The Berlin Rookie Test is quickly approaching, and Formula E is once again hosting an official Rookie Test day in the German capital. The special sessions have welcomed some of the biggest names in motorsport to try the all-electric machinery, many of whom have made the step up to full-time seats in Formula E.
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Several drivers had a chance at driving the GEN3 machines last month in Misano for Rookie Free Practice, with NEOM McLaren’s Taylor Barnard going quickest of the lot.
What classifies as a rookie?
Teams can field someone who's sampled Formula E machinery before but they must not be drivers included on the Season 10 Entry List and they must not have competed in a Formula E race in their career before. The idea is to give the best young talent a pathway to race at the very top of the motorsport ladder with a taste of Formula E and the opportunity to impress prospective teams in the world's leading electric race series.
To be able to take part in the session, drivers must hold either a full E-Licence or at the least a Free Practice only E-Licence. They will also need to complete a specific training session on electrical safety, understand the features of the fully-electric Formula E car, and know the technical and sporting regulations for the championship.
From the various test days given to teams over the season, a maximum of two of the six official days can be reserved for rookie drivers. They can only participate in up to two official test days.
Who is taking part in the 2024 Berlin Rookie Test?
Each of the 11 teams must put forward at least two rookie drivers for the sessions on 13 May.
Andretti - Zane Maloney and Jak Crawford
Andretti will again showcase the talent of Zane Maloney, who completes his fifth outing for the team. The Barbados-born driver will take to the wheel of the teams' Porsche 99X Electric in Berlin, having completed the Misano test in April too. Maloney is also the team's official Reserve and Development Driver.
American Jak Crawford will make his Formula E debut at the 2024 Berlin Rookie Test, and has enjoyed a long history of on-track success starting in karts before making his car racing debut in Formula 4 in 2018. After two years in FIA Formula 3, Crawford was promoted to Formula 2 quickly becoming a race winner at the Sprint race in Austria in 2023.
Recently announced to the Aston Martin Young Driver Development program, Crawford will be the seventh American to participate in an official Formula E session joining fellow countrymen Marco Andretti, Matthew Brabham, Scott Speed, Oliver Askew, Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood, all of whom were also fielded by the Indianapolis-based Andretti squad, the only team on the Formula E grid to have fielded American drivers since the series’ inception in 2014.
DS PENSKE - Jonny Edgar and Robert Shwartzman
Jonny Edgar will be representing DS PENSKE for the Berlin Rookie Test. British racing driver, Edgar, is set to compete in the European Le Mans Series and previously raced in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, taking victory in the season finale in Monza. Having never driven a Formula E car before, Edgar was sure to thank the team for giving him this “amazing opportunity”.
Joining him on the day will be Robert Shwartzman, Reserve Driver for the Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 team, who will continue his work alongside the DS PENSKE squad for Berlin Rookie Test after appearing in Misano earlier this season.
Envision Racing - Alice Powell and Dries Vanthoor
Alice Powell has played a crucial role with Reigning Teams’ World Champions Envision Racing for many years as their Test and Development Driver. She has previously tested the GEN2 in Marrakesh and Valencia, and has completed shakedowns in the GEN3 but the five-time W Series race winner will embark on her first full day of running in Berlin in just over a week.
In the other car, Dries Vanthoor will get his first taste of Formula E machinery. Vanthoor is currently racing in the World Endurance Championship, and boasts an impressive racing CV, including a win in the LMGTE category at the 24 hours of Le Mans. “It’s a good learning opportunity to try out a different discipline of motorsport, especially the advanced technologies in Formula E,” he said on the test.
Mahindra Racing - Frederik Vesti and Kush Maini
Frederik Vesti is among the standout talents to emerge from the FIA’s single-seater pathway in recent times, amassing an impressive 37 race victories and 81 podium finishes across stints in Formula 4, Formula Regional, FIA Formula 3 and FIA Formula 2. The 22-year-old narrowly finished runner-up in the Formula 2 title race last season, and will make his first Formula E appearance in the German capital.
Lining up alongside Vesti is current Reserve Driver Kush Maini. Starting in Italian F4 back in 2016, Maini has subsequently enjoyed success in British Formula 3, the Formula Renault Eurocup, FIA Formula 3 and, at present, competes in FIA Formula 2 and scored two podiums in Jeddah and Melbourne earlier this year.
Nissan - Caio Collet and Gabriele Minì
Caio Collet got his first taste of the Nissan e-4ORCE 04 during Rookie Free Practice at the Misano E-Prix earlier this month. The Brazilian racer has been working with the team since the beginning of Season 10, helping to prepare for upcoming events in the simulator.
Meanwhile, fellow F3 race winner Gabriele Minì is part of the current Alpine Academy and will be at the wheel of Formula E machinery for the first time! He won the 2020 Italian F4 championship, attracted the attention of the Alpine Academy and had his debut F3 campaign in 2023, where he picked up two wins, including the Monaco Feature Race. Minì currently sits third in the F3 Drivers’ Standings.
ERT - Marta García and Mikel Azcona
Electric Racing Technologies announced that reigning F1 Academy Champion Marta García will represent the team in the upcoming Berlin Rookie Test for her Formula E debut. García gained worldwide attention when she won the very first season of F1 Academy last year. This season she will be racing with the Iron Dames in the highly competitive Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA).
