Ahead of this month’s first Formula E rookie test since 2020, Avalanche Andretti Formula E have announced their line-up for the test in Berlin. Representing Andretti a day after the eighth round of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will be Formula 2 driver and Red Bull Junior Zane Maloney, and reigning INDY NXT Champion Linus Lundqvist.
The duo will hit the Tempelhof Street Circuit to gather crucial data for Andretti, whilst gaining their first experience of Formula E. As well as being a current F2 driver and Red Bull Junior driver, Maloney is also one of Oracle Red Bull Racing‘s official reserve drivers for this season, highlighting the talent the Austrians see in the young driver.
Maloney is “very excited” to have been invited to the test and is incredibly grateful to Andretti for making it possible, with him set to “learn as much as I can”.
“I’m very excited to be part of the Berlin Rookie Test with Avalanche Andretti Formula E. Driving in Formula E is going to be a new experience for me so I’m very grateful for this opportunity and would like to thank everyone at Andretti for making this possible. I will be trying to learn as much as I can during this test and gain some beneficial experience in the GEN3 car.”
Since winning the INDY NXT Championship last season, Lundqvist has tested an IndyCar at Texas Motor Speedway, as he continues to search for his next move. The Swiss driver is incredibly talented and has won four titles since 2016, making it understandable why Andretti are giving him a chance.
Like Maloney, Lundqvist is very excited to get a chance in the new Gen3 car and experience a new series, with the Swiss driver now focused on “doing my best to be as prepared as possible”.
“Big thanks to Michael Andretti, JF Thormann, Roger Griffiths and everyone at Andretti for this amazing opportunity. I’m super excited and grateful for the occasion. It will be great to experience a completely new car and series that I’ve not driven in before. I know it’s going to be very different to anything I’ve done before, but I’m doing my best to be as prepared as possible to have a successful test with the Avalanche Andretti Formula E team. I can’t wait to get going!”
Team Principal Roger Griffiths added a few words following the team’s announcement of who’d be representing them at the rookie test, with the team boss having noted how “fundamentally important” the rookie test is to identifying potential Formula E stars of the future.
“The Avalanche Andretti Formula E team are very much looking forward to having both Zane and Linus join us for the Berlin Rookie Test after the doubleheader 2023 Sabic Berlin E-Prix. Both drivers have shown themselves to be highly competitive in their relative endeavors and represent some exciting new talent. Having the rookie test is fundamentally important for raising the potential and possibility of bringing new driver talent to the ABB FIA Formula E Championship.
“Formula E has fast gained status within the motorsport world as being a very competitive Championship and that makes it very attractive to up-and-coming drivers. It makes sense to have the test at the iconic Berlin-Tempelhof circuit immediately after the race weekend as we will have gathered a lot of data to be able support both drivers with. Zane and Linus will be with us for the duration of the race weekend, so we’re looking forward to integrating them into the team so they can understand how we both prepare for and operate over a race weekend.”
