Pourchaire returns to Arrow McLaren for Toronto in place of Rossi

Theo Pourchaire replaces the injured Alexander Rossi, who broke his thumb in a crash during practice for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto on Friday.

“Following an on-track incident in which Alexander Rossi suffered a fractured right thumb, Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team announces that Theo Pourchaire will race the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet for the remainder of the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto race weekend,” the team confirmed. “Theo will arrive at the track for the qualifying session on Saturday afternoon and will miss Practice 2 as he travels to Toronto from Europe. Alexander has returned to Indianapolis to begin his treatment and the team wishes him a speedy recovery.”

The Frenchman, who was brought in by the team in April to fill in for the injured David Malukas, was replaced in the No. 6 Chevy in late June when it agreed to a multi-year deal to have Nolan Siegel drive. While there are a few options to consider with other fill-in drivers, Pourchaire remains under contract and is a known quantity who is familiar with the latest hybrid-spec version of the Dallara DW12 Indy car.

Despite his knowledge of the car and the team, the reigning Formula 2 champion has never driven on the Toronto circuit and will have to learn the layout and its details at the start of qualifying.