Most drivers on the junior single-seater ladder dream of racing in Formula 1 one day. In recent years, however, a growing number have sought opportunities in Formula E as a possible pathway for their professional careers. Feeder Series attended this year’s Monaco E-Prix to find out why.
By Seb Tirado
In 2014, British driver Sam Bird joined the newly formed FIA Formula E Championship with Virgin Racing.
Bird, then 27, had been the runner-up in the 2013 GP2 Series with five victories and the third-place finisher in Formula Renault 3.5 the year before. He had tested F1 machinery before and starred in endurance racing appearances early in 2014, but F1 chances weren’t coming his way.
Now aged 38 and driving for McLaren, Bird is a seasoned veteran of Formula E. After finishing in third in the series’ inaugural race in Beijing and winning the following event in Putrajaya, he went on to become one of the most successful drivers in the history of the series, with 12 wins and 27 total podiums.
“It’s a viable championship for young world-class drivers to earn a really good career,” Bird tells Feeder Series. “There’s limited seats in Formula 1, and not all these world-class drivers can get a seat there, so this championship enables drivers to have a really solid career in single-seaters.”
Of the 20 drivers who competed in Formula E’s first ever race in Beijing in September 2014, Bird was one of just three who competed in junior single-seaters the year before, the others being GP2 midfielder Daniel Abt and Auto GP racer Michela Cerruti.
The decision Bird made – to leave behind the F1 dream in pursuit of a professional seat in electric racing – is one that youngsters on the F1 ladder now find themselves considering in growing numbers. And Formula E, which earned FIA world championship status ahead of its 2020–21 season, has rolled out the red carpet for them.
Since 2018, Formula E has held an annual rookie test for drivers who have not previously raced in the championship. In the first few years of the test prior to COVID-19, the majority of drivers were established professionals from other series such as Super GT, the World Endurance Championship and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. Only a handful came from series such as F2.
Graphic by Feeder Series
With its return in 2023 following a two-year hiatus, however, the rookie test has been dominated by younger drivers, especially those currently or recently racing in junior single-seaters. This year’s edition – to be held on 14 July, the Monday after this weekend’s Berlin E-Prix – will have its greatest amount of feeder series representation yet; 16 of the 22 drivers have raced in junior single-seaters in the past year.
Their CVs are as varied as they come. Bianca Bustamante and reigning F1 Academy champion Abbi Pulling come from GB3 and will test with Cupra Kiro and Nissan respectively. 2024 F3 runner-up and Alpine Academy member Gabriele Minì will partner Pulling at Nissan, who have an alliance with the French marque, while debutant Callum Voisin, currently in his second F3 season, joins Bustamante at Cupra Kiro.
Elsewhere, Lola Yamaha ABT will field Williams F3 junior Alessandro Giusti and their simulator driver Hugh Barter, who previously tested in Berlin with Maserati in 2023 and currently leads the FR-spec Hoosier Formula Cup. FR Europe driver Nikita Bedrin’s rookie test participation was announced after he joined DS Penske as a development driver. At Jaguar, reigning F3 champion Leonardo Fornaroli will join Indy NXT race winner and three-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick. Lastly, Porsche will field 16-year-old Italian F4 rookie Elia Weiss, who will become the youngest-ever driver to test Formula E machinery.
2025 rookie test drivers from junior single-seaters
So why has there been such an increase in interest from drivers in these junior championships?
Taylor Barnard, a 2024–25 Formula E rookie who quit his maiden F2 campaign with AIX Racing ahead of last year’s Monza round to join McLaren alongside Bird, attributed it to some of the hurdles drivers currently face on the pathway to F1.
“With budget and with things like that, it’s becoming more and more difficult,” he explains. “Of course, I was not fortunate enough to be in that situation. However, Formula E as a championship’s growing. You can see how much it’s developed since season one, and I feel like now, as young drivers, it’s definitely a championship that they should consider.”
The 2024 alumni
Barnard, an ADAC F4 and FR Middle East runner-up earlier in his junior career, was invited to test McLaren’s Gen3 machinery during pre-season testing for the 2023–24 season, which led him to be signed with the team as a reserve and development driver in January 2024.
“I wanted to learn and develop as a young racing driver and try to make a professional career as a racing driver,” says Barnard, who turned 21 last month. “Honestly, it was a great step for me to make.”
As part of his new role, he participated in Free Practice 0 – the championship’s annual rookie-only free practice session, held before a weekend’s official sessions – in Misano and finished fastest of the 11 drivers with a 1:18.762. In Monaco the next month, he then became the youngest driver to start a Formula E race when he deputised for Sam Bird, who crashed in FP1 and broke his hand.
At the next weekend in Berlin, Barnard became the series’ youngest points scorer after finishing 10th in Saturday’s race, which he followed with eighth on Sunday. He finished ahead of teammate Jake Hughes in all three races.
