Felipe Drugovich to leave Aston Martin for Andretti Formula E drive: “Far too long without racing”
Felipe Drugovich is finally getting back to what he does best. After three seasons parked on the Aston Martin pit wall, the 2022 Formula 2 champion will depart the team at the end of this year and join Andretti in Formula E for 2026.
It’s a move that’s felt inevitable for a while. Drugovich arrived at Silverstone in 2023 with momentum and a title on his CV, but he also arrived the same winter Fernando Alonso did. Fast-forward to 2025 and Alonso, 44, is still operating at full tilt, while Lance Stroll’s seat has never been in doubt at the team owned by his father, Lawrence. The combination left the Brazilian with precious little more than simulator miles and the odd FP1 cameo to show for three years of waiting.
“It’s been far too long for me without racing, so I’m incredibly motivated to get back on a racetrack,” the 25-year-old said. “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—and there aren’t many better judges of driver polish—called Drugovich “a really great asset” and made it clear the team wouldn’t stand in his way.
“Felipe has been with the team for several years, a really great asset,” Cowell said during the Singapore weekend. “Felipe is keen to go racing again. So I, and everybody else, was keen to make sure 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.”
Translation: Aston’s race seats are nailed down, and there’s no sense stringing a young driver along.
What comes next for Aston Martin’s pipeline is relatively straightforward. The team has American talent Jak Crawford on its books in Formula 2 and, in the paddock’s worst-kept secret, he’s widely tipped to step up as the squad’s reserve. It’s a logical move for a team that likes its options open while carrying continuity at the sharp end. Expect the formalities in due course.
As for Drugovich, the race-starved years weren’t wasted. He’s been a regular in the debrief room and an ever-present on the simulator, where modern F1 teams stack relentless mileage and gather data in a way fans seldom see. From the outside of the cockpit, he says he learned more than he expected—about processes, tyre windows, how top-tier drivers manage sessions. But there’s a cost to that education.
“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,” he admitted. “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.”
It’s a familiar crossroads for modern junior champions. The F2 title still opens doors, but it doesn’t guarantee a race seat in Formula 1—particularly when a team’s line-up is set and the veterans aren’t exactly fading. In that context, Formula E makes plenty of sense. Andretti knows how to win in the all-electric world and offers proper mileage, wheel-to-wheel reps, and the profile to keep a driver relevant. It’s a platform, not a cul-de-sac.
Aston Martin, meanwhile, loses a steady hand who did the unglamorous work well. That matters during a regulation handover, where a consistent development driver can be worth tenths. But with Alonso and Stroll locked in for next season, the team’s priority is now refining its 2026 project—and setting its succession plan behind the scenes.
Drugovich’s priority is simpler: race. After three seasons of standby duty, his next green light won’t be on a garage wall. It’ll be on the grid.
