Formula E Madrid Rookie Test - Female Driver Spotlight
Madrid hosted the latest Formula E rookie test - and the results will surprise you.
Earlier this year, it was announced that there would be another Formula E rookie test session - this time in Madrid, Spain at the Jarama Circuit. Of the twenty drivers selected to participate, four were women. With both the latest race weekend and the test sessions themselves in the rear view mirror, let’s take a look at how those four drivers fared.
Pulling sets the early Pace
As the morning session got underway, it was Abbi Pulling who set the benchmark time in the opening minutes. Those keeping a close eye on Pulling’s time in Formula E so far will know that she’d visited this particular track before - having participated in the inaugural Women’s Test in 2024.
By the end of the morning session, Pulling had put in a time worthy of P8 out of the twenty drivers participating. The British driver remained consistent throughout the afternoon session too, finishing in a respectable P9 overall, 1.4 seconds off the best lap time set by Nikita Bedrin for DS Penske.
Gaining More Experience
One of the other three female drivers at this test was Bianca Bustamante. This wasn’t Bustamante’s first time in Jarama as the Filipino took part in last year’s all women test session at the Spanish circuit.
But Bianca struggled primarily with managing the traffic out on track during the morning session. It’s not the most surprising issue to have in a session filled with drivers that don’t know when their next opportunity to test a Formula E car will be. She finished that first session in P16 overall and the second in P17.
“I had the amazing, lovely, lovely chance of, yeah, getting behind the wheel
again in Valencia, Spain, which honestly, I’m not gonna lie, it’s probably the toughest it’s ever felt physically.” - Bianca Bustamante
Ella Lloyd hit the track for Envision Racing, finishing in P17 and P18 in both sessions respectively. Juju Noda made her second appearance for Jaguar TCS Racing, having also participated in the all female test at the tail end of last year. The Japanese driver finished in P18 and P19 across the two test sessions.
“Being part of this incredible team is something truly special, and I’m thankful for every lap, every lesson, and this amazing opportunity. It only makes me more motivated to get back behind the wheel of the I-Type 7, keep pushing, and come back even stronger.” - Juju Noda
But there was more to the lap times than met the eye. While Saturday’s race day for Formula E was held in mixed conditions - and therefore goes some of the way to explaining the massive gap in lap times set by the full drivers when compared to the rookies in the latter’s favour, Free Practice was held the previous day and, like Sunday’s rookie test, in dry conditions. 1:29.403 was the fastest lap time set in that session. Bedrin’s quickest time from the rookie test for comparison was 1:29.250. So while, Pulling, Bustamante, Lloyd and Noda were not at the top of the time sheets the lap times they set were not as far off the pace set by the full time drivers as some might think, especially when the full complement of full time drivers and their lap times from Free Practice are taken into account.
Moreover, the times set at Jarama back in October during the all women’s test are also worthy of note. On that occasion, Chloe Chambers set a fastest lap time of 1:22.767. With the five other drivers making up the top six in that session all within a second of her lap time as well as the slowest driver still setting a lap time quicker than those set by Bedrin and the full time drivers this weekend, it becomes something worthy of a more in depth look in the near future - particularly when last year’s rookie test session in Berlin is taken into account too.
Nerea Marti Returns to Formula E
There was a bonus driver out on track too over the course of the Madrid race weekend in the form of home hero Nerea Marti. The Spaniard is an ambassador for the Andretti team and as part of her duties, she got to take the Gen3 Evo car out onto the Jarama Circuit for a demo run. Check it out below.
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There is more to delve into regarding this test session, especially when taken into the larger context of Formula E and other test sessions of a similar notion that have been held in recent times. But one thing is certain. These rookies tests are vital for ensuring that the best fresh talent rises to the top. Motorsport is always about pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, taking chances and being bold. For Formula E, that’s always been something embedded in their DNA.
Love it or hate it, it’s a series that isn’t afraid to try new things and when that approach is combined with these four female drivers showing up consistently and performing, with a fraction of the experience and opportunities available to those around them, the question has to be asked of when we are going to get to see one of them in a full time race seat in Formula E. Their presence in these sessions alone removes the idea of if from the equation - and forces everyone to accept that it has to be a matter of when. Hopefully that means it’ll be sooner rather than later. These tests are just the start.