Robert Shwartzman led both morning and afternoon sessions at the Berlin Rookie Test, setting competitive times just shy of Jake Dennis’ Pole lap from Sunday’s Round 10 at the 2024 SUN MINIMEAL Berlin E-Prix.
Felipe Drugovich, known for his past Formula E prowess, secured the second-fastest time in the morning and the fourth-fastest in the afternoon despite technical issues.
Frederik Vesti impressed with his performance, securing third in the morning session and seventh in the afternoon, showcasing his talent from various single-seater series.
Other notable performances include Jack Crawford, Sheldon van der Linde, Kush Maini, Enzo Fittipaldi, Zane Maloney, Gabriele Mini, and Caio Collet, who all secured top ten finishes in the afternoon session.
F1 Academy reigning champion Marta García also made her Formula E debut, alongside Envision Racing’s Simulator and Development Driver Alice Powell who was back on track after two years.
At the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Berlin Rookie Test, DS PENSKE’s Robert Shwartzman led the first session with a time just shy of Jake Dennis’ Sunday qualifying lap that claimed his front row spot on the grid. Shwartzman, also a Reserve Driver for Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 team, continued his impressive form into the afternoon session too, achieving the fastest lap time of the day of 1:01.937s.
Jak Crawford of Andretti Formula E followed closely behind Shwartzman, showcasing his expertise from achievements in FIA Formula 2 with an impressive 1:02.110s. Sheldon van der Linde from Jaguar TCS Racing demonstrated his talent, securing a notable 1:02.167s in session 2 ahead of Maserati MSG Racing’s Felipe Drugovich with a 1:02.171. before the Maserati machine suffered technical issues.
MORNING SESSION ROUNDUP
Over 1,099 laps completed in the first session of the Berlin Rookie Test, DS PENSKE’s Robert Shwartzman showcased raw speed by topping the timesheets with an impressive 1:02.150s, closely trailed by Felipe Drugovich and Frederik Vesti. Drugovich took a day off from his role as Test and Reserve Driver at Aston Martin F1 Team to impress behind the wheel of the Maserati Tipo Folgore GEN3 car. A familiar face in Formula E’s rookie pool, he was closely followed by Frederik Vesti for Mahindra Racing, leaving the top three separated by less than a tenth of a second.
Further back, Jaguar TCS Racing’s Sheldon van der Linde, Gabriele Mini for Nissan Formula E Team, and Kush Maini for Mahindra Racing rounded out the top six, with Zane Maloney from Andretti Formula E in seventh.
AFTERNOON SESSION ROUNDUP
In the afternoon session of the Berlin Rookie Test, Robert Shwartzman continued his impressive performance by setting the fastest time in the DS PENSKE machine, clocking in a 1:01.937s, just a tenth slower than Jake Dennis’ Pole lap for Round 10 of the E-Prix. Shwartzman’s performance just edged out Jak Crawford and Sheldon van der Linde, who secured the second and third quickest times respectively.
Regular Formula E rookie Felipe Drugovich secured the fourth fastest time despite facing technical issues mid-session, ahead of Kush Maini and Brazilian Enzo Fittipaldi in fifth and sixth positions respectively. Frederik Vesti, Zane Maloney, Gabriele Mini, and Caio Collet completed the top ten.
Robert Shwartzman, DS PENSKE, said:
“Overall the day with DS PENSKE was a pretty solid day. No mistakes and tried good options that were positive, with good learning as well. We maximised our track time with the laps we were allowed to have and also, I’m happy to show some good results as well.
“I’m finally feeling stronger and more confident with this car, which is also positive thing, because the car is not easy to drive so it takes a bit of time. So overall, very happy and thanks to DS PENSKE for the opportunity. It is always a pleasure and fun to be driving and working with them. From now on, my focus is now on Le Mans, then in the future hopefully we’ll see each other again!”
Jak Crawford, Andretti Formula E Team, said:
“A very good first day in the car today. I enjoyed it a lot. The morning was all about getting up to speed for myself and finding the limits of the car and in the afternoon, we focused more on performance and putting the best lap time down. At the end of the test, we managed to get in some 350kWh laps and we were happy with what we managed to improve on. So overall, happy with how today went and a big thanks to Andretti for the opportunity.”
Alice Powell, Envision Racing, said:
“It was a very productive day for me. We went through the test plan and gathered important data for myself to correlate back to the simulator and for the team to use going forward. It wasn’t about setting fastest laps for us, and I’m leaving feeling very positive after a great day back in a racing car.”
