A sore back for Fernando Alonso handed Felipe Drugovich the sort of shop-window Friday you can’t buy. Drafted into the AMR25 for FP1 in Hungary, the Brazilian quietly got on with it and ended the session just three tenths off the other Aston Martin. No fuss, no drama, exactly the impression you want to leave when one of F1’s incoming players is weighing up its 2026 options.
Drugovich’s name has been circling Cadillac’s shortlist for that second seat next year, with the American outfit edging toward final decisions for its planned 11th-team entry. He insists he isn’t treating every lap like an audition. “I’m trying to do the best I can on track, and then hopefully that translates into a seat next year,” he said. “But at the same time, I can’t really think about that when I’m driving… try to do the work for the team and make them happy, and hopefully that one day gives me a seat in Formula 1.”
Behind the scenes, the paddock drumbeat hasn’t exactly quieted. Sergio Perez has been widely linked to Cadillac, with strong indications he’s on course to return to the grid with the project, leaving that second seat as the live battleground. Drugovich is very much in that conversation.
And he’s been making his case with unusual bluntness. The 2022 Formula 2 champion called himself “the best third driver there is at the moment,” citing thousands of testing kilometers, a clean record — “I think I’m the only guy who’s never crashed a Formula 1 car… never crashed a Formula 2 car” — and a toolbox built across Hypercar and Formula E. With 2026 set to lean harder on energy management and hybrid efficiency, those lines on the CV suddenly read bolder. He’s even logged miles on prototype 2026 tyres and is due more running.
Inside Aston Martin, the endorsement is strong. Alonso, who’s seen Drugovich up close across sim work and sporadic practice outings, didn’t hesitate. “It would be great to see him in F1,” he said. “He has been always delivering the performance that the team was asking, even with very limited kilometres.”
There’s also the Cadillac thread that predates any F1 talk. Drugovich has already worn the brand in anger with Cadillac Whelen in IMSA and at Le Mans — useful familiarity for a manufacturer stepping into the sport’s deep end.
The stakes are obvious. After three seasons parked on the sidelines, Drugovich has a narrow runway to turn steady, assured cameos into a full-time return. Hungary didn’t make the decision for Cadillac. It did, however, remind everyone why he’s still on the list.
