Simon Galloway/Motorsport Images
Crawford joins Formula E rookie test
America's Jak Crawford, Colombian Tatiana Calderon and Austrian Thomas Preining are the final three drivers confirmed for next week’s Formula E rookie free practice at the Jeddah E-Prix. They will drive for Andretti, Lola Yamaha Abt and TAG Heuer Porsche respectively, completing an 11-driver line-up for the 40-minute session, dubbed "FP0," that will take place on Feb. 13 ahead of the first doubleheader event of the season.
Andretti reserve and development driver Crawford (pictured above) has prior Formula E experience, having driven for the team at last season's rookie test in Berlin, but this will be his first taste of the new GEN3 Evo cars. The Charlotte native is a member of the Aston Martin Driver Development Program in Formula 1 and is about to embark on a third season in Formula 2, his second with DAMS. He has two wins in the category.
“I’m very excited at the opportunity of driving a Formula E car again, especially as it will be my first time in the GEN3 Evo,” said Crawford. “I’m super excited to experience the increased acceleration and try out the new all-wheel-drive system.
“I’m very familiar with the track from driving there in Formula 2, so it will be interesting to compare the experiences. Ultimately, the aim will be to secure important data for the team to put us in the best position possible ahead of our race weekend.”
Calderon links up with Lola having driven for Maserati MSG Racing at last November's female driver test in Jarama. She is racing in the GTD class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship this season for Gradient Racing alongside Lola Cars chairman Till Bechtolsheimer.
“I’m very excited to join the Lola Yamaha Abt Team for the Rookie free practice in Jeddah, which I feel is a great opportunity provided by Formula E for drivers who are new to the series,” said Calderon. “I’ve been impressed with the progress this new team has made so far and that is a testament of the quality of the people behind it. There’s a great atmosphere with everyone pushing in the same direction, something I’ve felt when I’ve been preparing in the simulator.
“I‘m very grateful to the whole team for this opportunity and can’t wait to hit the track in Jeddah to help them gain some valuable data in preparation for the first doubleheader of the season.”
Porsche factory driver Preining also took part in the Berlin test, as well as 2020 rookie test in Marrakesh, and was one of the team's designated test and development drivers in the 2019-20 season alongside Simona de Silvestro. Preining was DTM champion in 2023 and has won six times in the last three seasons of the German-based GT3 series.
Jeddah E-Prix Free Practice 0 line-up
Andretti - Jak Crawford
Cupra Kiro - Mikkel Jensen
DS Penske - Daniil Kvyat
Envision Racing - Zak O’Sullivan
Jaguar TCS Racing - Jamie Chadwick
Lola Yamaha Abt - Tatiana Calderon
Mahindra Racing - Kush Maini
Maserati MSG Racing - Théo Pourchaire
NEOM McLaren - Alex Dunne
Nissan Formula E Team - Gabriele Mini
TAG Heuer Porsche - Thomas Preining
Dominik Wilde
Dominik often jokes that he was born in the wrong country – a lover of NASCAR and IndyCar, he covered both in a past life as a junior at Autosport in the UK, but he’s spent most of his career to date covering the sliding and flying antics of the U.S.’ interpretation of rallycross. Rather fitting for a man that says he likes “seeing cars do what they’re not supposed to do”, previously worked for a car stunt show, and once even rolled a rally car with Travis Pastrana. He was also comprehensively beaten in a kart race by Sebastien Loeb once, but who hasn’t been?
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