Mirror Sport understands Aston Martin will launch Felipe Drugovich from his reserve driver duties after the Brazilian signed a deal to race for Andretti World in Formulation E
Felipe Drugovich will be part of the Andretti World Formulation E workforce subsequent yr, having secured his first full-time racing function since profitable the 2022 Formulation 2 title. The Brazilian joined Aston Martin as a reserve driver after that triumph, within the hope of creating the step as much as a Formulation 1 race seat.
However that chance has by no means arisen for Drugovich, 25, regardless of holding talks with a number of groups. And after failing to land one of many two new race seats out there at fledgling outfit Cadillac, who selected as an alternative to signal skilled duo Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, he has now dedicated to racing elsewhere.
“I am so joyful to announce that I will be becoming a member of Andretti Formulation E, and I am actually enthusiastic about what’s forward,” he mentioned. “My workforce and I’ve been in contact with Andretti ever since I gained the Formulation 2 title, so it is nice that we have managed to remain related all this time and at last have the chance to work collectively.”
Mirror Sport understands Drugovich will depart his function as Aston Martin reserve as a part of his full-time swap. Maserati MSG driver Stoffel Vandoorne has mixed his Formulation E racing together with his duties with the Silverstone-based outfit, although Drugovich is not going to observe the identical path.
An Aston Martin spokesperson couldn’t affirm his impending departure and mentioned: “Aston Martin Aramco have Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll contracted as race drivers till the tip of 2026. The broader driving squad for subsequent yr shall be introduced sooner or later.”
Cadillac have but to verify a reserve driver for his or her 2026 debut. Drugovich is more likely to be a powerful candidate, given the eleventh F1 workforce is owned by American firm TWG Motorsports which additionally operates the Andretti FE outfit.
READ MORE: Christian Horner pay rise revealed in Pink Bull F1 accounts earlier than axe and £80m payoffREAD MORE: Lewis Hamilton’s brother Nicolas caught in ‘scary’ fireplace as automobile bursts into flames
In his new full-time racing gig, Drugovich will associate Britain’s Jake Dennis who gained the Formulation E title in 2023. He’s set to make his debut on the 2025-26 season opener in Sao Paulo on December 6, which shall be his first aggressive race in his homeland for greater than a decade, when he was a toddler in karting.
He mentioned: “It has been far too lengthy for me with out racing, so I’m extremely motivated to get again on a racetrack. It means so much to know I shall be competing in each session and never simply serving as a reserve, as I’ve performed the previous few years. I’m very grateful to all the Andretti World group for believing in my potential and for being so supportive.”
Sky Sports activities launches discounted Formulation 1 bundle
£43
£35
Sky
Get Sky Sports activities right here
Formulation 1 followers can watch each observe, qualifying and race dwell with Sky’s new Important TV and Sky Sports activities bundle in a brand new deal that saves £192.
In addition to Sky Sports activities entry, this contains greater than 100 TV channels and free subscriptions to Netflix and Discovery+.
Andretti FE workforce principal Roger Griffiths mentioned: “I’m personally very excited to welcome Felipe to the Andretti Formulation E workforce. Felipe is a driver who has been on our radar for a while, and we’ve watched his progress all through varied Formulation E take a look at classes with quite a lot of curiosity.
“He is a quick and clever driver who has already demonstrated he can rapidly adapt to the calls for of the championship, as we noticed throughout his debut in Berlin. As we take a look at the re-development of the workforce underneath our new possession construction, we see Felipe working alongside Jake as a massively essential a part of each our current and our future within the collection.”
