Felipe Drugovich and MP Motorsport didn't just win the 2022 Formula 2 championship; they completely grabbed it by the scruff of the neck. Celebrating a decade of F2 history, the 2022 campaign stands out for a truly ruthless display of consistency and raw speed, built on the foundations of some unforgettable weekends.
The Brazilian driver's masterclass properly caught fire across Barcelona and Monaco. In Spain, starting down in tenth on the grid, Drugovich pulled off a masterstroke by nursing his Soft tyres longer than anyone else before unleashing fresher Hards to carve through the pack. He hunted down Jack Doohan on lap 27 of 37 and checked out, winning by 5.5s to claim the feature race victory after already taking the sprint win. The momentum rolled straight into the streets of Monaco a week later. Following a Saturday mishap involving an early puncture and a gamble on wet tyres that didn't pay off, Sunday brought redemption. Drugovich held off his fierce title rival Théo Pourchaire over the final few laps to take victory, transforming a two-point deficit at the start of Barcelona into an unassailable 32-point championship lead.
Monza brought the title home in dramatic fashion, even if Sunday wasn't a fairy-tale race finish for the champion. Having qualified fourth while Pourchaire languished down in 14th, Drugovich looked untouchable. An opening-lap suspension failure in the sprint forced him into early retirement, leaving him stranded on the pitwall to watch. But when Pourchaire ran wide at Turn 2 following a scrap with Liam Lawson, tumbling down to 17th at the flag, the crown belonged to Drugovich and MP Motorsport. In a touch of pure class, Pourchaire walked straight into the MP garage after the race to congratulate every single team member.
While the F2 title was being decided in Italy, the grand prix paddock next door was hosting an absolute classic piece of F1 history. Former champion Nyck de Vries first stepped into Sebastian Vettel's Aston Martin for Friday practice, only for Williams to come calling on Saturday morning after Alex Albon was sidelined with appendicitis. Thrust into the car with zero preparation, De Vries qualified 13th, gained grid penalties to start eighth, and drove a brilliant race to finish ninth on debut. It earned him a spot on the grid with AlphaTauri for the following season, joining a rare group of drivers to score points on their first F1 appearance.
He wasn't the only one making the big jump, as Logan Sargeant secured his promotion to Formula 1 alongside Albon at Williams for the next year. The American driver had to sweat for his super license points going into the finale in Abu Dhabi, needing a finish of fifth or higher in the championship, or sixth without penalty points. Handling the pressure like a veteran, Sargeant fought through to finish sixth in the sprint and fifth in the feature, locking down fourth in the standings and punching his ticket to the ultimate series.
