The Road to F1: A Q&A with Felipe Drugovich
Formula One: it’s the world’s biggest stage for motorsports drivers, a place to race against the best talents the world has to offer. It boasts the most recognizable names in motorsports right now: Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, and Charles Leclerc to name just 3. But these names, over the next decade or so, will be replaced with new ones, talents whore already making their way up the motorsports ladder, in the hope to make their mark in F1 someday.
One of the big names to look out for is Felipe Drugovich, the mighty 19-year-old racer from Brazil. He’s set to compete in Formula 2 with MP motorsport, racing in the #15 car alongside F2 regular Nobuharu Matsushita, and with Dutch squad entering 2020 coming off the back of their best year to date in Formula 2, this combination looks set to be one of the most dynamic on the grid. Drugovich comes into Formula 2 off the back of a relatively successful Formula 3 campaign in 2019, scoring over half of his team’s points on the way to 16th in the championship out of 34 racers.
I was fortunate enough to be able to put a few of my questions to Felipe earlier this year, and the answers certainly did not disappoint, giving insight into life as an F2 driver, someone who’s definitely worth watching in the years to come.
Describe yourself in 5 words or less?
A really fast racing driver!
When did you know you wanted to do motorsports as a career?
Just after my first year in go-karts, 2008!
How are you feeling ahead of your first season in Formula 2?
I have a good feeling going into the 2020 season! The only test we had in Bahrain has gone very well and we know where we have to improve!
What’s it like having Nobuharu Matsushita, one of the more experienced guys on the f2 grid, as a teammate? What do you think you can learn from Nobu?
Having Nobu alongside me is very good for me! This bein ie year, I have
loads to learn and I think he is the right guy to learn from!
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9HcdlBoHTg/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Formula 2 testing, Bahrain 2020 MP motorsports mighty lineup (@felipedrugovich Instagram)
Who would you say is your racing idol?
Ayrton Senna!
What’s your favourite circuit to race on and why?
Spa and Silverstone! Flowy corners and the elevation change makes them amazing to drive!
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1zR1g5iaoU/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Drugovich Driving in the Spa sunlight (@felipedrugovich Instagram)
If you weren’t a driver, what would you be doing?
Probably a racing engineer would be cool
What’s your favourite thing to do outside racing?
Hanging out with friends, practice any kind of sports, and of course, sim racing!
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_DkqeDBkLu/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Off-season sim racing action (@felipedrugovich Instagram)
What’s the bucket list item you haven’t done yet?
Oh, I have many! But being an F1 champion is for sure the one at the top!
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
Not good at karaoke at all, but if I have to pick one, that would be Roxanne -The Police, or some type of rap music!
What’s an unusual fact about you that we might not know?
I don’t know! Has to be a secret! Haha
After these 11 questions, we now know a bit more about a sure-fire star of the future. At only 19 years old, there’s plenty of time left for Felipe to make his mark on the racing world and tick off the one item at the top of his bucket list: Formula One world champion. Who knows, maybe in a few years we’ll be s he initials
DRU on the F1 timing sheets, I certainly hope we’ll see it happen!
Written by Zoe Gray