Alongside García is Mikel Azcona, who took part in the Misano rookie test for the team last month. The touring car specialist won the WTCR FIA World Touring Car Cup in 2022, and is a twice European touring car champion in TCR Europe. Last year Azcona drove for the team in the Berlin Rookie Test, alongside Daniil Kvyat.
NEOM McLaren - Ugo Ugochukwu and Grégoire Saucy
After Taylor Barnard got the call up to replace the injured Sam Bird in Monaco and Berlin, he no longer qualifies as a Formula E rookie. However, McLaren are not short of talent and have called upon Ugo Ugochukwu and Grégoire Saucy for the Monday rookie test.
Ugochukwu, from New York City, has had an impressive junior career to date and is currently a member of the McLaren Driver Development programme, having initially signed with the team in 2021. In his short career, he has won various karting championships and was crowned Italian Formula 4 Vice Champion and Euro 4 Champion, with a total of 11 wins and 44 podiums to his name.
Switzerland’s Grégoire Saucy was regularly on the podium throughout his early career in karts, and in 2015 he progressed to single seaters, claiming his first title in the Formula Regional Championship in 2021. He competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship with United Autosports, in partnership with McLaren Motorsport.
Porsche - Thomas Preining and Dennis Hauger
TAG Heuer Porsche will be bringing in Thomas Preining - a current DTM racer - for the Berlin Rookie test. The Porsche works driver has experience in the all-electric championship, with the role of Test and Development driver for the 2019/20 season alongside Simona De Silvestro. Preining took part in the Marrakesh rookie test in 2020 in GEN2 machinery.
Joining Preining is Dennis Hauger, who is currently competing in his third FIA Formula 2 season with MP Motorsport. This will be the first taste of Formula E in an official test session for 21-year-old Norwegian Hauger.
ABT CUPRA - Tim Tramnitz and Ricardo Feller
German racer Tim Tramnitz will jump back into ABT CUPRA's GEN3 again this season, having taken part in Rookie Free Practice in Misano and now again for the Berlin Rookie Test after the Berlin double-header. Tramnitz is a member of the Red Bull Junior Team and competes in FIA Formula 3. He's also part of Motorsport Team Germany and has been a member of the ADAC Sports Foundation squad for seven years.
As well as Tramnitz, DTM star Ricardo Feller is set for an outing at the Berlin Rookie Test with ABT CUPRA. Fresh from the podium of the DTM, Feller will make his debut for the ABT CUPRA team at the Berlin Rookie Test, with the 23-year-old taking over Nico Mueller's number 51 car. Feller is in his third year in the DTM for ABT and started the new season with a podium finish at Oschersleben last month.
Jaguar TCS Racing - Sheldon van de Linde and Enzo Fittipaldi
The team will be bringing back Sheldon van der Linde, who represented the Jaguar squad during last season’s Berlin test as well as last month in Misano during Rookie Free Practice. The South African showed some impressive pace and went fastest in the opening session of the Berlin test last year. As well as being the 2022 DTM Champion, van de Linde also won the South Africa Polo Cup Championship and Volkswagen Cup South Africa during his younger career.
Alongside him will be the Brazilian Enzo Fittipaldi, who will get behind the wheel of the Jaguar I-TYPE 6 for the first time. Fittipaldi, who comes from a long line of motorsport legends, has already had an impressive start to his 2024 racing season. The 22-year-old won the FIA Formula 2 Feature race in Jeddah with Van Amersfoort Racing, as well as picking up a podium in the Sprint race that same weekend.
Enzo will also be keeping it in the family, as his brother Pietro Fittipaldi has taken part in the Formula E Rookie Test twice, getting experience at the wheel of electric race cars in 2018 and 2019 with two different teams with one being Jaguar!
Maserati MSG Racing - Felipe Drugovich and Nico Pino
Drugovich will once again get behind the wheel of the Maserati Tipo Folgore GEN3 car having topped the times in Berlin in the Rookie Test last year, and tested in Rookie Free Practice in Rome - where he also wound up fastest.
Drugovich has a great track record as the 2022 FIA Formula 2 champion. Over the 2022 season, the Maserati MSG Racing man achieved five wins and 11 podiums to win the feeder series by 101 points to his nearest rival. His skill and talent caught the eyes of teams within F1 too, as he currently holds the role of Test and Reserve Driver at Aston Martin.
During his day of testing in Berlin for the Monegasque team last April, Drugovich locked in 99 laps and finished the day with a time that was over a tenth quicker than the rest of the field. The squad also said his test helped the team collect vital data.
Pino was recently announced as part of Stellantis' Young Driver Programme. The Chilean is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship's LMGT3 class and Pino reached the LMP2 class podium at the famed 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“We were immediately impressed by Nico Pino’s approach," says Jean-Marc Finot, VP Stellantis Motorsport. “He is versatile, and he has a great interest in our various activities. We will establish a testing program across different categories and will promote him, especially since South America is key for both Motorsport and the Stellantis Group. Nico Pino is our first step in a Young Driver program that we intend to expand."
“I am very proud to join Stellantis Motorsport and to have the opportunity to develop myself as a driver upon the different categories and manufacturers," said Pino. "Motorsport is a strong passion in Chile. I am looking forward to a challenging year full of opportunities!"