To GRANDE PRÊMIO, Felipe Drugovich said that the MP may encounter in Monza difficulties similar to those seen in Baku, but he bets on a better performance of the team in Italian soil
Felipe Drugovich left Baku, in Azerbaijan, with a balance beyond expectations: a fifth place in the first race and a third position in the main event. This is because the performance of the MP on the Azeri track in 2021 was not the best, so the team opted for a different setup, but without being sure that the changes, in fact, would have an effect. Now, for the rest of the season, the Brazilian believes that Monza may bring a similar challenge, although he bets on a better performance from the Dutch team.
In an exclusive interview to GRANDE PRÊMIO, Drugovich explained that he had to work on the car setup together with MP based on last year's data, since he had few practice laps at the weekend in Baku. In the pilot's words, "it was a shot in the dark.
"The weekend in Baku was very good, in terms of results. Seeing MP's results last year and the data they had, [Baku] was not their strong point by any means," the driver told GP. "So we were a little bit in doubt whether the car was going to do well or not, because we arrived there with a completely different setup," he added.
"I can say it worked out," Drugovich pointed out about the changes to the MP car. "The car was logically better than in previous years, but it was also the weekend where we suffered the most with pace, so I was so happy to have a fifth place and a podium in our most difficult weekend," he added.
The great result in Azerbaijan made Drugovich extend his lead in the World Championship to 49 points. Now they are 132 against 83 for Théo Pourchaire with eight rounds to go. And the penultimate one, in Monza, is the most worrisome of those that remain. "The expectation there is a little better, but it doesn't mean that the result will be better," pondered Drugovich.
"In our, let's say, bad race, we got a podium in the main race, which is already great, so in terms of result, you can't expect anything. But as a setup facility, maybe Monza is one that we have to pay a little more attention to in order to arrive better prepared", he concluded.
The first part of the interview with Felipe Drugovich will be aired at 6pm on the Gran Premio YouTube channel.