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Former BAR, Honda and Super Aguri F1 test driver James Rossiter said he has ‘huge respect’ for the top-line Formula E drivers after sampling the all-electric racer at the Tempelhofring last weekend.
The 33-year-old Brit was given the opportunity to drive the championship's development car, which was in Germany to gather some key measurements as part of the design process for the Season 5 car.
The works Toyota Super GT ace ran a series of laps, initially at a low power rating before experiencing the car at full 170kw race-spec.
“If you brake too late or try to carry too much speed there’s nothing you can do as a driver to recover it,” he said. “That’s what struck me the most. It gives me a huge respect for the drivers who are good at it. You have to be so strict with yourself, you have to be so controlled not to overdrive it, not to be too greedy.
“The weight management on a bumpy circuit is another thing I found challenging and fun – the car moves around a bit, you’re in between walls, the kerbs can be taken at the apex. With the bouncy track and the weight of the car and the lack of grip, if you go over the limit and the car starts sliding it just carries on sliding.”
Rossiter last raced a single-seater in 2016, when he competed in the Japanese-based Super Formula category. After his test outing in the Spark SRT_01E he’s keen to try the car in a more competitive environment.
“I would really like to see what opportunities I can get. I would be very interested to race it after my experience. It’s very challenging, even though people can say they aren’t as fast as Formula 1.
“I would like to get into a competitive session and see where I am and if there’s an opportunity to do some testing for the series and [car supplier] Spark to help them out, I’d also be interested to do that.”