Tymoteusz Kucharczyk, a 20-year-old Polish racing driver competing in the American Indy NXT series, has revealed he was forced to turn down an offer to test a Formula 1 car because he could not raise the money in time.
Kucharczyk told the Polish sports website WP SportoweFakty that a Formula 1 team had approached him about testing one of its cars, but he had to decline after the deadline passed without enough funds being secured. He did not name the team involved.
He said the chance to test in Formula 1 could appear out of nowhere, and that was exactly what happened, and that it could be someone's only chance to show what they can do in the sport. He said it was a shame the financial situation meant it did not happen, because even a test could open new doors. He added that he felt sad about it, since it showed that teams were watching him and recognised his potential, and that it was an honour for a team to know his name and approach him with the idea. He said the deadline had passed and he had to say no because enough money could not be found, and that the chance had slipped away through no fault of his own.
Kucharczyk said the car on offer was last year's Formula 1 model, which he described as the best possible reference point against the current grid. He said testing costs varied depending on the team and the car, and that drivers with bigger budgets typically paid more while those backed by a talent academy paid less. He said he judged his own offer to sit somewhere in the middle, though he declined to give exact figures, adding that the offer had been a good one, which was why missing it hurt all the more.
Poland's F1 hopes since Kubica
Robert Kubica remains the only Polish driver to have competed in Formula 1, the discipline often described as the "queen of motorsport". Kubica raced for BMW Sauber between 2006 and 2009, Renault in 2009 and 2010, and Williams in 2019, and in 2021 he took part in two races as reserve driver for Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN.
Kucharczyk is now seen as Poland's leading prospect for a future in the sport. He finished third in the overall standings of Indy NXT, a championship that serves as a step below IndyCar in the United States, at the end of the 2026 season.
Formula 2 budget fell short
In 2025, Kucharczyk won the Euroformula Open championship but was unable to raise the estimated 8.5 million zlotys needed to compete in Formula 2, the main feeder series to Formula 1. Writing on social media, he said Formula 2 testing was about to begin without him, meaning he would not be seen in that series next season. He said his team had fought all year to get him there and had travelled across half of Poland searching for a budget, but despite their best efforts it had not worked out.
What comes next
Kucharczyk said he still does not know where he will race in 2027. He said it was still early, since the American season finishes much sooner than the European one and it was only the start of September. He said he would now use the time away from the track to talk to sponsors about his future, adding that it would be good to have the budget for the 2027 season already in place, but that was not the case. He said he still had to keep travelling, talking to sponsors and raising money, and that this was simply the life of an athlete in the current era.
