Formula 1 first introduced young driver tests in 2009 and now mandates teams run inexperienced drivers in at least two practice sessions per season while testing days are reduced. Formula E has attempted to follow a similar approach, with rookie tests in 2018, ’19 and ’20.
The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted FE’s ability to host in-season tests, hence it tried to pursue an F1-style mandate for teams to run rookies in practice for this season. That was met with little support from the teams themselves. But next week the rookie test format will return in Berlin on the day after the series races on the Tempelhof airfield.
Aside from having not participated in a FE event before, the criteria for entry eligibility into the test specifies that drivers must possess an FIA International Grade B licence, 20 superlicence points (or have previously held a superlicence to compete in F1), have not have already done two days of FE testing since the end of the previous season and to have completed a specific training session on electrical safety and features of FE cars.
From that criteria, FE’s 11 teams have been able to select a wide array of drivers and some who may well race in the championship, or even in F1, in the future.
Four teams have chosen to use former F1 drivers for the test, with Mahindra picking Roberto Merhi, NIO 333 running Daniil Kvyat, DS Penske calling upon McLaren’s F1 simulator driver Will Stevens and Envision Racing giving a chance to Jack Aitken.
Merhi is currently racing in the S5000 single-seater series in Australia, while Kvyat is a title contender in the World Endurance Championship’s LMP2 class and spent last year racing in NASCAR.
Mahindra are the only team to call up three drivers for their two cars, as Merhi shares driving duties with former IndyCar racer Jordan King – who has been Mahindra’s simulator and development driver for over two years – and the team’s new reserve driver Jehan Daruvala who is in his fourth season of Formula 2.
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Several of his past and present F2 rivals will also be in action at the test, including reigning champion Felipe Drugovich (Maserati), 2021 runner-up and Ferrari F1 reserve driver Robert Shwartzman (DS Penske), 2019 title contender Luca Ghiotto (Nissan), rookies Zane Maloney (Andretti Autosprt) and Victor Martins (Nissan), current DTM racer Aitken and David Beckmann.
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