The Berlin E-Prix weekend is host to the Rookie test. Each of the 11 teams has two rookies spending a full day testing with them.
This is the second test session this season. With the first one taking place in Misano. Many of the 22 drivers participating have become recognisable names in their various categories. Let’s meet the Rookies.
[adrotate banner=”11″]
Get 10% off all official F1 Merch at TheRaceWorks.com using code ‘EF1‘ at checkout.
Andretti: Zane Maloney and Jak Crawford
Zane Maloney is the current leader of the F2 championship. The Barbadian driver moved up to single seaters in 2019 and claimed the British F4 championship. 2021, he finished 4th in FRECA, before moving onto F3 and finishing the season as runner-up.
Currently a Sauber academy driver, Maloney became the first driver since Ollie Bearman and the 10th in GP2/F2 History to win both the sprint and feature race on an F2 weekend.
Jak Crawford is in his second year of F2. With a win under his belt in the 2023 Austrian Sprint race, he is now racing with DAMs. In 2024, he joined the Aston Marton Development programme, along with ex F2 champion, Felipe Drugovich.
The American driver started the 2024 F2 season off with a podium, and despite a retirement finds himself eighth in the standings.
Porsche: Dennis Hauger and Thomas Preining
Dennis Hauger is another of the F2 drivers testing in Berlin. At the moment, he is racing with MP motorsport. The Norwegian driver is 3rd in the F2 championship. His F2 season has had an impressive start with 3 podiums, one of which being a win in the Jeddah sprint.
Hauger won the F3 Championship back in 2021 and the Italian F4 in 2019. He also finished an impressive second in the Macau GP in 2023, despite a late call up to the competition.
Thomas Perining is the works driver for Porsche. Having some experience with Formula E, his job is being a test and development driver for the team for 2019 and 2020. The Austrian driver is also competing in the DTM series currently. Claiming the title in 2023.
Jaguar: Enzo Fittipaldi and Sheldon van de Linde
Enzo Fittipaldi is racing with Van Amersfoort Racing in F2 this season, and is sixth in the championship. The Brazilian driver is from the legendary motorsport family, his older brother Pietro racing in IndyCar.
Fittipaldi claimed his first victory in this season’s F2 championship in Jeddah. He has also won the Italian F4 championship back in 2018, then runner up in FRECA in 2019.
Sheldon van de Linde took place in last year’s Berlin Rookie test and returns this year with Jaguar, after topping the morning session last year. The South African driver won the 2022 DTM title, as well as the South African Polo Cup and Volkswagen Cup in SA.
Mahindra: Kush Maini and Frederick Vesti
Kush Maini is Mahindra’s current reserve driver. However, he is also in the F2 championship, of which he is currently fifth. In F2, he is racing for Invicta, after he raced with Campos in 2023.
Maini came third in British F3 back in 2018 and then in 2020 he finished second before moving to F3 Asian in 2021.
Frederick Vesti was the runner-up in the F2 championship in 2023. Having had a stellar F2 season with 6 wins and 10 podiums. He is currently in the role of Mercedes F1 reserve and test driver, as he is part of the development program.
In January, it was announced that the Danish driver would be participating in the European Le Mans Series.
DS Penske: Robert Shwartzman and Jonny Edgar
Robert Shwartzman is one of the current Ferrari F1 reserve drivers, a role he’s held since 2023. The Israeli-Russian driver finished second in 2021 with Prema while teammates with Oscar Piastri.
This year Schwartzman is competing in the World Endurance Championship for AF corse Ferrari.
Jonny Edgar spent 3 years in F3 but could not break the top 10. However, the British Driver has since moved to LMP2 series of Le Mans, where he is sixth and IMSA SportsCar Championship, where he is eighth. He spent six years in the Red Bull Junior team.
Maserati MSG: Felipe Drugovich and Nicolas Pino
Felipe Drugovich was the 2022 F2 champion. After an incredibly dominant season, he signed with the Aston Martin driver development programme, where he now resides as the F1 Aston Martin reserve driver.
He has taken place in Formula E tests before, setting the fastest times in Berlin and Rome last year. Currently, he’s competing in the European Le Mans Series.
Nicolas Pino is part of the Stellantis young driver programme and is currently racing in the World Endurance Championship’s LMGT3. In 2023, Pino finished third in the WEC championship.
Envision Racing: Alice Powell and Dries Vanthoor
Alice Powell has worked with Envision racing as their test and development driver since 2020. The British driver won five races in W-series and being the first female points scorer in GP3 since the series creation.
While in W-Series she finished second in 2019 with Racing X and third in 2021 with Hitech GP.
Dries Vanthoor is a Belgian driver that is currently racing in the World Endurance Championship. Vanthoor has titles in the 2020 and 2022 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup and the 2021 GT World Challenge Europe.
ERT: Marta García and Mikel Azcona
Marta García is the inaugural F1 academy champion, who is now competing in FRECA with the all-female team Iron Dames. She also has previously competed in W-series, finishing 4th in her debut series.
Mikel Azcona returns to Formula E rookie tests after competing last year alongside former F1 driver Daniil Kvyat.
He also raced in the Misano rookie test for ERT back in April. The Spaniard also holds titles from the 2022 World Touring Car Cup and winning the Europe Touring Car Seires twice.
Mclaren: Ugo Ugochukwu and Gregoire Saucy
Ugo Ugochukwu steps in to replace Taylor Barnard in the Berlin Rookie test following the wrist injury of Sam Bird.
The American driver is a member of the Mclaren Driver Development programme. Finishing as a runner-up in the Italian f4 championship in 2023. He also became the first champion of the new Euro 4 Championship in 2023.
Gregoire Saucy is a Swiss race driver who was the champion of FRECA in 2021. In 2022 and ’23 he raced in F3 with ART Grand Prix. For 2024, he is racing in the European Le Mans Series with TDS racing and is currently leading the championship.
Nissan: Caio Collet and Gabriele Mini
Caio Collet is a former F3 driver who was the 2018 French F4 champion and the 2020 Formula Renault Euro cup vice-champion.
The Brazilian returns for his second rookie test session after participating at Misano last month. He has also been working with Nissan doing simulator work for 2024.
Gabriele Mini is an Alpine academy driver will be joining Nissan for the Berlin rookie test. In 2020, he became the Italian F4 champion and in 2022; he was the runner-up in FRECA.
At the moment, he is racing in F3 with PREMA where he sits third in the championship.
ABT Cupra: Tim Tramnitz and Ricardo Feller
Tim Tramnitz is a German F3 driver racing for MP Motorsport. The 2021 Italian F4 runner-up and the ADAC F4 runner-up. Tramnitz is a member of the Red Bull junior team who returns to Formula E, the berlin rookie test as he took part in the Misano one.
Ricardo Feller is a Swiss GT driver, who has claimed many titles, such as the 2023 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, 2021 GT Masters and World Challenge Endurance silver cup. He also took a DTM victory in the first race of the season.
[adrotate banner=”10″]
Get 10% off all official F1 Merch at TheRaceWorks.com using code ‘EF1‘ at checkout.
[adrotate banner=”3″]
Get 10% off all official F1 Merch at TheRaceWorks.com using code ‘EF1‘ at checkout.