Elated Drugovich “didn’t know” quite how much MP had improved

Felipe Drugovich didn’t hide his frustration at missing out on a podium in the Feature Race on Saturday in Barcelona, but more than made up for it with an emphatic Sprint Race win on Sunday. It was the Brazilian’s first win since Round 1, and he praised his MP Motorsport team for the steps forward they’d made, saying he didn’t realise they’d improved “this much.”

Drugovich made the most of a lacklustre getaway from polesitter Luca Ghiotto to shoot into first, before quietly pulling away from the pack and building up a solid 9s lead.

“It was pretty much perfect,” said Drugovich. “The car was amazing. The rhythm we had this weekend was actually quite a surprise for us. We managed to improve the car, but I didn’t know it was by this much, so I am really happy for the team and everybody.

“We can see the improvements we’ve made - the pace we had was amazing. There is still a margin to improve though.

“You're always trying to build the gap and manage the tyres, which is really difficult, especially at this track. The car was awesome, so that did make it easier for me, and I was controlling everything, not using the tyres that much.

“The front left is the main problem here and I was taking care of that. The result shows how far we've come with the team so I'm really happy.”

MP Motorsport enjoyed the perfect weekend, as Nobuharu Matsushita took Feature Race victory on the Saturday – The Japanese driver’s first this season.

Despite this, and the promise it shows from the team, Drugovich was keen to temper expectations slightly, advising that their pace appeared to be “track dependant.”

Regardless, the Brazilian is now keen to fight for the big points in the Feature Races and remains fully confident that he can do this, starting from Round 7 in Spa.

“The aim is to fight for Feature Races,” he continued. “We have to aim for that and try to win, try to be in front. I don't think we can predict anything else for the next races.

“I think we made a step forward as a team this weekend, but I think it's quite track dependant, so we'll have to see at other tracks how it's going to be and how it's going to work.

“As you can see, on Saturday we were really fast during the whole race and today we've shown the pace. I'm confident for the next races, but I cannot predict anything.”