Aston Martin confirm Felipe Drugovich exit as F1 team loses ‘great asset’

Mirror Sport reported last week that Felipe Drugovich’s decision to join Andretti Global in Formula E would mean the end of his Formula 1 reserve role with Aston Martin

Aston Martin team principal Andy Cowell has confirmed the exit of Felipe Drugovich as the team’s Formula 1 reserve driver. The confirmation comes after Mirror Sport reported the Brazilian driver’s impending departure, following the announcement that he has joined Andretti Global to race for their Formula E team.

Drugovich, 25, joined Aston Martin in 2022 shortly after confirming his status as that year’s Formula 2 champion. However, despite turning down full-time race seats in other motorsport series to focus on his dream of racing in F1, the opportunity has yet to come.

And he decided now is the time to get back into racing, signing with Andretti to drive in the all-electric Formula E championship. His first race is set to be in his homeland at the Sao Paulo E-Prix in December this year, on the same weekend as the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix F1 season finale.

Naturally, he would have to be released from his reserve driver duties before then to avoid a clash. Sources told Mirror Sport last week that Drugovich’s decision to sign up for the FE season would result in his termination as an F1 reserve driver.

And that has now been confirmed by team principal Cowell. Speaking at the Singapore Grand Prix, he told reporters: “Felipe has been with the team for several years, a really great asset. Felipe is keen to go racing again, yeah. So I and everybody else was really keen to make sure that he has got that opportunity and can go off and enjoy Formula E. We wish him well, thank him.

“We are in a fortunate position that we have got Lance and Fernando contracted for next year, so we have got that stability as we go across the regulation set. Regarding everything else, we will make an announcement in the future.”

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As alluded to by Cowell, current racers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll both have contracts to continue in 2026. An Aston Martin spokesperson confirmed to Mirror Sport that the team will decide its reserve driver line-up “in due course”.

The team has Formula 2 title challenger Jak Crawford on the books. However, the American has been linked with a switch to new outfit Cadillac who are on the lookout for a reserve, having already appointed IndyCar race winner Colton Herta as their test driver.

Aston Martin will begin to use Honda engines from next year and, as part of that partnership, the team has been linked with a swoop for Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese racer, who is affiliated with Honda, is at risk of losing his place at Red Bull and could be offered a reserve role by Aston if he were to fail to land a race seat with one of the Red Bull teams.

With Isack Hadjar likely to be promoted to partner Max Verstappen next year, Tsunoda is one of three drivers believed to be in contention for the two Racing Bulls seats along with Liam Lawson and F2 driver Arvid Lindblad. Red Bull look set to sign Alex Dunne following his departure from the McLaren junior programme, but he is not expected to be in line for an immediate promotion to F1.