Aston Martin F1 reserve driver set for Formula E debut due to WEC clash

Aston Martin Formula 1 reserve driver Felipe Drugovich looks set to make his Formula E debut at the Berlin E-Prix in July.

The Brazilian arm of motorsport.com has reported that Drugovich will replace Nyck de Vries at Mahindra Racing for the double-header in the German capital.

De Vries will prioritise his duties for Toyota Gazoo Racing in the World Endurance Championship, driving in the 6 Hours of São Paulo.

Drugovich, who won the Formula 2 championship in 2022, has previous FE experience, having driven for Maserati MSG Racing in three rookie tests.

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Footage online has surfaced of Drugovich testing for the Indian squad in Spain, and with his own sportscar duties for Cadillac in IMSA not conflicting, it presents the perfect opportunity to put himself back on the radar for a single-seater drive in the future.

Drugovich is in his third year at Aston Martin, and is said to have held talks with Cadillac about a drive with its F1 team, which takes to the grid next year.

And with speculation beginning to mount as to next year’s FE grid, he could attract attention of some of the teams should he perform well in his Berlin outing.

Another year, another FE/WEC clash

Last season, the Berlin double-header provided a headache for FE, with many drivers needing to choose between one series over the other.

De Vries, Sebastien Buemi, Robin Frijns and Nico Mueller all opted for WEC on that occasion, giving Jordan King, Paul Aron, Joel Erickson and Kelvin van der Linde opportunities to race in their places.

It remains to be seen if any others will make the same decision this year.

Motorsport Week broke the news that Sérgio Sette Camara, now reserve driver at Nissan, will drive for the Japanese marque that weekend in place of Norman Nato, who will drive for JOTA Cadillac at Interlagos.

And with de Vries now making the same choice as he did a year ago, the question must be asked: how long will FE drivers tolerate these clashes appearing on the calendar every year?

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