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Felipe Drugovich

Felipe Drugovich handed nightmare start to Formula E debut

Felipe Drugovich is set for a very difficult first race in Formula E!

Drugvich
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Felipe Drugovich will serve a 20-place grid penalty in the opening race of Formula E's Berlin E-Prix, his first world championship single-seater race. 

The Aston Martin F1 reserve and 2022 Formula 2 champion has been signed by Mahindra to replace WEC-tied Nyck de Vries for the two races in the German capital, due to the Dutchman racing in São Paulo for Toyota. 

An FE debut is a notoriously difficult task, even more so for Drugovich after receiving a huge grid penalty from the stewards. 

Drugovich has been handed the punishment due to Mahindra fitting a new gearbox outside the legal pool to his car. 

Should Drugovich be unable to serve the entirety of his penalty, he will be forced to serve a drive-through at the start of the opening race at the Tempelhof Airport. 

He is not alone in having a 20-place grid penalty, as Jaguar's Nick Cassidy will also serve a considerable grid drop and potential drive-through. 

Substantial rain looks set to cause havoc in Berlin for FE, with first practice on Friday evening likely set to be the only dry session of the entire event. 

With the exception of impeding McLaren's Sam Bird in the final sector, it was a smooth session for Drugovich, who ended it 16th on the timesheets – team-mate Edoardo Mortara was second.

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