Experience meets youth: current Formula 2 driver and Sauber replacement Zane Maloney will line up alongside Lucas di Grassi for Abt-Lola in the 2024/25 Formula E season
Abt-Lola has announced who will be taking the wheel alongside veteran Lucas di Grassi in the 2024/25 Formula E season: current Formula 2 driver and Sauber reserve driver Zane Maloney will make his Formula E debut at the opening round of the fully electric racing series in Sao Paulo (December 7).
“We are really looking forward to having Zane in our team. He has already brought a breath of fresh air to our team during our first few days together,” says Abt Managing Director Thomas Biermaier. “Giving young talent a chance and promoting them has been a good tradition at Abt for many decades.”
“That’s why it was clear to us that we would also follow this path in Formula E,” says Biermeier, explaining the decision in favor of Maloneys. The Barbados-born racing driver is considered a promising talent and can already look back on numerous successes in single-seater racing.
In the 2019 season, the 20-year-old won the British Formula 4 Championship as a rookie before moving up through various single-seater series to Formula 3. There he finished runner-up in 2022, which also earned him the FIA Rookie of the Year title.
From Formula 1 replacement to Formula E rookie
In the same year, Maloney made his debut in Formula 2, where he currently ranks third overall. But although the Barbadian is already a replacement driver for the Sauber Formula 1 team, he apparently sees no chance of promotion to the premier class at the moment. That’s why his path will now lead him to Formula E for the time being.
“I’m very happy to be part of the Lola Yamaha Abt team now and look forward to this exciting challenge,” says Maloney, who was already a reserve and development driver with the Andretti team and has therefore completed a few test drives in Formula E.
“Although I already know the series very well, this is a completely new chapter for me – working with such an experienced team and with such a successful driver is the perfect next step,“ says Maloney.
”I have followed and admired Lucas’ battles in recent years and also his title win. I will learn a lot from him – and then together we will push each other and the development of the car forward.”
Maloney “confident of having the speed”
In Lucas di Grassi, the 20-year-old has an experienced teammate, as the Brazilian is the driver with the most race starts in the history of the championship. He is entering his ninth season with the German Abt team, which will be cooperating with Lola and Yamaha in the future.
Maloney was already present at the test drives in Varano, Italy, and will be sitting in his new car again this week in Spain. “We won’t know how good our package is until Sao Paulo,” the Briton remains cautious.
“I’m confident that I have the speed to be competitive, but experience is the key in Formula E, so I’ll be doing everything I can to catch up as quickly as possible here.”
After the traditional pre-season test in Valencia (November 4th-7th), the season will start soon: the first of 17 races in the 2024/25 Formula E season will take place in Sao Paulo (Brazil) on December 7th.