Drugovich: F2 title win 'not how I expected it' after early Monza exit
Felipe Drugovich says winning the FIA Formula 2 title was “not how I expected it” after he clinched victory from the pitwall.
The MP Motorsport driver’s sprint race at Monza ended on the first lap after contact with Amaury Cordeel left him with broken suspension.
He was left to watch on as Theo Pourchaire failed to make up enough ground to close the gap and prolong the battle until Sunday’s feature race, finishing 17th.
Despite the strange way in which he sealed the championship, Drugovich says it was a “good way to celebrate from the pitwall” with his team.
The Brazilian said: “It was for sure not how I expected it.
“In the beginning I was a little bit nervous because Theo was making up some positions but yeah, at the end we found out it was quite difficult for him to go up.
“The feeling was the same, being in the car would have been unreal, I think I’m going to really enjoy this for a long time.”
He added: “It feels amazing. It takes a bit of time to sink in and actually realise you’re the champion.
“As I said before, I think when you start you always have a dream of being in F1, but when you’re going through, you realise how difficult it is to be an F2 champion as well.
“It’s everything you can do to match that dream and it certainly becomes a dream as well to become F2 champion.
“Since I was a kid I was already dreaming about this moment and it’s such an unreal feeling to be here.”
Discussing the race, which was won by Hitech’s Juri Vips, Drugovich said he was “just trying to be safe” as he started 12th, two places ahead of Pourchaire.
He said he tried to avoid Cordeel, even moving slightly off-track to accommodate the Van Amersfoort Racing driver, but he “just kept going out.”
Drugovich said: “First of all I had a good start, I wasn’t playing it completely safe, I was just trying to be safe.
“I thought he saw me there, probably he didn’t, or maybe he did and just ran wide, but I think at some point I put half of the car out of the track just to avoid it and then he just kept going out.
“The suspension was broken and I was a little bit sad but at the end I think it was a good way to celebrate from the pitwall.
“We have to look at the good things and it was a different one.”
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