Autosport 2022 Top 50: #34 Felipe Drugovich

Drugovich stunned onlookers with his charge to the F2 title among a strong field. In his third year of F2, the Brazilian claimed a points lead he would not lose during the fourth of 14 rounds, and took the MP Motorsport squad to its maiden F2 drivers’ title while also leading it to the teams’ crown.

Five wins (including Monaco) and six further podiums were a strong return, and his reward was an Aston Martin F1 reserve role.

Drugovich took four pole positions – almost a 30% hit rate – and also made some brilliant charges through the field, such as his feature race win from 10th on the grid in Spain.

The five key moments in Drugovich's F2 title win

1. First win at Jeddah

Getting that first win on the board is crucial in any driver’s title campaign, so for Drugovich to respond to Theo Pourchaire’s Bahrain victory the following weekend in Jeddah proved key. Scoring 12 points at the opening round put Drugovich in fifth, with his ART rival leading the standings, but retaliating in Saudi Arabia as Pourchaire failed to score thrust Drugovich to the top spot.

2. Brilliance in Barcelona

Winning both races in Spain while Pourchaire scored just eight points gave Drugovich a 26-point lead – a valuable boost in their title battle. Lining up fourth on Saturday, he was promoted to third after Calan Williams failed to get off the grid before sweeping past Jake Hughes and Pourchaire by Turn 1 to take a comfortable win. Sunday’s feature race was even more impressive. A clever pitstop strategy helped him to move through the field from 10th to the lead.

A third and fifth for Drugovich in Baku underlined his credibility as an F2 title contender

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

3. Continuing consistency in Baku

F2’s reverse-grid format can make it tricky for drivers to score points in both races, with the top 10 flipped for Saturday’s sprint race and only the top eight scoring. But Drugovich managed to secure a decent haul in both Baku races, adding 19 points to his tally during a run of six consecutive points-scores. This consistency was key to Drugovich’s title challenge.

4. Coming back strong at Spa

With just three rounds remaining after the post-Hungary vacation, the return from F2’s summer break was always going to be a crucial juncture in this championship. Drugovich capitalised on Pourchaire’s struggles for pace, finishing fourth and second to open up a 43-point lead heading to Zandvoort. The Brazilian says it was after this weekend where he “really thought that [the title] was possible”.

5. Pourchaire’s Zandvoort crash

Pourchaire’s chances finally went off the rails in the Netherlands. A qualifying crash left the Frenchman starting 16th for both races on a pivotal weekend, while Drugovich took a comfortable pole. He went on to win the feature race, and from here, was unstoppable. He claimed the crown the following weekend at Monza, despite a rare DNF.