New-Look line-ups ready to take to the track for ABB FIA Formula E World Championship pre-season test

  • gb
12.12.22

Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo will set the scene for the single-seater series’ ninth season – and the advent of Gen3.

With the arrival of the eagerly-anticipated Gen3 car, the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is embarking upon an exciting new era in 2023 – and the forthcoming pre-season test in Valencia (13-16 December) will allow competitors to put the cutting-edge single-seater comprehensively through its paces and work through the evaluation of the new Gen3 systems.

The Spanish city’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo has welcomed Formula E on many an occasion, but this time there is even greater interest, with not only the first public running of Gen3 – the series’ fastest and most powerful car to-date – but also a whole host of driver changes and new names up and down the pit-lane.

Defending champion Stoffel Vandoorne will make his debut for DS Penske during the test, alongside two-time title-holder Jean-Éric Vergne – constituting one of the most potent line-ups on the grid.

The Belgian will take the seat vacated by António Félix da Costa at the re-named team, with the 2019/20 champion joining last year’s Mexico winner, Pascal Wehrlein at TAG Heuer Porsche. André Lotterer has in turn moved to Avalanche Andretti, where he will pair up with Jake Dennis.

Namesake Jake Hughes is a new face in a new team at Nissan-powered Neom McLaren. The former Mercedes-EQ reserve and development driver will be flanked by multiple DTM title-winner René Rast, the German returning to Formula E following a year away.

Having assumed full control of the former Nissan e.dams outfit, Nissan itself will field cars for Norman Nato – another returnee – and 23-year-old Sacha Fenestraz, who first appeared in the championship four months ago in the South Korea Season Eight finale.

Sérgio Sette Câmara – who Fenestraz partnered in Seoul – has switched to NIO 333 Racing alongside series sophomore Dan Ticktum, while fellow Briton Oliver Rowland now finds himself joined at Mahindra Racing by 2016/17 champion Lucas Di Grassi.

The team the Brazilian left has been rebranded Maserati MSG Racing, as the legendary car maker becomes the first Italian manufacturer ever to compete in Formula E. Edoardo Mortara – who led the standings for a time last season – remains on-board, while Maximilian Günther is a new recruit.

A first-time winner in New York last summer, Nick Cassidy is a mainstay at Envision Racing, but the driver in the other side of the garage – 2015/16 champion Sébastien Buemi – has never previously competed in anything but e.dams colours, marking a major departure for the experienced Swiss star.

ABT CUPRA Formula E Team rejoins the fray with a brace of Mahindra-powered cars for Envision exile Robin Frijns and two-time DTM runner-up Nico Müller, back in Formula E following an absence of a season-and-a-half.

Following morning (09:00 – 12:00) and afternoon (14:00 – 17:00) sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday will take the form of a complete race day simulation aimed at helping competitors to prepare as thoroughly as possible for the forthcoming campaign. Two further three-hour sessions on Friday bring the total running time to 17.5 hours. Reports from the test will be published on fia.com.

The ninth season of Formula E will then race into life at Mexico City’s famous Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on 14 January – the curtain-raiser to a 16-round calendar that will feature inaugural E-Prixs in Hyderabad (India), Cape Town (South Africa), São Paulo (Brazil) and Portland (USA).

THE TRACK

MEDIA CENTRE

Opening Hours of the Media Center
- Tueasday 13 December 07:00 - 19:00
- Wednesday 14 December 07:00 - 19:00
- Thursday 15 December 08:00 - 18:00
- Friday 16 December 08:00 - 18:00

2022 ABB FIA FORMULA E VALENCIA TEST TIMETABLE
  

Monday 12 December   
StartsEndsLenghtActivity
16:0016:3000:30SHAKEDOWN
    
Tuesday 13 December   
StartsEndsLenghtActivity
09:0012:0003:00TEST SESSION 1
14:0017:0003:00TEST SESSION 2
    
Wednesday 14 December   
StartsEndsLenghtActivity
09:0012:3003:30TEST SESSION 3
15:0017:0002:00TEST SESSION 4
    
Friday 16 December   
StartsEndsLenghtActivity
09:0012:0003:00TEST SESSION 5
14:0017:0003:00TEST SESSION 6


MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES
  

Tuesday 13 December 
12:45 - 13:00Drivers FIA Press Conference
 Stoffel Vandoorne - DS PENSKE
 Lucas Di Grassi - MAHINDRA RACING
 Sergio Sette Camara - NIO 333 Racing
  
13:15 - 13:30Teams FIA Press Conference
 Ian James - NEOM McLaren
 Roger Griffiths - Avalanche Andretti Formula E
 Sylvain Filippi - Envision Racing
  
Wednesday 14 December 
13:00 - 13:15Drivers FIA Press Conference
 Edoardo Mortara - Maserati MSG Racing
 Antonio Felix Da Costa - Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
 René Rast - NEOM McLaren
  
13:15 - 13:30Teams FIA Press Conference
 James Barclay - Jaguar TCS Racing
 Thomas Biermaier - ABT CUPRA Formula E Team
 Nicolas Mauduit - DS PENSKE
  
Friday 16 December 
12:45 - 13:00Drivers FIA Press Conference
 Mitch Evans - Jaguar TCS Racing
 Sacha Fenestraz - Nissan Formula E Team
 Jean-Éric Vergne - DS PENSKE
  
13:15 - 13:30Teams FIA Press Conference
 James Rossiter - Maserati MSG Racing
 Florian Modlinger - Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
 Frédéric Bertrand - MAHINDRA RACING


2022 ABB FIA FORMULA E VALENCIA TEST ENTRIES

2022 ABB FIA FORMULA E WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CLASSIFICATIONS 

The classification of the 2022 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is available on the following link.