Report: Felipe Drugovich replaces Nyck de Vries at Mahindra for the Berlin E-Prix & makes Formula E debut

Brazilian Felipe Drugovich, Formula 2 champion of the 2022 season and current Formula 1 reserve driver at Aston Martin, will make his Formula E debut at the Berlin E-Prix in July. This is reported by the colleagues at Motorsport.com Brazil. He will be in the cockpit in the German capital as a replacement for Nyck de Vries at Mahindra.

Nyck de Vries will also miss the Berlin E-Prix in 2025 after 2024 because he has to compete for Toyota in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) race in Sao Paulo on the same weekend. His Toyota contract prioritises the WEC over other racing series, such as Formula E.

Two test drivers are available to Mahindra as potential replacements: Jordan King, who already took over one of the two Mahindra cars last year, and Kush Maini, who already took part in rookie training for the team in Jeddah in February. However, neither of them will be racing at the Berlin E-Prix. Instead, the team has signed Drugovich.

Drugovich also completed his first test drives in Mahindra's Gen3 Evo car this week at the Circuit Guadix near Granada in Spain, according to the report.

The Brazilian has already tested for Maserati MSG Racing at the rookie test in Berlin in 2023 and 2024 and also drove the rookie training session for the team in Rome in 2023. He certainly impressed: he won two of the five sessions in total.

In addition to de Vries, Sebastien Buemi, Robin Frijns (both Envision), Norman Nato (Nissan), Stoffel Vandoorne (Maserati) and Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Penske) are also contesting in the hypercar class of WEC alongside their Formula E commitment. While Nato is likely to be represented by Sergio Sette Camara, it is unclear whether the two Envision drivers will have to prioritise Formula E or the WEC in their contracts. Vandoorne and Vergne, on the other hand, will definitely miss the WEC race in Brazil as their Formula E contracts take priority.