Formula E: The tests are over, but testing continues.

      This week in Valencia, at the Ricardo Tormo circuit, preseason Formula E tests are taking place with all the teams of the electric-car World Championship participating. The main part of the programme concluded yesterday, and the best time on Thursday was set by Oliver Rowland, the British driver of the factory Nissan team, who last July won the title in the electric series for the first time, and quite convincingly. So it’s no surprise that Oliver continues to show excellent form, and his car with the Nissan e-4ORCE 05 powertrain remains capable of a strong pace.

      Yesterday the reigning champion set his fastest lap at 1:21.498 — a time only 0.005 seconds slower than the outright best time of the tests, set on Tuesday by Edoardo Mortara, a Mahindra driver. The Indian team also showed high speeds: Mortara and his teammate Nick de Vries consistently rose to the top of the timesheets, but Taylor Barnard, the young Brit who was the revelation of last season, was not far behind. Since McLaren have ended their programme in Formula E, Barnard moved to DS Penske and is determined to make his mark in the coming season, which will start in December with the round in São Paulo. Towards the end of the tests he was second in Thursday’s second session.

      And today only women are running on the track: for the second year running, Formula E has organised tests featuring the top female drivers from various series, and in 2025 a separate day has been allocated for this. Among them is Jamie Chadwick, three-time W Series champion — she continues to work with the factory Jaguar team. Jamie has extensive racing experience, and she is also familiar with the I-TYPE 7 electric car, which she has driven in several previous tests as well as in rookie sessions.

      That same team invited 19-year-old Japanese driver Yuu Noda to Valencia — the first woman to earn the right to compete in Super Formula. Nissan’s car is being driven today by Abbie Pulling, the reigning F1 Academy champion who set the fastest time in last year’s women’s tests, and since she has considerable experience driving a Formula E electric car, it’s expected she won’t be last this time either.

      Tatiana Calderón is working with the new Citroën Racing team, formed on the basis of Maserati; she has experience in F3, F2 and in Formula 1, where she was a test driver for Alfa Romeo/Sauber. The Colombian driver, now 32, has also raced in Super Formula, IndyCar and endurance racing. In 2025 Calderón, alongside her teammates at Gradient Racing, will race an Acura NSX GT3 in the American IMSA series.

      Finally, Nerea Martí is driving Andretti’s electric car in the tests; in 2021 she was a teammate of Irina Sidorkova in the W Series Academy. The Spanish driver spent the previous two seasons in the women’s F1 Academy series, where she raced for Campos Racing and repeatedly stood on the podium.