Two F1 Academy champions, a three-time W Series title winner, and a further array of ambitious female racers from across the world will take part in this Friday’s second-ever women’s Formula E test at Valencia.
Four of the 10 teams have opted to run both cars as they put the final mileage on the 2025-26 season race cars before they are freighted to the opening round in Sao Paulo at the start of December. That means an entry list of 14 cars for the test day.
That entry includes established and experienced Formula E testers such as Alice Powell and Jamie Chadwick in action, in addition to lesser-known drivers such as GT4 competitor Janina Schall at Porsche.
A total of 10 drivers are back in seats after last season’s maiden initiative held at Jarama. Abbi Pulling topped the times at that test, and she is back as part of her extended role with Nissan, which has seen her recently help bed in the Japanese manufacturer’s new simulator in Viry-Chatillon.
Pulling ‘vital’ for Nissan prep
Talking to The Race last week, Nissan race director Dorian Boisdron said that the test would be a crucial part of not only Pulling’s development with the Gen3Evo car, but also for the team as it heads to the first race at Sao Paulo in five weeks’ time.
“We don’t have so many test days in FE, so every single minute of track time I’m happy to use it,” said Boisdron.
“We’re going to use Valencia as, let’s say, a global test programme, because we work on many features in private testing and we will have to fine tune and polish everything.
“Abbi will have a test programme which will be very current and vital with what we will do with the drivers in the previous days.”
Brewer’s DS Penske Call Up
Current Lamborghini Super Trofeo US driver Lindsay Brewer will take part in the test with the DS Penske test, partnering ex-F1 Academy driver Jessica Edgar, who was with the team last November at Jarama.
Brewer raced for the Juncos Hollinger squad in Indy NXT last season and is currently third in the Lamborghini Am category after taking a class win at Road America in July with team-mate Jem Hepworth in a Rafa Racing entry.
Brewer told The Race that she was recommended for the test by former IndyCar team entrant Steve Luczo, via a friend, and was put in touch with DS Penske to stake a claim for a Valencia test seat.
“Formula E has been on my radar for some time. I've been to a couple races," said Brewer.
"I think it's really incredible what they're doing with sustainability, and I really enjoy what they do with the series itself generally.
“The racing's a lot better than other series, you never know who's going to win, which I think is really exciting, and there's a lot more strategy that comes into play in Formula E.
“It's such a team effort here in Formula E, and there are really a lot of dynamics that go into it clearly.”
Garcia tests for third team
The 2023 F1 Academy champion Marta Garcia returns to the Formula E paddock after previous tests with Porsche and the Cupra squad, but this time she will represent Lola Yamaha.
“For me, it’s just getting the experience of the test, of getting to know the car even better, because I would love to be involved for next season as well, doing some development and that would be my ideal point,” Garcia told The Race.
“Also, because it’s Valencia and it’s my home track, I’m excited because I know the track. I’ve been there quite a lot. We won the F1 Academy [race three in 2023] there, so I know the track already.
“It’s just getting to know more about the car and trying to give as much feedback as possible and try to make the best out of the test for myself and for the team as well.”
Noda partners Chadwick at Jaguar
Super Formula driver Juju Noda is by far the leading driver in terms of the power of the machinery she regularly drives.
The daughter of former F3000 and briefly F1 driver Hideki Noda, the 20-year-old is in her sophomore Super Formula campaign with the Triple Tree Racing team, finishing all but one of the races held so far this season, with a best finish of 12th.
“This will be very different to what I have done before, but I am looking forward to the challenge with Jaguar,” Noda told The Race.
“For me, what I enjoy is learning and talking with the engineers. This will be something interesting for more knowledge on that side.”
Noda joins Jamie Chadwick, who has had several tests for Jaguar, including a live session during an E-Prix at the extra free practice session last February at Jeddah.
Full Entry List
Jaguar: Jamie Chadwick/Juju Noda
Envision: Ella Lloyd/Alice Powell
Mahindra: Chloe Chambers
Nissan: Abbi Pulling
Citroen: Tatiana Calderon
DS Penske: Jess Edgar/Lindsay Brewer
Lola Yamaha Abt: Marta Garcia
Porsche: Gabriela Jilkova/Janina Schall
Andretti: Nerea Marti
Cupra Kiro: Bianca Bustamante
