| 2024 Rookie Test | ||
|---|---|---|
 The Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit hosted the only in-season test of Season 10 | ||
| Test Information | ||
| Date | 13 May 2024 | |
| Location |  Tempelhof Airport Street CircuitTempelhof Airport, Berlin, Germany | |
| Lap length | 2.343 km (1.456 mi) | |
| Fastest Lap | ||
| Driver |  Robert Shwartzman
| |
| Time | Day | Laps |
| 1:01.937 (136.184 km/h) | 1 | 94 |
| Testing Guide | ||
Previous 2023 Valencia Test
|
Next 2024 Jarama Test
| |
The 2024 Rookie Test, also known as the 2024 Berlin Test, was an in-season test held during the 2023/24 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, staged at the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit at Tempelhof Airport, Berlin, Germany, on 13 May 2024.[1] The test, which was held exclusively for drivers who had not competed in an FE race weekend outside of free practice, would be topped by Robert Shwartzman driving for DS Penske.[2]
Indeed, Shwartzman would be the star of the day, topping both sessions with a 1:02.150 in the morning and then a 1:01.937 in the afternoon, with Jak Crawford the closest driver to him the in the latter session.[3] The test would also see two female drivers take part, namely Alice Powell and Marta García, with all teams fielding two drivers for the entire day, although issues at Envision Racing meant Dries Vanthoor would only run in the morning session.[2]
Background[]
The Berlin round would be selected to host the annual Rookie Test for the series, which was scheduled for the Monday after the 2024 Berlin E-Prix II, having hosted the previous edition of the test in 2023.[1] The circuit would be identical to the one used for the Berlin E-Prix of 2024, with two three hour sessions scheduled for the day, split by a one hour lunch break to allow for cars to be reset and recharged along with the drivers.[1] The session was open to any driver who qualified for an E-Licence but had not competed in an E-Prix, with the field effectively split in two between returning faces from previous tests and those who were sampling FE for the first time.[4]
Familiarity v New Faces[]
Andretti Formula E were the first to confirm that they would run Zane Maloney and Jak Crawford for the session, the former having also got a run out in Misano in the rookie test there, while Envision Racing had initially planned to run Jack Aitken and Paul Aron.[5] That plan was abandoned due to the need for Aron to step into a race seat with both of Envision's usual drivers unavailable due to the WEC race in Spa, a race which Aitken would also be running in, meaning they instead opted to field Alice Powell and Dries Vanthoor for the day.[6]
ERT Formula E Team would also decide to run a female driver in the Berlin Rookie Test, partnering reigning F1 Academy Champion Marta García with veteran FE tester Mikel Azcona.[7] Frederik Vesti, meanwhile, would be handed his first FE test alongside Kush Maini with Mahindra Racing, while their customers ABT Cupra opted to run Tim Tramnitz and Ricardo Feller for the day in their pair of M10Electros.[8][9] The DS Penske squad, meanwhile, would hand test drives to Robert Shwartzman, who was a regular tester for the team, and Jonny Edgar, while sister squad Maserati MSG Racing would send Felipe Drugovich and Nicolas Pino out onto the Tempelhof Airport apron in their cars.[10][11]
Over at McLaren, another team forced to alter their rookie line-up due to force majeure, it would be Ugo Ugochukwu and Grégoire Saucy who got to sample their Nissan e-4ORCE 04s, while the factory Nissan Formula E Team paired Caio Collet with Gabriele Minì for the session.[12][9] Jaguar Racing, meanwhile, selected another van der Linde in the form of Sheldon to test for them alongside FE debutante Enzo Fittipaldi, while title rivals Porsche completed the rookie test roster with Thomas Preining and Dennis Hauger.[13][9]
Entry List[]
The full entry list for the 2024 Rookie Test is displayed below:
Day One[]
Conditions were dry and sunny in Berlin for the third day of running and first (and only) day of the 2024 Rookie Test, with no threat of rain for the day.[14]
Report[]
The session would open with Robert Shwartzman heading the field out of the pits, and the Israeli licenced racer would set the first flying lap of the day, although that would quickly be bested by Mikel Azcona and then Tim Tramnitz, before being reclaimed by Shwartzman on his second tour. Indeed, the opening ten minutes of the first session saw the times quickly fall to level on par with qualifying for the 2024 Berlin E-Prix I, with Shwartzman setting a succession of fastest laps before ending the first runs with a 1:03.188. That time would be toppled before the first hour, Sheldon van der Linde and Zane Maloney taking turns to lead before Tramnitz became the first driver to dip into the 1:02.000s, before Shwartzman set a 1:02.651 that would remain untouched until the end of the first hour.
