until Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League
Red Bull Formula 1 prospect Zane Maloney will drive a Formula E car in the Berlin rookie test next month.
The Rodin Carlin Formula 2 driver will test with a yet-to-be-confirmed team and take part in the six hours of running at the Tempelhof circuit in the mandatory event, which will be the first time Formula E has run such a test since March 2020.
Maloney, who is managed by the same ADD Management stable that represents Formula E drivers Jake Dennis and Sacha Fenestraz, currently sits 11th in the F2 championship, having already scored his first podium as a recent series debutant.
The Barbadian finished as runner-up in the 2022 Formula 3 championship racing for the Trident team. He lost out on the championship by just five points to Alpine junior Victor Martins.
Former Indy Lights champion Linus Lundqvist could also test in Berlin. The Race understands that the Swede has been talking to the Avalanche Andretti team for some time. The 2022 Indy Lights champion will also test an IndyCar shortly for Rahal Letterman Racing.
The above pair are set to join official team reserve drivers such as Jehan Daruvala (Mahindra) and David Beckmann (Porsche).
Beckmann is also expected to be confirmed shortly as Andre Lotterer’s replacement for the Jakarta E-Prix double header in June. Lotterer will prioritise the Le Mans test day, which clashes with the second of the double-header races that weekend.
Several other F2 drivers could also make appearances in Berlin, although Prema’s Ollie Bearman will not be one of them. He is known to have been approached by several teams but will not be released by Ferrari, being a member of the Prancing Horse’s young driver academy.
Jaguar TCS Racing could elect to run the 2020 Jaguar I-Pace e-TROPHY champion Simon Evans, elder brother of one of its race drivers Mitch Evans.
The elder Evans was scheduled to get a full test drive for the team for his championship success but these plans were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other drivers known to have spoken to teams recently are current Prema WEC driver Louis Deletraz and Adrien Tambay, who has ties to the Abt team via his Cupra activities in recent seasons – including becoming the inaugural ETCR champion in 2022.
One unexpected name that could feature in the test is 17 year-old F3 driver Hugh Barter. The Race understands that the Australian-Japanese racer, who competes for Campos Racing, is in advanced negotiations to attend the test.
Additionally, NEOM McLaren is believed to be looking at the possibility of running Mercedes F1 simulator driver Charlie Eastwood in Berlin. The Aston Martin factory driver last raced consistently in single-seaters in 2015 when he completed part-seasons of two-litre Formula Renault and the Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand.
The 2020 Le Mans LMGTE race winner has attended some races with McLaren this season and is believed to have also completed sim sessions with the new-look team, which was previously Mercedes’ factory outfit in Formula E.
Another driver known to be in negotiations about a seat at the test is current Action Express IMSA driver Jack Aitken.
The British/Korean driver, who competed in an F1 grand prix for Williams in 2020, presently shares the Cadillac LMDh car – with which he won the recent 12 Hours of Sebring with ex-BMW and Mahindra FE driver Alexander Sims and four-time Sebring winner Pipo Derani.
Derani briefly visited the Sao Paulo E-Prix in his home city last week but is unavailable for the test due to other commitments. The 29-year-old took part in the last rookie test in Marrakesh in March 2020 with Mahindra.
