After the two chaotic Formula E races in Berlin last weekend, things continued seamlessly in Germany’s capital on Monday: the official rookie test drives of the Electric World Championship were on the program on the track at the former Berlin-Tempelhof Airport. 22 drivers who had not yet competed in a Formula E race were eligible to start.
In two three-hour sessions between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. and between 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., the drivers were given the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the 350 kW (476 hp) Gen3 vehicle. The rookie test once again attracted numerous prominent names this year. Among others, Thomas Preining (Porsche) and Sheldon van der Linde (Jaguar), the two DTM champions of the past two years, took part in the rookie test.
Schwartzman gets the best time, van der Linde in the top 3
The best time of the day was ultimately secured by the 2021 Formula 2 runner-up, Robert Shwartzman, who was driving regular driver Jean-Eric Vergne’s DS Penske car during the test. The 24-year-old needed 1:01.937 minutes for his fastest lap of the 2.345 kilometer long course. Shwartzman’s time was just 0.196 seconds slower than the fastest pole time this weekend. However, the hunt for fast lap times was not the focus of the rookie test drives.
The times did not increase significantly in the afternoon session. Until shortly before the end, not even one driver beat the morning’s best time, which Shwartzman had also set, apart from the 24-year-old himself. Second place in the overall ranking was ultimately taken by Aston Martin junior Jak Crawford (Andretti-Porsche) with a personal best of 1:02,110 minutes.
Jaguar driver van der Linde, who celebrated his 25th birthday today, and Felipe Drugovich in the Maserati customer DS followed in third and fourth place. Kush Maini (Mahindra) and Enzo Fittipaldi (Jaguar) ended the test day in fifth and sixth place in the combined timesheets. The top 10 was completed by reigning Formula 2 runner-up Frederik Vesti (Mahindra), Zane Maloney in the Andretti Porsche and the Nissan duo Gabriele Mini and Caio Collet.
Dries Vanthoor has to end the test early after an accident
Dries Vanthoor, who took part in the rookie test with the Jaguar customer team Envision, caused the first excitement of the day. After around two hours in the morning session, the actual BMW works driver, who had completed the WEC race in Spa-Francorchamps with the Munich team on Saturday, hit the wall in Turn 3. The incident caused the test drives to be interrupted for around 17 minutes. For Vanthoor, his first participation in a Formula E session ended prematurely.
“There was an incident with another driver and some kind of misunderstanding between the drivers,” said Envision team boss Sylvain Filippi Motorsport-Magazin.com. “It’s disappointing. But from what I’ve seen, it’s been going well up to this point.”
The second interruption of the day was caused by Drugovich in Maximilian Günther’s Maserati DS after just over half an hour of the afternoon session. The 2022 Formula 2 champion came to a standstill between turns 4 and 5. The test resumed 15 minutes after the red flag was declared. Drugovich’s car was towed and returned to the pits. About 40 minutes after his stop on the track, Drugovich returned to the car.
Ricardo Feller after Formula E debut: I’m pretty surprised
Like last year, some drivers once again gained their first experience in a Formula E car, including Formula 2 driver Crawford and McLaren gem Ugo Ugochukwu. One of these drivers was DTM race winner Ricardo Feller, who drove for the German team Abt-Cupra.
“I’m pretty surprised. It’s very different to drive than all the other cars I’ve gotten to know so far,” said Feller during the lunch break Motorsport-Magazin.com. “But I still think it’s kind of cool. You just have to trust the system more than in other cars when it comes to the ABS and traction control.”
At the same time, Feller admitted that driving the Gen3 car required a certain amount of getting used to his driving style: “Because I would normally always react to the vehicle’s balance with my foot. Here you just have to stay a little more consistent. That’s why it’s very exciting and I feel more and more comfortable throughout the day”
Rookie test not only interesting for drivers
Ultimately, Feller finished his debut in a Formula E session in 14th place. The two factory Porsches of Preining and Dennis Hauger completed the Berlin test in eleventh and twelfth place.
Directly behind him was young talent Tim Tramnitz, who was the only German driver to take part in the Formula E rookie test. As in the previous year, the 19-year-old also took part in the Berlin test with Abt-Cupra. Tramnitz, who is competing in Formula 3 in Imola this weekend, needed 1:02.572 minutes for his fastest lap. The Red Bull Junior was one of only five drivers who set their fastest lap time in the morning session.
The test drives are not only a welcome opportunity for the drivers to gain experience in a Formula E car and to present themselves to the teams: the teams themselves also use the test to collect further data, given the severely limited testing options.
“In this test we’re mainly testing things that we can’t talk about. It’s about software controls and improvements to the car,” said Envision team boss Filippi. “There are a lot of things you can do that aren’t mechanical either. Finding those little details hopefully makes a difference.”
After the two races in Berlin, which Nick Cassidy (Jaguar) and Antonio Felix da Costa (Porsche) won, and the rookie test, Formula E will continue in around two weeks. From May 24th to 26th, the racing series will make its debut on the Formula 1 track in Shanghai and return to China after more than five years.
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