“I learnt so much last year even though of course I completed two [weekends],” Barnard says. “But aside from that, I learnt so much by doing an [FP0], by learning from all the engineers, from Jake and Sam. I enjoyed that experience a lot.”
Having taken Hughes’ seat for the 2024–25 season, Barnard currently sits fourth in the drivers’ standings. Ahead of Monaco, he had scored three podiums and a pole position, becoming the youngest to achieve each one. The British driver took pole position for Saturday’s race in the Principality and has since scored two more podiums in Tokyo and Shanghai.
Taylor Barnard (right) has outscored veteran teammate Sam Bird (middle) 92–31 in his first full Formula E season | Credit: Simon Galloway / Formula E
The other 2024 F2 graduate to join the championship this season is Rodin Motorsport’s Zane Maloney at Lola Yamaha ABT. He had also previously been signed as a reserve and development driver, this time with Andretti. Like Barnard, Maloney ended his F2 campaign early as a result of his signing. His last F2 appearance came at Lusail, and days later he was off to race in Formula E’s São Paulo season opener, which clashed with F2’s Abu Dhabi finale. He still finished the campaign fourth in the standings.
The Barbadian driver made his Formula E debut in the 2023 rookie test with Andretti alongside 2022 Indy Lights champion Linus Lundqvist. After participating in the inaugural FP0 in Rome in July, he took part in the first session of the 2023–24 pre-season test with the team. Shortly after, he was signed as Andretti’s reserve and development driver for the season, participating in the Misano FP0 and last year’s Berlin rookie test with the team.
So far this season, Maloney has scored a best finish of 11th in Shanghai, narrowly missing out on points for the second time this year. He had crossed the line 10th in Miami but received a post-race penalty for not coming to a complete stop after cutting the chicane on the back straight.
“It’s been great in terms of development with the team,” he says. “I think that was the goal coming into this year.”
ABT Sportsline, who operate the Lola-Yamaha entry, are in their first season of a new powertrain manufactured by the British-Japanese joint entity. With that in mind, Maloney and veteran teammate Lucas di Grassi, the series’ 2016–17 champion, are not necessarily chasing headline results.
Zane Maloney during qualifying for Sunday‘s race at Monaco | Credit: Joe Portlock / LAT Images
“The package is still not where we want it to be, but it’s getting better every weekend,” Maloney adds. “We’re just working as hard as we can. Formula E is chaos, so we’ll just see what we can do.”
Maloney says the quality of Formula E’s grid drew him to the series. “When you look at the teams and manufacturers and the drivers up and down the grid, it’s insane,” he explains. “The level is very high [and] I like to race the best in the world, and Formula E is one of those championships.”
With Barnard and Maloney moving into full-time race seats, their previous roles have been taken by F2 frontrunners Alex Dunne and Jak Crawford respectively.
Dunne is currently third in the F2 standings with 108 points. In a stellar rookie season, he has taken two wins and three podiums so far, with his most recent trip to the rostrum coming in last weekend’s feature race in Silverstone.
“I think the start of the season has been really strong,” he says about his F2 campaign. “I expected it to be good, but I don’t know if I expected it to be as strong as what it’s been. So of course, it’s been a really nice way to start the year and to be right there in the championship fight as well.”
Dunne was announced as McLaren’s reserve and development driver in January, an opportunity offered to him through the McLaren Driver Development Programme.
“They asked me if I’d like to be a reserve driver for Formula E as well, to go hand in hand with my commitments [in] F2 this year,” Dunne says.
“I thought it would be a cool opportunity. Formula E is a cool championship. It’s a very high level and I think a lot of the drivers here are very, very talented. So to have the opportunity to do something else integrated with McLaren and be a part of another one of their series, for me, sounded like a good idea to try and help develop my skills more as a driver.”
Dunne’s first outing came in FP0 ahead of the Jeddah E-Prix. He will appear alongside Ella Lloyd, the driver McLaren backs in F1 Academy, at this weekend’s rookie test. Still, Formula E has not been his only professional venture of late. He also made his F1 free practice debut at the Austrian Grand Prix, finishing fourth fastest.
Alex Dunne on track in Jeddah | Credit: Simon Galloway / Formula E
Andretti announced Crawford, who currently sits second in the F2 standings, as their reserve and development driver last November after inviting the American driver to participate in the rookie test earlier that year. Crawford had a suboptimal start to his 2025 F2 season but took his first points in Jeddah, when he took pole position for the feature race and went on to finish second.
“Honestly, [it] took a lot of weight off my shoulders,” Crawford tells Feeder Series two weeks later in Monaco. “It was already feeling like I was far behind after Bahrain, so just to get that result is great. Even for the rest of the season, I’m feeling quite confident.”
Crawford now has 116 points after having taken three wins and another podium. He defeated Dunne to take his most recent victory in the Silverstone feature race.
As for what drew him to Formula E, Crawford points to the chance to partner with Andretti.