A slim mix run plans would be used in the opening three hour session, with the majority drivers completing relatively short ten lap stints, split up by spells in the pits and a couple of quali-like runs. Caio Collet was an fair exception to this, completing a nineteen lap stint in the middle hour of the session, a period when Gabriele Minì would move to the top of the standings with a time that would only be toppled towards the end of the second hour. Such a mix of running meant it was difficult to determine who was having a strong day in Berlin and who was not in terms of race pace, although some like Felipe Drugovich were able to consistently lap in the 1:05.000s on their longer runs.
Come the end of the opening session Shwartzman had returned to the head of the field, a 1:02.150 set 35 minutes before the end fo teh session proving unbeatable, despite the fact that Shwartzman did not set a single fastest sector on that run.[3] Drugovich ended up as his closest challenger in second, 0.071s off, while Frederik Vesti completed the top three ahead of van der Linde and Minì.[3] 1,099 laps were recorded during the session, with almost all of the field managing to get over 40 laps in during the session, while Minì was the busiest driver of the morning, completing 64 tours of Tempelhof Airport.[3]
After the lunch break it was Collet who would lead the field back onto the track for the second three hour session, and the Brazilian pilot set two quick laps to dip into the 1:03.000s within the first five minutes, with Tramnitz and van der Linde subsequently going faster. Collett would, however, return to the top of the order soon after, a 1:02.376 putting him half a second clear, only for Drugovic and then Kush Maini to best him before the end of the opening half-hour. Indeed, Maini's time would last for an hour before Shwartzman went back to the top of the standings, a 1:02.082, before the Israeli pilot completed three quali-esque runs in the space of 40 minutes to reduce the benchmark time to 1:01.980 and then 1:01.937 with an hour of running left.
Indeed, much like the first session the running would be mainly focused on short runs of up to ten laps, mixed up with a few quali-sprints for most of the drivers, with no-one completing a run longer than fifteen laps. There would be one stoppage during the session, Drugovich stopping on-track with an issue, although the #7 Maserati would be snagged and dragged back to the pits, allowing the Brazilian pilot to continue after a quick inspection. Elsewhere, Dries Vanthoor would find himself sitting on the sidelines, an issue with the #4 Envision-Jaguar meaning he failed to get out on track at all in the afternoon, the only driver not to set a time post-lunch.
Come the end of the session Shwartzman was still the only man to have cracked the 1:01.000s, while Jak Crawford and Drugovich, despite his mid-session stoppage, would top the distance charts having both completed 101 laps.
Results[]
Below is the full result from the first day of the 2024 Rookie Test:
| 2024 Rookie Test Day One Times | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Laps | Time | Gap | |
| S1 | S2 | ||||||
| 1st | 25 | Robert Shwartzman
|
 DS Penske
|
94 | 1:02.150 | 1:01.937 | — |
| 2nd | 17 | Jak Crawford
|
Andretti Formula E
|
101 | 1:02.949 | 1:02.110 | +0.173s |
| 3rd | 37 |  Sheldon van der Linde
|
 Jaguar TCS Racing
|
97 | 1:02.320 | 1:02.167 | +0.230s |
| 4th | 7 |  Felipe Drugovich
|
 Maserati MSG Racing
|
101 | 1:02.221 | 1:02.171 | +0.234s |
| 5th | 21 |  Kush Maini
|
Mahindra Racing
|
96 | 1:02.472 | 1:02.208 | +0.271s |
| 6th | 9 | Enzo Fittipaldi
|
Jaguar TCS Racing
|
95 | 1:02.685 | 1:02.211 | +0.274s |
| 7th | 48 |  Frederik Vesti
|
Mahindra Racing
|
99 | 1:02.227 | 1:02.242 | +0.290s |
| 8th | 1 |  Zane Maloney
|
Andretti Formula E
|
100 | 1:02.512 | 1:02.279 | +0.342s |
| 9th | 23 |  Gabriele Minì
|
 Nissan Formula E Team
|
100 | 1:02.437 | 1:02.360 | +0.423s |
| 10th | 22 | Caio Collet
|
Nissan Formula E Team
|
100 | 1:02.534 | 1:02.376 | +0.439s |
| 11th | 13 |  Thomas Preining
|
TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
|
84 | 1:02.622 | 1:02.430 | +0.493s |
| 12th | 94 |  Dennis Hauger
|
TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
|
92 | 1:02.518 | 1:02.456 | +0.519s |
| 13th | 11 | Tim Tramnitz
|
ABT Cupra
|
98 | 1:02.572 | 1:02.846 | +0.635s |
| 14th | 51 |  Ricardo Feller
