Felipe Drugovich has arguably had one of the unluckiest motorsport careers so far. Despite winning the F2 championship in 2022 with MP Motorsport, he couldn’t land a full-time F1 seat. The Brazilian was unfortunate to miss out on the influx of rookies to the sport till 2021 and has since gone out of the spotlight amid the 2025 grid seeing five rookie drivers graduate.
Drugovich has been a reserve driver for Aston Martin since 2023. However, with both Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso having a contract at the Silverstone outfit for at least another season, Drugovich has had to reconsider his future.
His best bet to compete in F1 is to join the Cadillac Racing team, which will join the grid next year as the 11th team. Cadillac has been actively searching for two drivers ahead of their maiden F1 season in 2026. So far, there have been reports of experienced campaigners like Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas being in the hunt.
Meanwhile, they also wish to have an American driver, which has brought IndyCar sensation Colton Herta into the conversation. Amid these considerations, Drugovich has thrown his hat in the ring.
The 24-year-old did confirm his talks with Cadillac for a 2026 drive recently. “Yes, I had this conversation with Cadillac in Suzuka,” he said in an interview with GE. “I think everyone has been talking to them”.
Always good to see our 2022 champ Felipe Drugovich #F2 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/wO6oWyd4a5
— Formula 2 (@Formula2) April 11, 2025
Speaking of his chances of getting the seat, he added, “I think it’s hard to have an idea of whether we have a chance or not. We have to wait a little while because they are organizing themselves to have a team next year”. While Cadillac is keen on signing an American driver, Drugovich’s Brazilian heritage could also lure them, given the popularity of Brazilian drivers in F1.
On top of that, the Aston Martin reserve has already been racing for Cadillac in endurance racing categories. So, they may want to make him shift disciplines and make use of his talents at the pinnacle of motorsport.
Can Drugovich’s endurance racing links with Cadillac help him?
While Cadillac is yet to even test its car on track, the competition to get a seat on their team is quite intense at this stage behind the scenes in the paddock. It reflects how premium F1 seats have been in recent years. More so for the likes of Drugovich.
However, the Brazilian would have an edge as he has been driving for the Cadillac Whelen team in the IMSA SportsCar Championship in the GTP category. Last year, he was also part of their roster for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the World Endurance Championship (WEC).
Now, Drugovich has been honing his skills in endurance racing. And while he said that he is “happy to be their driver” in IMSA, the 24-year-old would be keen to get behind the wheel of an F1 car full-time, having stayed on the sidelines for two and a half years now.
The challenge is that Cadillac’s endurance program in IMSA and WEC is a completely different operation from their venture in F1. Having evolved from Andretti’s initial bid to be F1’s 11th team, the General Motors-backed proposal is now aiming to become a works team with its own engine in 2028.
Drugovich will have to get to grips as soon as possible with this change in scenery if he lands the seat with the American team. “This team and the F1 team don’t have much connection, but I have a good relationship with Cadillac Racing and I’m happy to continue with them in the endurance races this year,” he explained.
What remains clear, though, is that he is exploring his options by taking part in whatever practice sessions he can with Aston Martin. He jumped in Alonso’s car for Aston Martin to take part in FP1 at the Bahrain GP. Putting in a best lap of 1:35.198, which was less than a tenth away from Lance Stroll, Drugovich was impressive. Hopefully, it impresses Cadillac, too.
