super Formula commitments in Japan to take the role, but was let go after Road America in favor of Nolan Seigel, only to be recalled to fill in for Alexander Rossi in Toronto. 

He’s also taken to sports cars in the last couple of years. He took part in the European Le Mans series last season for Algarve Pro Racing, claiming a podium finish at Imola. And after debuting in the 2025 World Endurance Championship finale for Peugeot in Bahrain, he has been competing for the team – yet another Stellantis brand – this season, taking a best finish to date of 10th at Le Mans. 

The announcement of Pourchaire’s signing follows that of Sophia Flörsch, who will fulfil a test and development role. Mitch Evans, who will leave Jaguar TCS Racing at the end of the season after a decade-long stint with the team, is widely expected to be Opel’s other race driver.