A bit of patience goes a long way if you are the team running a rookie in Formula E.
So many have fallen by the wayside. Lost belief, heaping too much pressure on oneself. To let them breath a bit and find their way is a crucial element of getting the best out of them. That’s where the team come in, on how they manage and hone the human inside the helmet.
And that’s where Roger Griffiths and Andretti excelled late last year. Because, even before Felipe Drugovich was signed to partner Jake Dennis, with the clear intention of halting the ‘one and done’ trend of the slot next to the 2023 champion, a mould of sorts was cast in ensuring this bucked a worrying trend.
“It was always our intention there was to be a multi-year deal,” Griffiths told Formula E Notebook.
“We were reasonably clear that yes, it was about teaching in Formula E in season 12, but moving on to Season 13 (2026-27), helping us develop a new package, new powertrain supplier, new car, new tyres, new aero package, etc.
“It’s taking the experience that you had from working with these past Formula One team and developing cars, not only on the simulator, but also on the track, taking that experience, that knowledge, and applying it to Formula E.”
Drugovich’s form was erratic in the first half of the present season. But as Griffiths attests this was inevitable. He was, in some quarters, and FEN was guilty of this too, being unfairly judged against fellow rookie Pepe Marti, a driver who came into Formula E with zero expectations.
Marti, in a similar car to Drugovich as the first Berlin EPrix concluded, the Spanish star had scored 25 more points than the Andretti ace. But crucially Marti had not shown anywhere near the absolute pace of Drugovich who by that point had taken a front-row starting position and had led a race, both at Miami in January.
“You always know with a rookie that it’s going to take time to develop that driver to get them to use to not only the car, the technology, but also the style of racing,” added Griffiths.
“I kept saying to him and his manager, just reassuring him and saying ‘look, take your time, get on with it, nobody’s putting you under pressure’ and ‘don’t be looking over your shoulder in case we’re going to replace you the following year.’
Making sure a driver’s head is in the right zone, ditto his manager, is perhaps a hidden key in generating ultimate success.
“Giving him that reassurance of ‘hey, this is a multi-year agreement, we’ve got a seat for you for the foreseeable future’ gives added focus on making the most of the opportunity he’s got right now.
Griffiths was also clever in ensuring that Drugovich wasn’t too hard on himself when the inevitable mistakes came.
“I kept reminding him, particularly when we were at Valencia for that first test in October when I said, ‘you’re up against guys that have been Formula E for multiple years,’ added Griffiths.
That was a smart move from Griffiths because the final year of the Gen3 car, where the majority of the drivers had been through the whole of Gen3, where they had learned and understood the nuances of the Hankook tyre, meant that their new Brazilian friend was always going to be on the backfoot in the first half of the season.
“I said to him ‘don’t try and win the test on your very first day of school,’ Griffiths emphasised.
“He took some of that on board at the time, but then he would beat himself up again a bit, and we’d go through that same rinse and repeat cycle.
Since that despondent first race in Berlin, when Drugovich struggled to convert an energy advantage and came in a lowly 13th position, he’s gone on to reap a whopping 65 points, including a podium and a pole.
“We’re super happy to remind people that that was always their intention,” says Griffiths.
“I mean, what we’ve seen over the past few races is really since Berlin, when he got his first points, is he’s coming on in leaps and bounds, and we’re very happy with the way things are progressing for him.”
“I think he’s realising that maiden him race win is not too far away.”
Additional reporting by Jamie Klein
