Drugovich ‘grabbed every opportunity’ in the Sprint Race

26 March 2022

In a race where every lap counted, Felipe Drugovich feels he maximised his potential with MP Motorsport to collect his third points finish in a row.

Competitive running was severely restricted by three lengthy Safety Car periods in the Sprint Race, but starting from 10th, Drugovich still managed to fight his way up to fourth on track.

The result followed up his fifth and sixth-place finishes in the opening round of the season at Sakhir and the MP Motorsport racer was left revelling in the car beneath him.

“I think the race was pretty much maximised on my side,” said Drugovich. “I did all I could do. It’s a shame about the Safety Cars - at one stage, I thought we were going to finish where we started, out of the points, but then we managed to go forwards and I think I grabbed every opportunity that came to me.”

Drugovich drove from 10th to fourth in the Sprint Race

It took 11 races for Drugovich to complete a run of three points finishes in a row last year with team vice-champions Virtuosi Racing, but the Brazilian has managed it in the opening three this season, following his return to MP Motorsport.

“It is amazing. I really like the team and the people,” he elated. “I knew they had gained more experience. It was just unfortunate that we couldn't show our potential in the first weekend. I think we were really quick, but things just didn’t fall into place.

“This weekend, everything is falling into place and hopefully tomorrow I can do a good job. It’s a long year, and we just want to continue to grow together.”

The Brazilian will start from pole in the Feature Race after a scintillating late lap in Qualifying on Friday and he said that the impressive baseline performance of his car has allowed the team to focus on getting the specifics of the track tied down.

Drugovich will start from pole in the Feature Race

“There are always bits and pieces that we can adjust, but the car was awesome today, so we won’t be revolutionising anything before tomorrow,” he continued. “The race today allowed us to get a feel for the race runs, which we didn’t get in Free Practice, and we got a feel for the balance of the car.

“The temperature should be quite similar to today, so that is a good thing. We also saw both tyres on track, which helps for the strategy choice tomorrow. It was all very useful, and we'll be looking over it for the rest of today.”