Why Felipe Drugovich and Pepe Martí are significant signings for Formula E

The signings of Felipe Drugovich and Pepe Martí are very significant for Formula E, at a time when the series is continuing to push for a larger audience.

Drugovich and Martí are the two full-time rookie drivers in the upcoming campaign – which gets underway next weekend in São Paulo – joining Andretti and Cupra Kiro respectively.

Whilst Formula E's audience continues to grow consistently – it reported a global cumulative audience of 561 million last season – the championship is pushing for more to accelerate that growth.

A key part of this is social media, something F1 has used to great success since the introduction of Netflix's docu-series Drive to Survive.

Formula E does have its own DRIVER docu-series on Amazon Prime, with the second season set to be released on November 28. As a category born in the age of social media and with a younger demographic than the likes of F1, utilising online platforms is critical to its success.

2022 F2 champion and former Aston Martin F1 reserve Drugovich is the second-most-followed driver in the championship, behind Mahindra's Nyck de Vries. Former Red Bull junior Martí is the fourth-most-followed driver, with the duo having almost 700,000 followers on Instagram combined.

Drugovich and Martí's major following

For Formula E, this opens the door of opportunity to ensure fans of both drivers watch the championship and add to its own figures. Having a big social media following is not everything, but it is an attractive asset for young drivers wanting to break into the series for Gen4.

Talent remains the biggest necessity, although being fast and well followed is the dream combination. It is arguably what Formula E is on the path to gaining once more F2 drivers make the move across in the future, with some current drivers in the series having a lower-than-expected social following.

Formula E itself has recognised the importance of its drivers having a solid presence on social media, but also acknowledges that it has drivers from a variety of generations.

Speaking to Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds about Drugovich and Martí joining with a significant social following, Dodds told RacingNews365: “I think it’s significant.

“One, I think it’s just a fact of their generation, which I think is that as the rookie drivers come through, and the drivers that have grown up in a different generation, they are used to operating in a social world in a way that maybe some of the other drivers didn’t start their careers in.

“So I think it’s natural that as you bring through new younger drivers, they bring with them a different sense of, and appreciation for, the social landscape; but for us as a growing championship, of course it’s important.

“It’s massively important that we’re able to grow the sport, and that means bringing new eyeballs to the sport. And if you turn up with half a million followers or a million followers, that automatically gives us a new audience to talk to.”

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More to come with future rookies

Formula E is constantly experimenting with how to reach and engage with new audiences, with recent examples being its celebrity-focused EVO sessions and Mr Beast content.

Having two rookies with a large following – particularly Drugovich, as one of Brazil's biggest stars – opens the door to new audiences, something the series is actively chasing.

"It's very important for us, and we are a sport born in the digital age, really," added Dodds. "So if you look at how we present ourselves, yes, we have a core broadcast product, but things like EVO sessions and the things we did with Mr Beast are all about trying to access a different audience, a different fan base. So it's really important.

"So, Pepe turns up with 200,000; I think Felipe is probably the second-most-followed after Nyck de Vries, so, you know, really, really important. And I would expect, as we lead into Gen4, we have some drivers that have been in the championship for a long time who are naturally, probably coming closer towards the end of their careers.

"At the same time, we'll have drivers who are in F2 or battling to get Formula 1 seats, who might not be successful in that and will start to look at this [championship] and say, well, actually, I quite fancy that."

Check out below how many Instagram followers each driver has!