'Wins aren't as important now as consistency at the front' - Drugovich

Felipe Drugovich has his eyes firmly set on the prize and believes that race wins are no longer as important to him as remaining consistent in the title fight.

The MP Motorsport driver currently leads the Drivers' Championship by 42 points over closest challenger Théo Pourchaire, and has enjoyed a healthy lead for much of the season so far.

Speaking ahead of this weekend's races in Spielberg, the Brazilian underlined his competitive nature but said that it was more important to keep scoring points to extend the lead rather than win races outright.

"Points, points, points and that’s it. Hopefully we can get a win here. That’s what I’ve been missing for two weekends now, but I think that’s the least important thing now. Most important is that I extend the Championship lead again. That’s all I’m thinking of. Be secure but also fast at the front.

"I’m feeling pretty good. I’m on good points in the Championship, scored in basically every race so I’m feeling confident we can keep doing this or even better. I’m very keen on improving. We should still improve because everyone is making steps forward and we need to do the same. I’ve done a very good year so far."

Drugovich's consistency this season has been the critical factor in his current points advantage. He has failed to score in just one round this year, a retirement from the Monaco Sprint Race the only blotch on an otherwise impeccable record.

Despite his lead in the title battle, he's clear that there is still room to improve both for him and the team. MP retains the top spot in the Teams' Standings following Silverstone, but the gap to second-placed ART Grand Prix has shrunk to just 10.

His points-focused mentality extends beyond just finishing the remaining rounds in the top 10, with a clear area to improve already at the forefront of his mind heading into the weekend.

READ MORE: The Spielberg Race Pack

"Qualifying has been the most inconsistent thing for me. I’ve qualified two or three times outside of the top 10. Qualifying is something that I’ve been working on in the past few years. I’ve been quite persistent about it and very focused on that and trying to secure very fast laps."

Looking forward to this weekend's racing at the Red Bull Ring, Drugovich says that the nature of the short but ultra quick track will make for a hectic Qualifying session that will have drivers fighting tooth and nail for grid position.

"It’s very cool, very nice place and looks amazing. It should produce very good racing as well, better than Silverstone at least because it’s very difficult to overtake there. It should be very nice and easier to overtake I would say. My debut here in 2020 was very nice, so it’s a special feeling for me.

"Rain won’t have an impact. We’ve all been okay at Silverstone with the rain and it should be fine here as well. I try not to look into it too much because it’s the same for everybody. When it keeps changing like this, you just keep looking at it and it’s not good for the situation. So I just try to concentrate and do the best I can in every situation. The track is shorter, so we should be able to do more laps in Qualifying. Lap times will be very close to each other so it’ll be very important to nail it here."