Reigning Formula 2 champion Theo Pourchaire will make his IndyCar debut on the streets of Long Beach this week with Arrow McLaren, the team announced Thursday. The 20-year-old Frenchman will man the No. 6 Chevy of David Malukas, who continues to recover from February surgery on his dislocated left wrist and torn tendons suffered in a crash mountain biking.

Pourchaire arrived in the U.S. two weeks ago in preparation for his potential fill-in role that included a seat-fit at the Arrow McLaren race shop, a trip to the Chevy simulator in North Carolina and joining the team at last week's Indianapolis 500 Open Test. In his downtime, he's taken to Instagram to document his mini tour of Indianapolis that has included a run around town, watching the solar eclipse and attending the Indiana Pacers' regular season finale against the Atlanta Hawks.

"This is an amazing opportunity to drive with such a legendary team in a legendary motorsport series like (IndyCar). I've watched IndyCar since I was a young kid, and the racing is incredible," Pourchaire said in a release. "I am sorry that the opportunity came as David continues to recover. It's not going to be an easy task, but I'm ready for it."

His IndyCar debut comes in the middle of a two-month break in his maiden Super Formula season, which picks back up during Indy 500 qualifying weekend. With no driver changes made in Formula 1's offseason, the six-time F2 race-winner had no opportunities in the pinnacle of motorsports, though he maintains ties to the Sauber F1 team, where he served as a test driver in 2022 and then was named a reserve driver for the 2023 and 2024 campaigns.

Along with clinching last year's F2 title on the back of a single win and 10 podiums with the French-based ART Grand Prix team, Pourchaire has made a name for himself in the European racing circles in years past by becoming the youngest driver to win races in both F3 (at age 16 in 2020) and F2 (17 in 2021). He finished runner-up in the F2 championship in 2022 and 5th-place in his maiden F2 campaign in 2021, following a runner-up finish in F3 (2020) and titles in ADAC Formula 4 (2019) and the French F4 Junior Championship (2018).

'Gonna stay away from bikes for a bit': Malukas in good spirits as recovery begins

Pourchaire's IndyCar opportunity comes as Malukas' main stand-in, Callum Ilott, tends to his full-season responsibilities in the World Endurance Championship this weekend with Hertz Team Jota in the 6 Hours of Imola. With such a tight turnaround to IndyCar's next stop on the calendar -- the trip to Barber Motorsports Park comes the weekend after Long Beach -- there's reason to think that Arrow McLaren could again give the nod to Pourchaire for the Alabama race weekend, should his IndyCar debut go smoothly and Malukas still not be ready. Ilott is also busy with WEC for IndyCar's race on the IMS road course May 11, opening the door for a possible trio of IndyCar starts for Pourchaire, but there's hope Malukas will have recovered enough to hop back into the cockpit come May.

"It's a shame that David's recovery is longer than we all originally anticipated. He's been working with our team trainer very closely with what rehab and strength exercises are possible at this point, and the team's been doing a great job in the meantime to work together through the changes they've had since his injury," team principal Gavin Ward said in a release.

"We're excited to see what (Pourchaire) can do on the track at Long Beach and are thankful for Sauber in working with us to make it happen. He has a strong resume, especially for his young age, and he's eager to work with us and put his driving to the test this weekend."

At the time of his surgery Feb. 13, Arrow McLaren noted the ex-Coyne driver's recovery was expected to take six weeks from the removal of his stitches Feb. 22. Malukas had pins removed from his wrist days after IndyCar's trip to Thermal, but given his February crash brought on a tendon-related injury, rather than a simple broken bone, it was understood that his rehab process may not be so cut-and-dry.

He was held out of last week's Indy 500 Open Test in favor of Ilott, which foreshadowed his Long Beach absence, given the lack of physical strain drivers undergo turning left at IMS, when compared to speeding down maybe the bumpiest street course on the calendar (Long Beach).

Physically, Barber is only a taller task, and with the race weekend immediately following Long Beach, Malukas returning to the cockpit before May seems unlikely.

"I've said to (David) that what's really important, first and foremost, is we only want to put you back in the car when you're ready, so we need to be really open about where we think we're at," Ward told IndyStar of his message to Malukas following his accident. "It's okay to not be ready. Secondly, we want to get you back in the car as soon as possible, but first and foremost when you're ready.

"It's definitely heartbreaking not to have David in the car to start the season. He's won a lot of people over on how he's coming into the team with moving down to Indianapolis and being an ever-present face in the shop and the effort he's put in. These things do happen, and while we don't want them to happen and we can always second-guess, what matters is now is how you react to it."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Theo Pourchaire to make IndyCar debut at Long Beach as David Malukas sub