Monza, the home of Ferrari and dubbed motorsport’s “Temple of Speed”, holds a special place in the heart of Felipe Drugovich. It was here that he sealed victory in the 2022 Formula Two championship. Draped in the Brazilian flag, eyes bulging, his pure look of exultation was not only one of sheer relief, but also of bullish hope.
And why shouldn’t it have been? Recent history showed that triumphing in Formula One’s feeder series (GP2 before 2017) was the natural catalyst for promotion to the exclusive 20-driver top table. Prior to 2022, eight consecutive champions had landed a spot in F1, dating back to Fabio Leimer’s GP2 win in 2013. Yet excruciatingly for Drugovich, raw pace and points on the board aren’t always the No 1 factor in this sport.
“I think I’ve come close to a seat way too many times,” the 25-year-old tells The Independent, on a journey which sees him still waiting, with admirable patience, on the sidelines for a permanent crack at the premier division. “Then again, maybe other drivers say the same… I’m not sure how close I’ve really got.”
Wrong place, wrong time? You can say that again.
Drugovich has enacted his duties as an Aston Martin reserve driver commendably over the past three years. The young starlet, from the southern Brazilian city of Maringa, has barely missed an F1 race since that triumphant day in Monza. Omnipresent in the paddock, Drugovich has shone in various practice outings, the highlight being a top 10 lap-time in FP1 last year in Abu Dhabi, quicker than two-time world champion Fernando Alonso in the same machinery.
Yet still, no avenues to F1 emerge. With last week’s news that F1’s soon-to-be 11th team Cadillac have, in arguably an uninspiring move, acquired two experienced heads in Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, another potential route for Drugovich has raced agonisingly into the yonder.
“My goal is still to be inside the F1 paddock,” he resolutely states. “It’s about showing my face and showing that I’m capable of being there, just like everybody else. It all depends on the teams, it’s nothing to do with F2 rules. The teams are choosing drivers that haven’t won the F2 title.”
Here, Drugovich hits the nail on the head. It is not so much that young drivers are not being given opportunities in F1 – indeed, this season saw six rookies acquire full-time seats – but rather that teams are understandably keen to promote from within their own driver academies, irrespective of finishing positions in F2.
This notion, however, makes Theo Pourchaire’s case even more puzzling. While Drugovich continues to occupy a reserve role, and in an alternative universe he would have been given an opportunity at Aston if the role of Alonso’s teammate wasn’t taken by the team owner’s son in Lance Stroll, the 2023 F2 champion from France now has no ties to Formula One.
A mere 12 months on from his victory, the 22-year-old was dropped from Sauber’s driver academy at the end of last year and, instead, the team plucked 2024 F2 victor Gabriel Bortoleto (a close friend of Brazilian compatriot Drugovich) from McLaren’s driver ranks.
Of his crowning F2 moment, Pourchaire says: “It was an amazing moment in my career. Unfortunately, I haven’t had any opportunities to go up to F1 which, of course, is disappointing.
“When you win F2, you expect to then go up to F1… at least to have the chance would have been amazing. But after a tough 2024, when nobody wanted me, I’ve had to take another direction. Sometimes, it’s not only about performance.”
LAST 10 F2/GP2 CHAMPIONS
2015 – Stoffel Vandoorne
2016 – Pierre Gasly
2017 – Charles Leclerc
2018 – George Russell
2019 – Nyck de Vries
2020 – Mick Schumacher
2021 – Oscar Piastri
2022 – Felipe Drugovich
2023 – Theo Pourchaire
2024 – Gabriel Bortoleto
Both cases unearth discussions around a somewhat curious rule: if you win the F2 championship, you are not allowed to defend your title, regardless of future opportunities in place. F2 CEO Bruno Michel says the regulation must stay in place to avoid the feeder series becoming professionalised. A fair point, particularly in light of speculation that IndyCar’s Colton Herta – this week named a Cadillac test driver – is contemplating a move to F2 with a view to obtaining super-licence points for a tilt at F1. But perhaps, then, provisions for the champion to move up the ladder could be more solidified.
“Either you professionalise F2, or you make sure every champion can get into F1,” Drugovich argues. “It’s not so nice that the drivers who win in F2 don’t automatically get a chance in F1. I think it’s also a bit confusing for the public.”
Understandably, Pourchaire is in agreement. “It’s a bit strange,” he says. “After F2, I didn’t know where to go. I had a few opportunities in Super Formula [in Japan], then I did a few races in IndyCar with McLaren. Apart from that, I was on the sidelines all year.”
Of course, where one door closes, another opens in the wider motorsport ecosystem. Both Drugovich and Pourchaire have competed in endurance racing, including at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans event where, ironically, Drugovich represented Cadillac, while forays in Formula E and IndyCar have been flirted with.
Yet since their F2 triumphs, the pair have only participated in 21 races combined across all disciplines. This is a scenario where, undoubtedly, their F2 victories have actually worked against them, rendering the pair powerless and robbing them of valuable time in competition on the tarmac. It makes for unsatisfactory reading.
There’s no doubt the pathway for F2 champions can be improved; there has been talk of a rookie race at the season finale in Abu Dhabi, which could aid their cause to the 11 teams as of 2026. Indeed, it is extremely unlikely that this year’s F2 champion will be on the F1 grid next year. But as 2021 winner Oscar Piastri has proved – with his 2022 season on the sidelines – one chance can flip a career on its head. Three years on, he is on the cusp of his maiden F1 world championship.
It is why both, particularly the luckless Drugovich, refuse to rule out a spot opening up in the future. Asked if he still believes in his ability to compete in F1, the Brazilian’s final rebuke is sharp. Clearly, he has been poked and prodded with the same query a few too many times. “Why would I be here otherwise?”
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