Little to choose between all-electric field as drivers and teams put new GEN3 Evo single-seater through its paces in Spain.
If testing this week is anything to go by, the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship – a series renowned for generating unpredictable racing – could be in for its most competitive and compelling campaign to-date in 2024/25.
The six sessions around Madrid’s 3.850km Circuito del Jarama produced six different pace-setters, and in the final reckoning, the top 15 drivers were blanketed by a single second.
Former champion António Félix da Costa came out-of-the-blocks fastest on the opening day for TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, but with lap times tumbling as competitors increasingly got to grips with Formula E’s pioneering GEN3 Evo machine that features all-wheel-drive capabilities in certain scenarios and Hankook’s new all-weather iON tyres – and more than half of the field posting their best effort in the last session – the Season 6 title-winner did not stay on top for very long.
Ultimately, it was Jaguar TCS Racing star Mitch Evans – who narrowly missed out on clinching the coveted Drivers’ crown in the 2023/24 finale in London back in the summer – who claimed early bragging rights, the New Zealander winding up 0.141 seconds ahead of Dan Ticktum for the rebranded, Season 10 Porsche-powered Kiro Race Co, hitherto known as ERT.
The Brit’s form – as well as that of David Beckmann in the sister car not far behind in fourth – will have provided a welcome shot in the arm for the American outfit, which in its various guises has not finished higher than eighth in the Teams’ standings since 2017. The German – a driver with just two Formula E starts under his belt – impressively set the quickest time in session four on Thursday morning.
Defending champion Pascal Wehrlein made it three Porsche powertrains inside the top four overall by slotting into third position, with Taylor Barnard completing the top five for NEOM McLaren Formula E Team, followed by da Costa.
Oliver Rowland placed seventh for Nissan Formula E Team, with the top ten rounded out by Season 8 champion Stoffel Vandoorne on his maiden appearance for Maserati MSG Racing, fellow former title-holder Nyck de Vries (Mahindra Racing) – fastest in session five – and Maximilian Günther, who has swapped seats over the off-season with Vandoorne at DS Penske. The German led the way in session three.
Vandoorne’s Season 11 team-mate Jake Hughes was the other driver to top a timesheet, while a number of big names wound up further down the order than perhaps might have been expected.
Nick Cassidy – a regular title protagonist in recent campaigns with Jaguar – was 14th, with 2022/23 champion Jake Dennis 16th for Andretti Formula E, Jean-Éric Vergne 17th in his DS Penske single-seater and Envision Racing ace Sébastien Buemi 19th amongst the 22 participants, albeit just 1.155s adrift of Evans’ outright benchmark.
Similarly on the schedule were practice starts, validation of the innovative ‘Pit Boost’ fast-charging pit-stop feature and a full race simulation, as well as the all-electric series’ inaugural Women’s Test.
Runaway F1 Academy championship leader Abbi Pulling (Nissan) proved to be the driver to beat during the women-only three-hour session on Friday, outpacing fellow Brit and multiple W Series champion Jamie Chadwick (Jaguar) by 0.320s. McLaren Development Driver Bianca Bustamante (McLaren) was their closest challenger in third.
Season 11 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will kick off on the streets of São Paulo in Brazil on 6-7 December.
Pascal Wehrlein, Season 10 FIA Formula E Drivers’ World Champion and No. 1, TAG Heuer Porsche driver, said: “Overall, we had a very positive test. There were lots of learnings and also lots of changes to adjust to: the tyres, the bodywork, the balance, and the all-wheel drive. Especially in the beginning, these changes can make quite a big difference. We did a full race simulation and it was good to get an idea of strategy and what the new race dynamics could be. The tyres have quite a lot of degradation, so it’s a bit trickier on the longer run but over one lap it’s good fun. I’m feeling quite happy with the car and the set-up, and looking forward to Round 1 in São Paulo.”
Zane Maloney, No. 22, Lola Yamaha ABT Driver, said: “It’s been a great test for the team, there’s been a lot of development over the four days and we’ve made positive steps forward. It’s still a new package and we don’t know where we stand quite yet, so we’ll find that out in Brazil, but I’m looking forward to continuing the journey. The goal is to go through the season improving on every round and we’re on a good trajectory, we just need to continue to work hard as a team. From my side, that means learning from Lucas [di Grassi] but also offering my own input, so I’m really excited for the season ahead.”
Mitch Evans, No. 9, Jaguar TCS Racing Driver, said: “Overall, it’s been an important week of testing. It is still early days with the I-TYPE 7 and there is a lot to learn in terms of performance, but we’ve gathered lots of information as the week progressed and I believe we’ve got the car into the right window. We’ve made good progress which is the main thing, and hopefully we can continue that development as we head towards the Season 11 opener in Brazil.”
Abbi Pulling, Nissan Formula E Team, said: “It was a really exciting session, and felt amazing to put what I’ve learned in the simulator into real life and to experience the thrill of driving the Nissan Formula E car. The lap times were strong which is very pleasing, I think there was more time to extract at the peak of the tyre, but overall I’m happy with the performance. The whole team was great, explaining everything to me and answering any questions I had, so a big thanks to them. I’m delighted to have helped Nissan Formula E Team in the build-up to the new season and I hope to have another opportunity to drive the car in the future!”
Jamie Chadwick, Jaguar TCS Racing, said: “It was an enjoyable day, there is so much I think everyone is going say they should have got out of the car in such a short period of time, and it got a bit messy there at the end with the red flags, but it was really cool, I really enjoyed it. Hopefully, I’ll be back for some more – I think it has been a really good experience. One thing that was the most impressive was the launch, I did a couple and it’s incredible how quickly that car can go from 0-100km/h – that was my highlight.”
Bianca Bustamante, NEOM McLaren Formula E Team, said: “Today was my first experience driving the Formula E GEN3 Evo car. It was a lot of fun working with the whole team. We’ve been working and building towards this moment for the past few months and I’m happy to now have had this experience driving the car. We completed some 350kw laps, and it was a lot more power than I have been used to before, which was a great experience for me to improve my skills. Having this experience through the McLaren Driver Development programme and NEOM McLaren Formula E Team, I feel I am becoming a better and more well-rounded driver, which was always the aim. Finishing the test in P3 is a big positive, and I am very thankful for this experience with the team.”