P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Top 10: The F1 feeder series kings who were overlooked the following year
Theo Pourchaire is the third consecutive driver who missed the opportunity to move up to Formula 1 the year after winning the Formula 2 championship. Despite not advancing to F1 this year, he will keep racing in Japan’s Super Formula series to bolster his chances of joining the Audi team starting in 2026. Several past European F2, Formula 3000, and GP2 champions have faced a similar fate in their F1 aspirations post their title wins. Past F2 champions who missed out on a direct shot to F1 include Stoffel Vandoorne and Pierre Gasly, despite their successful careers in the sport. The ranking of these overlooked champions is determined by factors like performance strength, title victory dominance, competition level, and time spent in the junior category. Wins are valued over consistency in the ranking process, with Pourchaire just falling short of the top 10 due to his win count during his successful F2 campaign.
