Aston Martin set to lose ‘great asset’ amid upcoming F1 2026 driver plan

Aston Martin will say farewell to a “great asset” at the end of this season when reserve driver Felipe Drugovich leaves join Andretti in 2026 Formula E championship.

Winning the Formula 2 championship on his third time of asking with MP Motorsport, Drugovich joined Aston Martin as the team’s official reserve driver.

Felipe Drugovich has spent three years as Aston Martin reserve

However, his arrival in 2023 coincided with Fernando Alonso’s, and three years on, the 44-year-old shows no sign of slowing down.

Alonso’s longevity in the sport, coupled with Lance Stroll’s stay as team owner Lawrence’s son, means Drugovich has been unable to get a look-in on a race seat.

Three years on, Drugovich has made the call to seek a race seat elsewhere, signing with Andretti in Formula E.

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“It’s been far too long for me without racing, so I’m incredibly motivated to get back on a racetrack,” said the 25-year-old. “It means a lot to know I’ll be competing in every session and not just serving as a reserve, as I have done the past few years.

“I’m confident this new chapter together will be a memorable one.”

Aston Martin team principal Andy Cowell concedes the team is losing a “really great asset”, but he understands that the drivers wants to get back to racing.

Cowell revealed Aston Martin in no way stood in the 25-year-old’s way, with the team wishing him well for the future.

“Felipe has been with the team for several years, a really great asset,” he told the media in Singapore. “Felipe is keen to go racing again, yeah.

“So, you know, I and everybody else was really keen to make sure that he’s got that opportunity and can go off and enjoy Formula E. We wish him well, thank him.

“We’re in a fortunate position that we’ve got Lance and Fernando contracted for next year, so we’ve got that stability as we go across the regulation set.

“Regarding everything else, we’ll make an announcement in the future.”

Aston Martin have Jak Crawford in Formula 2 with the American tipped to replace Drugovich as Aston Martin’s reserve driver.

Drugovich, meanwhile, is eager to back to racing and admits he would’ve looked to dovetail his F1 Aston Martin commitments with another series had he realised he’d be on the sidelines for three years.

“I learned as much as I could in these three years and, actually, having looked from the other side of the helmet and observed the drivers from the outside, I think this has helped me learn a lot more than I thought,” he is quoted as saying by Italy’s Autosprint.

“So it was a positive thing and I think the change came at the right time.”

The 2022 Formula 2 champion admitted he does regret missing out on regular competition.

“Of course, if I had known how these three years would go, I definitely would have at least competed in full championships earlier. Because that’s what I love to do.

“At the same time, I thought it was important to do everything possible to get a seat in F1, and if that hadn’t happened, I would have moved on, and yes, here I am.”

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