Last May, Formula 2 in Barcelona was home to one of the most stunning weekends in history, with Felipe Drugovich claiming a historic double victory – the first in Formula 2. 12 months on, he’s back at the circuit that brought him glory – this time, as an Aston Martin reserve driver and Formula 2 champion. And during his visit, he caught up with InsideF2, to talk over some events of the previous 12 months, such as championship challengers, and the memories of May 2022.
Straight off the bat, Drugovich described his weekend in Barcelona last year as “the one that I am proudest of in my whole career”, and he has every right to hold that claim. Since that point in the season, he did not relinquish the championship lead, stamping his authority on the 2022 Formula 2 championship.
But despite the seemingly perfect weekend, there was still something Drugovich found flaws in, describing his qualifying that weekend as “a nightmare”.
However, he certainly made amends over the next 2 days, and speaking of the achievement, Drugovich admitted “Looking back on it, it was really cool to do that!” – making history with the first double victory on a Formula 2 weekend (a feat only rivalled by Oliver Bearman at Baku).
His championship-winning team, MP Motorsport, this year have Dennis Hauger & Jehan Daruvala driving for them, in the wake of the Brazilian’s departure. However, Drugovich admitted that he did often visit MP in the Formula 2 paddock, adding that “if I can help with something, it’s always great.”
Continuing this, Drugovich had the following to say about helping with Formula 2 development, especially with his added F1 test & reserve driver experience:
“I try to help them [MP] all the time! There are some experiences I get from F1 that can help with them, especially from tyres and this kind of stuff – so I try to give them help. But obviously, every year, they change regulations and it’s a different thing every year, even for Formula 2. Even though the cars are the same, the tyres, you know, they’re always changing a little bit so yeah, you can’t really compare too much from last year.”
As a closing note, Drugovich was asked about who he thought would be the eventual Formula 2 champion, something he brushed off with an exclamation of “I don’t know!” – but did add that “if you look at most of the other years, they’re not decided until the last race”, alluding to the fact it might be a tight battle for the crown.
The Brazilian did also have praise for 2022 title rival Théo Pourchaire and current 2023 championship leader Frederik Vesti, noting that “the top 2, they’re top 2 in today’s race so they look quite good!”
Drugovich will be attending several more Formula One weekends across the year, acting as the Aston Martin Test & Reserve driver. And whilst he may not be driving in Formula 2 anymore, his legacy on both the series & MP motorsports still holds strong, helping the drivers to really push to achieve their best.
Image: Getty / Felipe Drugovich
