The Brazilian Drugovich will replace Fernando Alonso in the first free practice in Mexico

The test and reserve driver of the Aston Martin team, the Brazilian Felipe Drugovich, will replace the Spanish Fernando Alonso in the first free practice session of the Mexican Grand Prix, which will be held from October 25 to 27 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, according to a statement from the team.

It will be the first time that the Brazilian gets into the AMR24, a car that he himself has helped develop through his simulator work at the Aston Martin Technology Campus. By participating in the practice session, the Brazilian driver will partially fulfill the team’s requirement to run a debutant in two FP1s, with a second session planned for later.

“I am very excited to drive the AMR24 for the first time, I have been waiting for it for a long time. I have spent much of the year working on the development of this car in the simulator, so it will be valuable for me to feel the correlation between the simulator and reality,” celebrated Drugovich, 24 years old.

Furthermore, the Brazilian has never ridden at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez before, so it will be a “challenge.” “It mixes long straights and technical corners, so I will spend time in the simulator before the GP to be ready for FP1,” he assured.

While Mike Krack, Team Principal of Aston Martin, was “excited” to give Drugovich this first opportunity to drive the AMR24. “He is regularly at Silverstone in our simulator, contributing to the development of this car with his detailed and thoughtful feedback, so it will be a rewarding experience for him,” he said.

“During the session, Felipe will work on the team’s race plan, collecting vital data to support our decision-making for the rest of the weekend and helping with car set-up,” he concluded.