Sao Paulo: Carelessness costs Drugovich points on his debut as a regular driver in Formula E

Andretti driver Felipe Drugovich was one of the positive surprises at the Sao Paulo E-Prix. In his first Formula E race as a regular driver, the Brazilian was well on his way to scoring points in his home race. However, a carelessness at the full-course yellow earned him two penalties - one of which was even for the following race in Mexico.

Qualifying ended early for Drugovich: He steered too early in the chicane and hit the wall with his right front wheel. The suspension broke and Drugovich had to park the customer team's Porsche 99X Electric at the side of the track. Race control brought out the red flag and as a consequence, the Brazilian's fastest lap time was cancelled.

From 17th on the grid, Drugovich drove an unremarkable race for the most part. He stayed out of all the skirmishes and benefited from the safety car after Edoardo Mortara's accident. Six drivers ahead of him lost time with the additional power due to the neutralisation, Drugovich in 8th place was one of the few drivers who still had one Attack Mode over four minutes left.

The local hero activated Attack Mode on lap 26, just like his team-mate Jake Dennis, and thanks to 350 kW and all-wheel drive, he then overtook three of his rivals and was even on course for a podium finish. He still had more than two minutes left with the extra power when race director Marek Hanaczewski called a Full-Course-Yellow due to Mitch Evans' accident.

Two penalties ruin a good result

This is where Drugovich made a rookie mistake: He activated the speed limiter too late and overtook Pascal Wehrlein and Nick Cassidy. Although he let both drivers past again a few seconds later, disaster had already struck.

The stewards subsequently penalised Drugovich with a five-second time penalty for speeding during the Full-Course-Yellow. This penalty dropped him from fifth to 12th place. But that was not all: the Brazilian was also penalised for overtaking under full-course yellow.

However, as he was already outside the points, he was handed a demotion for the upcoming race in Mexico City instead of a time penalty. Drugovich will have to move back three positions on the grid. He also received three penalty points on his racing licence - one for speeding and two more for overtaking. After the race, both the driver and team boss Roger Griffiths avoided commenting on the incident.

Roger Griffiths: "There was a potential for a one-two"

"I think we did everything we could have done and it was going great until the Full Course Yellow ," said Drugovich after the race. "Without that and the late Red Flag, we could have easily achieved second. A shame, but we’ll take the positives and turn our focus to Mexico City in a few weeks’ time."

"He made some great progress during the race and had we not had the Red Flag, I think there was a potential for a one-two there given the position we were in with the Attack Mode strategy," said Griffiths. "We then got caught out with a couple of unfortunate penalties which dropped us out of the points. But overall, a really strong race for him."

Drugovich will have his next opportunity to achieve a good result in just under five weeks' time. The Mexico City E-Prix is scheduled for 10 January 2026. It remains to be seen whether the Brazilian will be able to fight for championship points there despite the demotion he now has in his luggage.