Drugovich moves to Virtuosi for second F2 season
Felipe Drugovich will leave MP Motorsport to join 2020 runner-up UNI-Virtuosi for his second season in Formula 2 next year.
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Brazilain driver Drugovich enjoyed a breakthrough maiden season in F2 this year, scoring three race victories en route to a top-10 finish in the championship.
This marked a massive reversal in form for the former Euroformula Open and MRF Challenge champion, who could muster only eight points and 16th position the previous year in FIA Formula 3.
"I think if you take a big picture of the championship, I think UNI-Virtuosi has been the team that has had the best pace," said Drugovich. "Through the season they had really good qualifying pace, and they're really fast at every track.
"With other teams you could see they were really good somewhere, but somewhere else, they might not have the pace. So I think this has been the most consistently good thing. And that's why we wanted to get on board with them."
Virtuosi powered Ferrari protege Callum Ilott to second in the teams’ standings behind champion Mick Schumacher of Prema, while teammate and Renault junior Guanyu Zhou finished sixth with a victory in the Sochi sprint race.
In the teams’ stake, Virtuosi finished second in the standings behind Prema, but well clear of the third-placed Carlin team.
"UNI-Virtuosi Racing is delighted to have Felipe Drugovich onboard for the 2021 FIA Formula 2 season,” Virtuosi said in a statement.
"Felipe had a fantastic maiden season in Formula 2 this year with three victories, despite the uncertainty 2020 has produced. He has shown amazing pace and ability in only his first year in the championship.
"UNI-Virtuosi Racing has a long history of working with young drivers to help them succeed in a competitive championship quickly, and that’s exactly what we’re targeting with Felipe.
"We’re looking forward to him joining us for the post-season test to work with his new team-mates on being ready to hit the ground running at the start of next season.”
Virtuosi said it will announce Drugovich’s teammate for 2021 in due course, with it being unclear if either Ilott or Zhou will return with the team for next season.
Virtuosi's announcement follows the news that Ferrari junior Robert Shwartzman will remain with Prema in 2021, partnering newly-crowned FIA F3 champion Oscar Piastri.
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