Call for change: F2 champion must be able to defend title

Felipe Drugovich of Dutch team MP Motorsport is the proud champion in Formula 2 in 2022. The Brazilian has now been confirmed as an Aston Martin test driver. But actually racing a full season somewhere is probably not in the cards for him in 2023.

In Formula 2, there is a rule that the champion can never defend his title and must retire from the class. Once upon a time, this was done keeping in mind that this would allow the champion to secure a seat in Formula 1. However, practice proves otherwise. With only 20 spots in F1, there is not always a cockpit available for the Formula 2 champion.

Also next season, there seems to be no place for the champion, as it was once before with Nyck de Vries. So in that case racing in F2 and staying so close to F1 is not possible for Drugovich. "I think in my opinion, either you’re champion and you cannot stay anymore and you have to be promoted to Formula 1 or you can stay", Drugovich told Speedcafe.

The Brazilian refers to the system in Moto 2 and Moto 3. There, the champion should be given a mandatory chance in the next class. “I think it’s kind of how it works in Moto 2 and Moto 3. I think first of all, what needs to change is whoever wins the championship needs to get a go in F1", Drugovich believes. F2 championship boss Bruno Michel, incidentally, disagrees. According to him, it cannot be imposed on F1 teams to contract a particular driver.