Formula E organized the first all-women’s test in motorsport history. It took place today at the Jarama circuit in Madrid.
During the last day of pre-season testing, held in Madrid, the electric championship gave the possibility to nineteen female drivers to drive the Gen3-Evo cars, used during the past four days by Formula E official drivers. Each team had to choose one or two women to complete the final session of the day. The female-dedicated session wasn’t covered by any television channel, but thanks to the social media updates on the Formula E channel and website, the key events of the testing were accessible to the public.
Issues for Jaguar
The testing started with a great rhythm by Jamie Chadwick. who took part in the session with Jaguar, with the team having only one car on the track. Jaguar had selected also Lilou Wadoux for the occasion, but the French driver had a difficult start to the afternoon. Wadoux had a seat fit issue, with Porsche lending Jaguar Antonio Felix Da Costa’s seat, trying to fix the issue before the session ended. However, their efforts were unsuccessful.
Abbi Pulling’s great performance
Abbi Pulling, F1 Academy championship leader, and Alpine Academy member has been one of the main characters of the Formula E women’s test. The British driver, selected by Nissan for the session, conquered the top of the standings after one hour on the track.
When Pulling first went P1, it was with a time of 1:32.067, 4.6 seconds off the fastest time set in the FE test. Her time was temporarily beaten by Bianca Bustamante and Lena Buhler. Bustamante drove a McLaren during the session and found her best time of the afternoon with a 1:31.715. It was also a great performance also by Buhler, Mahindra’s driver, completing her fastest lap in 1:31.907.
At the end of the session, Pulling returned to top of the standings. She delivered an outstanding time of 1:30.899, three seconds slower than the fastest of the FE test. An impressive result for her, considering she has never driven a Formula E car before today’s testing session. At the end of the afternoon, the Nissan driver was still in first place, with Jamie Chadwick second for three-tenths. The top three was rounded out by Bianca Bustamante.
The session stopped once
During the three hours and a half of the testing, the action on track stopped only once, a few minutes before the chequered flag. Fifteen minutes to the end, Jess Edgar was trapped in the gravel at Turn 4 with her DS Penske. In the morning Jean-Eric Vergne, DS Penske’s official driver, finished his session in the same place. However, the damages on the car were light and Edgar was fine. The F1 Academy driver was able to return to the track track for the last minutes of action.
Conclusions
The all-women’s test brought a particular interest to the female drivers and Formula E. Even without television coverage, the session saw hundreds of people following the social media’s updates. The event has been a success, proving that female drivers can keep a good rhythm on track.
Also, it was an opportunity for young womens’ to show their talent at a World Championship category such as Formula E. The electric championship made an important step forward for the inclusivity in the motorsport world.