|
ABT Cupra
|
98 | 1:03.092 | 1:02.612 | +0.675s |
| 15th | 2 | Jonny Edgar
|
DS Penske
|
94 | 1:02.614 | 1:02.619 | +0.677s |
| 16th | 5 | Grégoire Saucy
|
NEOM McLaren Formula E Team
|
97 | 1:02.761 | 1:02.660 | +0.723s |
| 17th | 8 | Ugo Ugochukwu
|
NEOM McLaren Formula E Team
|
97 | 1:02.871 | 1:03.239 | +0.934s |
| 18th | 33 | Mikel Azcona
|
 ERT Formula E Team
|
98 | 1:03.103 | 1:02.900 | +0.963s |
| 19th | 3 | Marta García
|
ERT Formula E Team
|
88 | 1:03.362 | 1:03.162 | +1.225s |
| 20th | 18 |  Nicolas Pino
|
Maserati MSG Racing
|
96 | 1:03.242 | 1:03.220 | +1.283s |
| 21st | 4 |  Dries Vanthoor
|
Envision Racing
|
35 | 1:03.258 | — | +1.321s |
| 22nd | 16 | Alice Powell
|
Envision Racing
|
94 | 1:03.869 | 1:03.454 | +1.517s |
| Source:[15] | |||||||
- Bold indicates a driver's fastest lap from the entire test day.
- Purple indicates the fastest driver in each session.
References[]
Images and Videos:
References:
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Sam Smith, 'Formula E teams must run rookies at pre-season test', the-race.com, (The Race, 17/10/2023), https://www.the-race.com/formula-e/formula-e-teams-must-run-rookies-at-pre-season-test/, (Accessed 21/09/2024)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 'Shwartzman doubles up in the DS to top Rookie Test afternoon running in Berlin', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 13/05/2024), https://fiaformulae.com/en/news/498550, (Accessed 23/09/2024)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 'Shwartzman heads the way in morning session of Berlin Rookie Test', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 13/05/2024), https://fiaformulae.com/en/news/498534, (Accessed 13/05/2024)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 'BERLIN ROOKIE TEST DAY', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 02/05/2024), https://fe-results.s3.amazonaws.com/09_2023-24/10_R10%20Berlin/Rookie%20Test/Event%20Information/S10_BER_ROOKIE%20Entry%20List.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 23/09/2024)
- ↑ 'Andretti to run Zane Maloney and Jak Crawford in Misano and Berlin rookie tests', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 20/03/2024), https://fiaformulae.com/en/news/492680, (Accessed 21/09/2024)
- ↑ 'Powell and Vanthoor set for Formula E Rookie Test with Envision', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 01/05/2024), https://fiaformulae.com/en/news/496932, (Accessed 21/09/2024)
- ↑ 'ERT announce F1 Academy Champion Marta García for their Berlin Rookie Test', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 24/04/2024), https://fiaformulae.com/en/news/495968, (Accessed 21/09/2024)
- ↑ 'Frederik Vesti to line-up for Mahindra at Berlin Rookie Test', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 30/04/2024), https://fiaformulae.com/en/news/496808, (Accessed 21/09/2024)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 'The rookies taking part in Formula E's Berlin Rookie Test', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 13/05/2024), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/497165, (Accessed 21/09/2024)
- ↑ 'DS PENSKE confirm Edgar alongside Shwartzman for Berlin Rookie Test', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 02/05/2024), https://fiaformulae.com/en/news/496966, (Accessed 21/09/2024)
- ↑ 'Drugovich and Pino set for Berlin Rookie Test with Maserati MSG Racing', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 07/05/2024), https://fiaformulae.com/en/news/497305, (Accessed 21/09/2024)
- ↑ 'Saucy and Ugochukwu set for Rookie Test outing with NEOM McLaren', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 03/05/2024), https://fiaformulae.com/en/news/497212, (Accessed 21/09/2024)
- ↑ 'Fittipaldi and Van der Linde get Jaguar Berlin Rookie Test opportunity', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 06/05/2024), https://fiaformulae.com/en/news/497261, (Accessed 21/09/2024)
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedCal - ↑ 'Overall Rookie Test: Classification', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 13/05/2024), https://fe-results.s3.amazonaws.com/09_2023-24/10_R10%20Berlin/Rookie%20Test/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/202405131800_Overall%20Rookie%20Test/90_90_Classification_Overall%20Rookie%20Test.PDF#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 23/09/2024)