For DS-Penske, this week’s three days of Formula E testing in Valencia will be about confirming the work done during the summer break
The electric race cars of the Formula E World Championship will meet at Circuit Ricardo Tormo near Valencia, Spain, this week (October 24-27) for the traditional pre-season test. French-American team DS-Penske is fielding its two DS E-TENSE FE23s in a new gold/black livery.
Jumping into the deep end: For three days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday), the eleven participating teams will be able to watch each other and get an idea of the work each of them has done over the summer break. A lot has changed in the driver market, but DS-Penske is one of the teams that has maintained its lineup. And what a lineup it is!
On one side, Jean-Eric Vergne, a veteran in Formula E and the only driver to have won the championship twice in nine seasons held so far (2018 and 2019), and on the other, Stoffel Vandoorne, world champion in 2022 (with Mercedes) before joining DS Automobiles.
This year’s test days in Valencia will also be an opportunity for DS-Penske to put the team’s new reserve driver, Robert Schwarzman, through his paces. The 24-year-old Russian-Israeli driver, formerly a test driver for Scuderia Ferrari in Formula 1, will now be back behind the wheel of the DS E-TENSE FE 23 after finishing fifth at the rookie test in Berlin-Tempelhof in April.
“I am very excited about the opportunity to drive for DS-Penske again,” said Schwarzman. “I like the team, where everyone is friendly and approachable. My first contact with Formula E was very special in Berlin. I felt comfortable all day long. I’m very curious and can’t wait to get behind the wheel again here in Valencia. “
Performance needs to be confirmed
Since the end of Season 9 in July, all Formula E teams have worked tirelessly to improve the Gen3 cars, the electric formula cars introduced at the start of Season 9. The performance gap to be found is primarily in electronics and software. These areas have been the subject of various tests at the teams’ factories over the past few months.
These have been moments of intense work that have resulted in a number of changes. We will know more about their effectiveness at the end of this week. “At the moment, I don’t know exactly what all the changes we’ve made will bring,” says Jean-Eric Vergne. “The big unknown is also the performance that the other teams have achieved in recent months and how we will compare to them.”
The three-day test at the Valencia circuit will provide an initial answer. It will not, however, provide a clear balance of power for Season 10, which begins in January, as the permanent track is not comparable to the numerous street circuits on the calendar.
What is certain is that Formula E season 10 – the ninth for DS Automobiles – will be a fiercely competitive and challenging one, with third-generation electric formula cars in top form.
