Mercedes F1 junior driver Frederik Vesti will join Mahindra for the upcoming Formula E rookie test in Berlin. The 2023 Formula 2 runner-up will join the team’s reserve driver Kush Maini at the test which will take place on May 13, after the Berlin …
Mercedes F1 junior driver Frederik Vesti will join Mahindra for the upcoming Formula E rookie test in Berlin.
The 2023 Formula 2 runner-up will join the team’s reserve driver Kush Maini at the test which will take place on May 13, after the Berlin E-Prix doubleheader at Tempelhof Airport.
“First of all, I’d like to say a big thank you to Fred (Bertrand, Mahindra team principal) for giving me this opportunity. It’s a great chance to test, and to prove myself as a rookie in a new championship,” said Vesti. “It’s an amazing opportunity to learn, which is only going to help me grow as a driver. It’s what motivates me, I’m really looking forward to trying the GEN3 Formula E car, which I understand is quite a challenge.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1394]
“That’s probably what I like most about Formula E, it is challenging and the fact it’s a competitive World Championship that attracts some of the best drivers – and teams – is a great platform for me.
“I’ve finished up my preparations together with the team, so now I’m counting down the days until Berlin!”
Vesti, who won the hotly-contested Formula Regional European Championship in 2019 and is set to compete in the European Le Mans series this season in the LMP2 class with Cool Racing, has already been to Mahindra Racing’s headquarters in Banbury in the UK to prepare for the test.
“We’re delighted to welcome Frederik to the team for the Berlin Rookie Test,” said Bertrand. “This event is important for the team, in order to continue our testing programme and development work, but there is an equal focus on giving new talent the opportunity to experience the world of Formula E.
“He’s young, enthusiastic, and very quick – all the right traits for us to give him a chance in the car. His record in the junior categories speaks for itself.
“I’m confident that, with a driver of Frederik’s abilities and experience, and together with Kush, we will be able to have a productive test and keep the team moving forward from there.”
It’s been a minute since Nyck de Vries was last in Formula E. In 2021 he was celebrating a world championship victory, two short years later he was racing in Formula 1 – a foray that history shows was all too brief. Now he’s back in the all-electric …
It’s been a minute since Nyck de Vries was last in Formula E. In 2021 he was celebrating a world championship victory, two short years later he was racing in Formula 1 – a foray that history shows was all too brief.
Now he’s back in the all-electric series, looking to rebound after his exit from AlphaTauri, and use his experience as a champion to help Mahindra move forwards.
“It’s always nice to come back to familiar surroundings, it feels like coming home,” de Vries tells RACER of his Formula E return. “I generally feel like I’ve received a warm welcome from the FE community. I have good memories from Formula E. So, yeah, I’m very, very happy and excited to be back.”
But when he says “back”, the series is massively different to the one he left at the end of the 2021-22 season.
“I mean, it has definitely evolved,” he says. “And it’s different to when I last raced in GEN2.
“But I will say that the main principles are still the same. I think I will have to get used to the GEN3 racing. I probably need a bit more time to get on top of that. Apart from that, what you see is still a lot of familiar faces, and I would say the core of Formula E still remains the same.”
The current car has both front and rear drivetrains, the front handling regeneration, as well as an overall climb in power, but while de Vries is a year behind most of the rest of the field when it comes to the GEN3 car, he isn’t fazed by that.
“It’s a matter of expectations. No. I don’t see it as a handicap,” he insists. “I think I personally never really approach things like that. It is the way it is, and we take it as it comes.
“I feel we are still in a good position. I feel like as a team, we’ve made progress this winter. But it’s the second season so everyone will naturally clutter. I just accept that I will probably need a little bit of time to get up to speed, which is normal.”
Of course, during his Formula E absence, de Vries was racing in F1. It was a stay that perhaps didn’t live up to expectations after a stellar cameo appearance for Williams in 2022. And while he won’t be drawn too much on his spell with AlphaTauri, de Vries – who also had spells as a tester for McLaren and Mercedes – is willing to hint that his time in F1 was somewhat beneficial.
