Robert Shwartzman was fastest across both FIA Formula E rookie test sessions at Berlin on Monday, setting the fastest time of 1:01.937s for DS Penske.
22 drivers took park on the test day across the 11 Formula E teams, with sessions split in the morning and afternoon at three hours apiece.
Shwartzman, a Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 Reserve Driver and FIA WEC Hypercar competitor with AF Corse, headlined a timesheet full of familiar names.
The DS Penske driver was also not far off of reigning World Champion Jake Dennis’ Sunday pole position time, a 1:01:819s effort.
Among them was second-placed Jak Crawford, Aston Martin Development Driver and Andretti participant at Berlin, posting a time of 1:02.110s on his Formula E debut, just 0.173s shy of Shwartzman.
FIA WEC BMW driver Sheldon van der Linde suited up in Jaguar overalls on Monday at Berlin and duly posted the third fastest time of the day (1:02.167s).
2022 Formula 2 Champion Felipe Drugovich was fourth for Maserati (1:02.171s), with Invicta Racing F2 competitor Kush Maini fifth for Mahindra Racing (1:02.208s).
Red Bull Junior Enzo Fittipaldi went sixth quickest in the second Jaguar (1:02.211s) ahead of 2023 F2 vice-champion Frederik Vesti in the second Mahindra machine.
Unlike the majority of the field, Vesti’s fastest time, a 1:02.227s effort, was set during the morning session, similar to 13th-placed Tim Tramnitz for ABT Cupra, 15th-placed Jonny Edgar for DS Penske, 17th-placed Ugo Ugochukwu for McLaren and 21st placed Dries Vanthoor for Envision Racing.
Rounding out the top-10 behind Vesti were Andretti FE Reserve, Sauber F1 Reserve and F2 championship leader Zane Maloney (1:02.279s), and the Nissan duo of Gabriele Mini (1:02.376s) and Caio Collet (1:02.376s).
Edgar had his second outing in a Formula E car on Monday, after a brief outing interrupted by technical issues last year with Envision.
The British driver is competing a duel campaign across IMSA and the European Le Mans Series in 2024, after competing in FIA Formula 3 last year and he spoke with Motorsport Week ahead of Monday’s Berlin test.
“I think it’s always good to drive as many different things as possible,” Edgar said.
“From a learning side, you can see how different teams work, and there’s always something you learn that is useful in racing elsewhere, or maybe not now, but in the future, I’m sure it’ll definitely be useful. So very thankful to the team for the opportunity to be here.”
The rookie test is specifically for drivers who haven’t taken part in a Formula E race weekend, to assess whether the series would be of interest in the future and to allow teams to scout talent.
To that end, Edgar didn’t rule out racing in Formula E in the future.
“It’s definitely a series I’d be interested in,” he said.
“I’ve always quite enjoyed watching it. I think the races are always exciting.
“And also just on the simulator work I’ve done, I enjoy the technical side, how much control the team have over the systems on the car.
“Yeah, just all that side interests me. So it’s definitely something in the future that if I got the opportunity, I’d be interested in.”
Discussion about this post