Theo Pourchaire will take Alexander Rossi’s seat for the remainder of the IndyCar event weekend in Toronto, according to a statement from Arrow McLaren.
During Friday’s practice session, Rossi ran wide coming out of Turn 8, and he was observed gripping his hand in the cockpit as the steering wheel swung around during the incident.
Later on, it was revealed that Rossi had broken his thumb and would be out of contention for the remainder of the weekend.
Pourchaire will take the #7 entry for the race on Sunday and the qualifying on Saturday; he will miss practice today as he makes his way from Europe to Toronto.
Given that Pourchaire drove for Arrow McLaren earlier in the season, this decision is especially intriguing.
After David Malukas suffered a preseason injury, the team was still determining the long-term strategy, thus the 20-year-old F2 veteran competed in a few races in the #6 entry.
The team subsequently informed Pourchaire that he would be with them for the rest of the season, but that was revoked a few weeks later when it was revealed Nolan Siegel would be taking over the entry.
Though Pourchaire refuted such reports in a recent social media post, there have been rumors that Arrow McLaren and Pourchaire did not conclude their relationship amicably, especially given that he was promised a nearly full season in IndyCar only to have that taken away.
The late driver switch caps off an incredible season marked by team instability; Pato O’Ward has been the only consistent driver in the #5 car the entire time.
Fortunately for Rossi, the IndyCar schedule takes a significant vacation after this weekend’s race in Toronto. The next official on-track session is not scheduled until August 16.
To compete in the race from World Wide Technology Raceway, he and the team will be hoping he recovers completely before then.