Felipe Drugovich, the new FIA Formula 2 Championship leader after his Feature Race triumph in Jeddah, has said that “anything can happen” during this year’s 14-round season.
After emerging quickest in Friday’s disrupted Qualifying session, the Brazilian driver lined up on pole position and held the net race lead from lights to flag, holding off Richard Verschoor behind.
Speaking in the post-race press conference, the MP Motorsport driver was delighted with his performance in Jeddah.
“It was not only a perfect race but also a perfect weekend for me. P1 in Practice and Qualifying, [a] podium in the Sprint Race and a win today, so really pleased with my performance and also with the team.”
Felipe now has an 11-point lead in the overall standings and is showing excellent form, but he was keen not to get ahead of himself at this early stage of the championship.
“[I have] a lot of confidence, but we need to put our heads down. It’s going to be a long championship so I will try to focus on improving even more. Anything can happen, so we’re just going to keep pushing.”
Liam Lawson now occupies second place in the championship after his Carlin was released from the pit box while the front left wheel was not properly attached, costing the Kiwi driver a significant points haul.
Théo Pourchaire held the drivers’ championship lead after the first round in Bahrain but suffered a torrid weekend, with car issues striking in both Qualifying and the Feature Race preventing the ART driver from coming away with any points from Jeddah.
With the main protagonists from the opening round failing to score strong points this weekend, the title race is wide open, with the Feature Race runner-up Richard Verschoor now third in the drivers’ standings.
Image Credit: Formula Motorsport Ltd