Formula E Rookie Test: What’s It About?

A rookie test is where all 11 teams have two drivers from other series, who are mainly based in feeder series, that have not driven in Formula E. This test is mandatory for all teams. The drivers drive the car for the majority of the day, two hours at the most, to get a feel of the car and to give the team some feedback on the car before the last race of the season and the next season.

Who Are The Drivers Involved?

The drivers that are involved are either from WEC, Formula Two, Formula One Academy, Formula Three, GB3, and all other series around the world.

Andretti Global has Jak Crawford and Fredrik Vesti driving the two cars. Crawford drives for Dams in Formula Two, along with being an Aston Martin reserve driver in Formula One while Vesti drives for Cadillac Whelen in IMSA Championship in the GTP category. He is also a Mercedes Formula One reserve driver.

Ella Lloyd and Alex Dunne drove for NEOM McLaren. Lloyd drives in Formula Four and Formula One Academy representing Rodin Motorsports. Dunne drives for Rodin Motorsports in Formula Two. Both rookie drivers are a part of of the McLaren Academy.

Cupra Kiro has Bianca Bustamante and Callum Voisin driving the two cars. Bustamante drives in GB3 for Elite Motorsports and she was previously in Formula One Academy. Callum Voisin drives in Formula Three with Rodin Motorsports. 

The DS Penske cars are being driven by Nikita Bedrin and Daniil Kvyat. Bedrin drives in Formula Three with AIX Racing. Kvyat drives in IMSA with Automobili Lamborghini Squadra Course. Previously, he drove in Formula One with Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Alpha Tauri.

Nissan has Gabriele Mini and Abbi Pulling driving the two cars. Mini drives in Formula Two with Prema Racing and is a part of the Alpine academy. Pulling is in GB3 with Rodin Motorsports. She won the 2024 Drivers’ Championship in Formula One Academy with Rodin Motorsports.

Envision Racing has Zak O’Sullivan and Johnathan Hoggard driving in the test. O’Sullivan drives in Super Formula with Kondo Racing and is racing in Super GT – GT300 with CarGuy MKS Racing. He used to drive in Formula Two with ART Grand Prix.

Jaguar TCS Racing has Jamie Chadwick and Leonardo Fornaroli driving the two cars. Chadwick drives in the European Le Mans Series in the LMP2 category driving with IDEC Sport. She won the Drivers’ Championship in all three years of the W Series. She is with Williams Academy being a development driver. Fornaroli drives in Formula Two with Invicta Racing. He also won the 2024 Formula Three championship. 

Alessandro Giusti and Hugh Barter drove on behalf of Lola Yamaha ABT. Barter drives in the Ultimate Cup European Series in the Hoosier Formula Cup, he is driving for Winfield Racing. Giusti is driving in Formula Three with MP Motorsports. He is a part of the Williams Academy.

Mahindra Racing has two Formula Two drivers, Kush Maini and Dino Beganovic, driving for them. Maini is driving with Dams. Beganovic is driving for Hitech Racing. He is a part of the Ferrari Driver academy, whilst Kush Maini is a part of the Alpine Academy.

Maserati MSG Racing has two former Formula Two drivers, Arthur Leclerc and Theo Pouchaire, driving their two cars. Leclerc used to be in Formula Two with DAMS while Pourchaire drove for ART Grand Prix, winning the 2023 Drivers’ Championship with ART Grand Prix.

TAG Heuer Porsche is represented by Ayhancan Guven and Elia Weiss. Guven is driving in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters with Manthey EMA, the IMSA Sportscar Championship in GTD category with Wright Motorsports, the Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie in SP9 category with Manthey Racing EMA and the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance cup with Schumacher CLRT. Weiss is in Italian Formula Four driving for Cram Motorsports.

What Happened In The Rookie Test?

Nissan rookie driver Gabriele Mini topped both sessions with a 57.64 and a 57.42, with Kush Maini and Jak Crawford being in the top three for the morning session and Ayhancan Guven and Kush Maini being in the top three in the afternoon session.

Morning Session

1. Gabriele Mini – 57.64
2. Kush Maini – 57.65
3. Jak Crawford – 57.87
4. Theo Pourchaire – 58.05
5. Dino Beganovic – 58.11
6. Arthur Leclerc – 58.13
7. Nikita Bedrin – 58.17
8. Daniil Kvyat – 58.22
9. Alex Dunne – 58.29
10. Ayhancan Guven – 58.37
11. Fredrik Vesti – 58.40
12. Hugh Barter – 58.44
13. Zak O’Sullivan – 58.51
14. Alessandro Giusti – 58.58
15. Callum Voisin – 58.83
16. Johnathan Hoggard – 58.88
17. Abbi Pulling – 58.94
18. Jamie Chadwick – 58.98
19. Bianca Bustamante – 59.23
20. Ella Lloyd – 59.36
21. Elia Weiss – 59.40
22. Leonardo Fornaroli – 59.74

Afternoon session

1. Gabriele Mini – 57.42
2. Ayhancan Guven – 57.65
3. Kush Maini – 57.78
4. Callum Voisin – 57.92
5. Alex Dunne – 57.96
6. Jak Crawford – 58.2
7. Hugh Barter – 58.02
8. Fredrik Vesti – 58.04
9. Alessandro Giusti – 58.04
10. Theo Pourchaire – 58.6
11. Daniil Kvyat – 58.06
12. Nikita Bedrin – 58.18
13. Leonardo Fornaroli – 58.19
14. Arthur Leclerc – 58.23
15. Dino Beganovic – 58.29
16. Zak O’Sullivan – 58.41
17. Abbi Pulling – 58.45
18. Ella Lloyd – 58.66
19. Jamie Chadwick – 58.66
20. Elia Weiss – 58.68
21. Johnathan Hoggard – 58.75
22. Bianca Bustamante – 58.97

Written by Ellie.

Edited by Alexandra.

Featured Image Credit: formulae.com

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