Instead the 2022 F2 champion will keep himself busy with sim running and a programme of private testing with a two-year-old car, upgraded from the AMR21 he used this season to the 2022 model.
As such, he’s better off than some reserves whose only opportunities to run on track come on those rare occasions that the current car is available - essentially the odd rookie FP1 session.
However it’s a different approach to that taken by Sauber, who are hoping to place Theo Pourchaire in Super Formula, and Alpine, who are looking at a WEC programme for Jack Doohan.
Read more: The F2 star rebuilding his future after a "nightmare" start to 2023
And in both cases the drivers will be coming out of an F2 season and thus haven’t already had a year without racing, as is the case with Drugovich.
The challenge he faces is that opportunities to move up to an F1 race seat are few and far between, even when you have a decent sponsorship package, as he does. Remarkably it looks like there will be no changes to the 2024 driver line-up, assuming that Logan Sargeant is staying at Williams.
Indeed Drugovich was one of several drivers eyeing the American’s seat, and the fact that his confirmation at Aston came relatively early indicates that his management accepted that a move to Grove wasn’t an option.
Meanwhile at Aston he faces an unusual situation in that one seat will inevitably be filled by Lance Stroll for the foreseeable future, while the other will always be earmarked for an established top driver, be that Fernando Alonso or whoever might one day follow the Spaniard.
Source: Autosport