F2 champ Drugovich still looking for a Formula E breakthrough after Miami mishap

Felipe Drugovich looked set for a breakthrough result in the Miami E-Prix after his first qualifying Duels appearance that led to a front row start and a spell at the front of the field in the race, but a collision with Antonio Felix da Costa ended all hopes of the 2022 Formula 2 champion leaving South Florida with a trophy.

On lap 26, entering Turn 13 at the back of the main straight, Drugovich ran into the back of the Jaguar driver, who’d been overtaken by his teammate Mitch Evans the lap before. It looked as if the Brazilian might have misjudged his braking point in the slippery conditions, but he says it was more of a case of anticipating a gap opening up that didn’t.

“Obviously was my mistake,” Drugovich told RACER. “I felt like I braked in the right place and then I thought he was going to go long at first, so I went to the inside. And I thought, because I was coming quite quick to the inside, it was going to close the door, so I went to the outside – and obviously [on] the outside, there's a wall.

“I thought I was going to see a gap there, and I didn't. It’s decisions you need to do at the last second and this time didn't work out.”

Drugovich finished the season opener in Sao Paulo in fifth, only to be handed a penalty for speeding under full course yellows, that was followed by a 15th in Mexico City, then an eventual 18th-place finish in Miami after he pitted for a new nose following the clash with da Costa.

Andretti team principal Roger Griffiths told RACER, that Drugovich has been putting a lot of pressure on himself to perform, but he feels that for the Brazilian it’s a case of when, not if the results will come.

“I’m disappointed for Felipe, to have that fifth place taken away from him and obviously to get it, it would have been nice to get some points for him,” Griffiths said of the season opener. “I think that would have alleviated some of the pressure he's putting on himself, but I think we're starting to see that performance come.

He puts a lot of pressure on himself – it's not coming from us, he's doing it himself. So I think he'll get to grips a bit, and then we'll have that light bulb moment, and then I think we all regularly see him in the points.”

Drugovich is finding Formula E a tougher nut to crack than F2. but his team is staying patient. Mark Sutton/Getty Images

Griffiths is staying patient with Drugovich, wanting him to develop at a proper rate rather than rushing.

“What I've said to him is, 'There's guys here that have done hundreds and hundreds of laps in a Formula E car, they're into their fourth season with this configuration of car, at least their second season with the second generation of tire from Hankook, so they've got a lot more experience on you, so you're playing catch-up. So don't be too hard on yourself.'

“I think he gets that. But obviously he's a guy that's won a Formula 2 championship, his own standards are really high, and I just don't want him to push that too much and over-rush his development experience.”

After the Miami E-Prix, despite the strong showing before the crash, Drugovich acknowledged that he’s still adapting to Formula E, but he’s satisfied with where he stands at the moment.

“I think it's still the beginning, and we're still learning,” he said. “But at the end of the day, I think it's already a good place for me to start.

“Obviously, I don't know if next races will be OK or not, but I, felt like the changes we made to the car made me a lot more comfortable, and that automatically just manages to help me with the driving as well.