Three years and 16 days later, Felipe Drugovich is back racing in single-seaters this weekend at the Sao Paulo E-Prix after signing a multi-year deal with Andretti for the 2025-26 Formula E campaign.
The Brazilian famously won the Formula 2 championship in 2022 and has since been waiting for his opportunity on the Formula 1 grid, serving as reserve and test driver for the Aston Martin squad.
However, the days of doing just FP1s are over — there were seven in total, the most recent at the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix in August. From now on, he will start a race weekend and see it through behind the wheel.
"It's mentally something that I needed, and I really feel like I'm in the right place now," Drugovich told Autosport in Sao Paulo.
"You have a goal, you have a light at the end of the tunnel, you know what direction you need to follow. And that goal is just to get better and one day win this championship," he added.
"So everything is driven in that direction. Mentally I'm super pleased with it and overall super happy just to be here."
The decision to commit to Formula E
It wasn’t an easy process. It was a long time waiting for a call — even being close a couple of times, standing by for Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso. He also dabbled in endurance racing, competing in the Le Mans 24 Hours with Cadillac Whelen over the last two years, as well as five rounds of the European Le Mans Series in 2024. He even got his hands on IndyCar machinery during a test with Chip Ganassi Racing at Barber Motorsports Park in October 2024.
However, from all of that, it was Formula E that stuck with him after he had a first taste of it racing for Mahindra in Berlin’s double-header, replacing Nyck de Vries and scoring points in the second race.
"It was a long decision. It started back in 2023, when I was kind of introducing myself into the Formula E paddock. I did the rookie test, I had some talks with Andretti back then. I didn't feel like it was the right move. And even this year, I didn't know if it was something that would be the right move.
"Purely because I didn't know if I would like the type of racing, because it's so different. But then I did the Berlin races and I actually really enjoyed it. So I was like, okay, it's probably time to pull the trigger and do it."
"I feel much better"
Asked whether he feels at peace having left the F1 paddock and now being 100% focused on Formula E, Drugovich had no doubts.
"Yeah, I feel much better, to be fair. Really cool to have my own place, my own opportunity, just to move forward and hopefully gather good results soon."
Despite his previous success in single-seaters and plenty of kilometres in F1 machinery, Drugovich is very much aware of the challenges that lie ahead for him this season.
"I think the most difficult thing in Formula E, coming from any other series, is just racing. Trying to read the races from inside. That's the most difficult thing — to have enough mental capacity left to be able to read races and be proactive with that," he said.
"I don't know, to be fair, at the moment," he added when asked about setting any specific target. "I think the right approach to every single race is just trying to learn as much as I can, do the best I can, and I think it's just too early to set any goals at the moment."
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