The Formula E Rookie Test at the Circuito del Jarama offered a revealing glimpse into the championship’s next generation on Sunday. The competitive and incident-filled day of running saw Théophile Naël emerge as the benchmark performer.
Across the two sessions, Naël’s morning lap of 1:29.216 for Mahindra ultimately stood unbeaten. Therefore, he narrowly secured the unofficial trophy of fastest rookie driver overall. Teammate Kush Maini underlined the duo’s strengths with a second place in the morning. Meanwhile, Nikita Bedrin, Daniil Kvyat and Zak O’Sullivan completed a closely matched Top 5 of the day.
Cold Start and Early Disruption
Track action began at 9am under clear skies but in colder conditions. Several of the young drivers took their time before heading out. When the track slowly began to fill, the session was quickly halted as Callum Voisin grounded to a halt. The rookie was stuck due to a technical issue in his Andretti between Turns 5 and 6.
At that early stage, Abbi Pulling had set the pace, though lap times were not yet representative, as the track was still fresh. On the timeboard Richard Verschoor and Naël followed, with a significant gap separating the leading trio from the rest of the field.
After a short delay that saw Voisin return to the pits, the session resumed just about ten minutes later. The cars returned on track, and the drivers began to build rhythm. Maini was the first to lay down a more meaningful marker with a 1:31.551 before being displaced in quick succession by Ayhancan Güven and later Théo Pourchaire.
Naël Takes the Lead
Despite a few long stretches of relatively quiet running, the competitive order continued to evolve. Naël steadily worked his way to the front, while Pourchaire laid down some lap times that saw him at the top of the timesheets. Another interruption followed after just over 80 minutes, when Elia Weiss stopped on track at Turn 1, triggering a second red flag. Once again, the delay proved relatively short-lived, but it further limited continuous running in an already broken-up session.
When the cars returned on track, the pace intensified as the temperatures rose. Bedrin then became the first driver to break into the 1:29s, but his advantage was short-lived. Once again Naël responded by improving, this time by four tenths, to reclaim the top spot and establish what would become the fastest lap of the morning.
Another incident, a second for Weiss, saw the young German beached in the gravel at Turn 3 and brought out the third red flag of the morning. This also effectively ended any chance of further improvements for the other drivers, as the track cooled again. Therefore, Naël secured the session lead ahead of Maini, Bedrin, Kvyat and O’Sullivan.
Afternoon Session Delivers Close Contest
Following a two-hour break, running resumed for a three-hour afternoon session. Maini initially set the pace before O’Sullivan edged ahead by a small margin, which highlighted the tight competition at the front in this first Madrid Rookie Test. As more drivers completed representative laps, the order continued to change. Joshua Dürksen briefly moved to the top before teammate Pourchaire went even quicker, only for O’Sullivan to respond once again.
© Malcolm Griffiths/LAT Images
Nevertheless, Naël soon reasserted himself, dipping again into the 1:29s with a 1:29.418. This performance appeared to put him firmly at the top. However, the closing stages produced another twist. Maini narrowly bettered Nael before Bedrin delivered a decisive lap of 1:29.250, securing the fastest time of the afternoon session for DS Penske in the end.
Despite that late improvement, Bedrin fell just 0.034 seconds short of Naël’s morning benchmark. Therefore, leaving the Mahindra driver as the fastest rookie across the entire day.
Interruptions and Learning Curve
The test was punctuated by several stoppages, including further issues for Voisin and ongoing struggles for Weiss, who endured limited running across both sessions. Yet for many rookies, the focus extended beyond outright pace. Citroën rookie driver Dürksen highlighted the steep learning curve after stepping out of the car following the morning session.
“I have learnt a lot of stuff. First of all, how to drive the Formula E car, which is very different to what I’m used to. I’ve learnt all the procedures, how to do a race start… it was a lot of information, but very useful.”
He also pointed to the growing appeal of the championship among young drivers.
“Formula E is a really nice category, very competitive… the technology is also very interesting for us. All the software, all the systems… it’s really amazing.”
Tight Margins Underline Depth of Field
By the closing stages of the afternoon, the Top 10 drivers were together by a little more than 1.5 seconds. At the end of the afternoon, Bedrin was followed by Maini, Naël, Victor Martins in a Nissan, Pourchaire, Freddie Slater, O’Sullivan, and Voisin. This once again underlined the depth of talent on display in this inaugural Madrid Test. Notably, Pulling secured a strong ninth-place finish, ahead of Dürksen, while several of the Porsche-powered cars struggled to break into the top of the order.
In the end, the margins were razor-thin, but Naël’s early benchmark proved decisive. On a day defined by interruptions, evolving track conditions and rapid learning, the Mahindra rookie delivered the most complete performance. He laid down a marker for the future.