Five F1 rookies in '25, but not this driver: 'He definitely deserves seat'
F1 News
Five rookies will appear on the grid in the 2025 F1 season, moreover Liam Lawson, a driver without a full year under his belt will also become Max Verstappen's teammate. Still, the New Zealander misses a certain person from the grid in the competition: Felipe Drugovich.
For some time, it seemed like the next Brazilian on the grid after some wait would be Felipe Drugovich, after he claimed the F2 title back in 2022. Yet, that honour of breaking the streak of no Brazilians goes to Gabriel Bortoleto, who topped the same feeder series last season.
At the moment, even as new faces like Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar could also graduate, and Jack Doohan can now also join after skipping a year as a reserve driver, Drugovich could not complete the next step. In the The Pit Stop Podcast, the current Aston Martin reserve driver would deserve a chance according to Liam Lawson. "He has jumped in and done... his FP [session] in last year was quicker than Stroll Abu Dhabi, he was the third quickest in FP1 in Abu Dhabi."
Also faster than Alonso
Moreover, the New Zealander states that he is Drugovich was faster than Alonso in similar conditions in the 2024 season when could sit in the Aston Martin car. "And then this year, I think he was quicker than Fernando. I don't know what the run plans are, maybe there was some others, but I think he was quicker than Fernando as well, in FP1. Yes, he deserves a seat," the now Red Bull driver added.
At the 2023 Abu Dhabi GP's FP1 session, Drugovich was three tenths faster than the Canadian driver. This year, the 24-year-old Brazilian was three hundredths faster than Alonso at the Yas Marina Circuit.
This article was written in collaboration with Corwin Kunst
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