“Being an American team, it’s great to be with them on that side. And as well, it’s a growing championship. For motorsport, it’s fairly new,” he explains. “It’s growing fast and we’ve seen through the years [that] the cars are getting quicker and quicker. It’s already a top-level motorsport with some of the best drivers. The teams are all great and they work at such a high level as well. From that side, I’d say it’s already a step above what I do in Formula 2.”
Jak Crawford alongside Zak O’Sullivan in Jeddah | Credit: Simon Galloway / Formula E
Crawford’s first official Formula E outing with Andretti came in the Jeddah FP0. He will also participate in the rookie test alongside 2023 F2 runner-up Frederik Vesti, who now competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
Formula E’s future stars?
The Berlin rookie test is the primary opportunity for young drivers to get a taste of current Formula E machinery, but it is not the only one. With the creation and debut of FP0 ahead of the 2023 Rome E-Prix, more and more junior single-seater stars have been chosen to participate.
The inaugural FP0 featured three drivers who raced in junior single-seaters that year or the year prior: reigning F2 champion Felipe Drugovich with Maserati, fourth-year F2 driver Jehan Daruvala with Mahindra, and F2 rookie Zane Maloney with Andretti.
The 2024 session at Misano saw the number grow to five. Most notably, this included F2 frontrunner Paul Aron, who participated in preparation for his one-off substitute appearance with Envision Racing. Indy NXT competitor and Nissan reserve driver Caio Collet, another participant, later stood in for an ill Oliver Rowland in the Portland round in June.
Caio Collet (left) and Paul Aron (right) both participated in the Misano FP0 ahead of their Formula E stand-in appearances | Credit: Simon Galloway / Formula E
This number rose to six for the 2025 edition five months ago in Jeddah. Alongside Dunne and Crawford, 2024 F2 driver Zak O’Sullivan made his first outing with Envision in Jeddah after being signed as the team’s simulator driver in January. F2 race winner Kush Maini and F3 runner-up Minì drove with Mahindra and Nissan respectively, with Maini finishing the session fastest with a 1:17.184. Chadwick also made an appearance with Jaguar, having already competed with them in Formula E’s inaugural women’s test last November.
Formula E announced the test in September ahead of pre-season testing last year. The all-female test, the first of its kind to be held by an FIA world championship, featured 18 women invited by all 11 of the championship’s teams.
Eleven of the participating drivers came from junior single-seater championships: nine from F1 Academy’s 2023 and 2024 seasons, plus Indy NXT’s Chadwick and GB4 runner-up Alisha Palmowski. GB3’s Pulling set the fastest time of the session with a 1:30.889 ahead of Chadwick and Bustamante. Pulling, previously an Alpine junior, has since signed a multi-year deal with Nissan as their rookie and simulator driver, while the formerly McLaren-backed Bustamante joined Cupra Kiro last month as a development driver.
The women’s test will return this October as part of pre-season testing for the 2025–26 season at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, this time with a full day of running.
At the women’s test, four teams featured lineups fully comprising of feeder series drivers | Credit: Simon Galloway / Formula E
Through these various testing opportunities, Formula E offers young drivers an almost unprecedented level of access to professional single-seater machinery. Will their own interest in Formula E continue to trend upwards?
“As motorsport is going on and years are changing, younger drivers are slowly more and more getting the opportunity to do bigger things,” Dunne says. “For me, ultimately the goal is still to become a Formula 1 driver, but if that wasn’t possible for whatever reason, I think Formula E would be a great option.”
Dunne, now 19, references a shift across motorsport in having more opportunities, such as Formula E’s rookie free practice sessions, available to younger drivers. He’s not alone in taking advantage of them.
“Formula E is growing and, as we can clearly see, it’s a good career option,” Crawford says. “Obviously, it’s not been around long enough that we’ve seen someone have their whole racing career in Formula E yet, but I think it’s definitely possible. It’s very attractive as well, especially if the cars keep developing and they keep getting quicker and quicker.”
Crawford began racing single-seaters aged 13 in NACAM F4, and he was usually among the youngest on any grid as he ascended the junior ladder with Red Bull’s backing. Now an Aston Martin junior in his third year in F2, the 20-year-old American driver is closer than ever to a professional career.
“At the moment, I’ll be honest, my goal is to be a Formula 1 driver,” he says. “Of course, I’m still in my junior career, so a lot can happen and nothing is decided yet. I want to be in Formula 1, but I also love Formula E.”
Maloney also attributes the attraction to Formula E to the championship’s development over the years.
“There’s not many seats in the world in general in any category at the highest level. In F1, Formula E or IndyCar or WEC, it’s very difficult to come by a racing seat. So you take what comes your way, and I had an amazing opportunity with Andretti, which then led to this opportunity with Lola Yamaha ABT,” he says.
“You’re always trying to perform on track and hopefully get a seat in one of them. The drivers up and down the grid are very experienced and amazing drivers [and] we like to compete against the best and against each other.”
Header image credit: Simon Galloway / Formula E
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