Felipe Drugovich was in jubilant mood after clinching the 2022 FIA Formula 2 Drivers’ Title on Saturday, even if his Sprint race at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza was over before the end of the first lap.
With his one remaining rival, ART Grand Prix’s Théo Pourchaire, failing to secure the top six finish needed for him to take the battle into Sunday’s Feature race, Drugovich had done enough to add his name to the Formula 2 champions roll call.
The MP Motorsport driver made contact with Van Amersfoort Racing’s Amaury Cordeel at the second chicane on the opening lap on Saturday and returned to the pits with a broken suspension, and he watched on hoping Pourchaire would not recover from his lowly grid slot to take the battle onwards.
He would not, and Drugovich became the 2022 champion, and he said he was on top of the world following after a season that has seen him take five race victories, four of them in Feature races.
“It’s amazing, I really have no words for this,” said Drugovich. “When you start as a young driver you only dream about F1, but when you see how difficult it is to win an F2 title, this becomes a dream – and today it became the truth.
“We really tried to be consistent this year, to really have the pace in every race. It really says a lot. We managed to get it done really early, so yeah – top of the world now!”
“He has been mighty all season” – Sander Dorsman
Sander Dorsman, the Team Principal at MP Motorsport, was delighted to see Drugovich give the team their first ever Drivers’ Championship triumph, and he was full of praise for the Brazilian after a stellar season.
“I warmly congratulate Felipe on his title – he is the deserved champion!” said Dorsman. “He has been mighty all season and I am truly proud of the way the team has supported him.
“Our cooperation with Felipe was rock-solid – he was simply the best on track on several occasions and we continued to score points in weekends that proved more of a challenge.
“Now, together with Felipe and team-mate Clement Novalak, we hope to claim the Teams Championship as well. We’ll be gunning for that in November, on the final F2 weekend in Abu Dhabi.”