2020-21 champion de Vries is now tasked with helping Mahindra move back up the grid. Dom Romney/Motorsport Images
“It’s a little bit cliche to say, but we learn every day,” he says. “We live, we learn and we learn from our experiences. And that counts the same for me. I’ve also gone off and do some different things in the second half of the year, which I enjoyed.
“So as an individual, I’m constantly outside learning and developing, hopefully, and not standing still. So of course, all the experiences I’ve gone through will make me who I am today.”
Part of de Vries’ continued development will involve helping Mahindra move forward, too. The Indian brand has had a tricky start to life in Formula E’s third generation, having the lowest podium count of all the manufacturers represented by two teams.
A 15th place finish in the season-opener in Mexico City last weekend might be something of a disappointing result on paper for a world champion, but de Vries is optimistic about his and Mahindra’s future prospects.
“The team has gone through some changes, and especially recently, the management has changed a little, although the foundation was already great,” he says. “But it is going through a kind of transition phase and it’s great to be part of that.
“The hardware is obviously still the same as last year, which on paper, if you purely look at that result, it’s not necessarily the best on the grid, but it doesn’t mean we can’t do better.
“(We’re looking to) build on what we currently have, creating a solid operational team that is ready for the fight to fight in front and extract the maximum out of the package we have now while we’re improving our processes and growing as a team.”
It might seem like an uphill task, but de Vries doesn’t look at it the same way. He knows it’ll be a challenge, but it’s one he appears to be relishing.
“People say what they want to say,” he insists. “I think winning in all racing is difficult, winning in every sport is difficult. So I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s harder here than anywhere else.”
Nyck de Vries will return to Formula E next season after signing a multi-year deal with Mahindra Racing, where he will team with Edoardo Mortara (pictured at left, above, with de Vries). The Dutchman won the all-electric single seater championship …
Nyck de Vries will return to Formula E next season after signing a multi-year deal with Mahindra Racing, where he will team with Edoardo Mortara (pictured at left, above, with de Vries).
The Dutchman won the all-electric single seater championship with Mercedes in 2020-21 and earned a Formula 1 opportunity off the back of that success as a reserve driver for Mercedes and its customer teams Aston Martin, McLaren, and Williams. With the latter, he made his F1 debut, filling in for Alex Albon at last year’s Italian Grand Prix where he finished ninth.
The points-scoring debut was enough to earn him a full-time seat with AlphaTauri this year, but after failing to add to his haul in the first 10 races of the season, he was dropped in favor of Daniel Ricciardo. He now heads to a Mahindra team that’s going through a rebuild after team principal Dilbagh Gil was shown the door last season, and the recent exit of Formula E veteran Lucas d Grassi, whose departure was announced earlier this week after a single season with the team.
“It’s really exciting to be joining such a major automotive manufacturer as Mahindra, and to represent them in Formula E,” said de Vries. “I’m particularly excited about the future plans for the team. The basis is already strong, and the team has all the attributes to succeed. I believe going forwards we will be able to extract even more potential from the project and the organization, so to be a part of that process was very appealing for me.
De Vries joins a Mahindra team in dire need of a reset after last season. Alastair Staley/Motorsport Images
Despite a seemingly positive start to the Gen3 era, with di Grassi taking pole and third in Mexico City, the team struggled for much of last season, and was even forced to withdraw from the fifth round in Cape Town after concerns were raised over the safety of its rear suspension setup. Points were hard to come by throughout the year, and Oliver Rowland — who scored in Hyderabad and Berlin — was replaced by former F1 driver Roberto Merhi with seven races to spare, while di Grassi saw out the season before his own departure.
“I think it’s no secret that the team has had a bit of a rough start to Gen3, although there were positive signs of improvement during the second half of last season,” said de Vries. “I believe the team can continue to build on those learnings and with the additional changes and plans in place for the future, we can make even greater steps forward in performance at the start of our new journey together.
“Coming back to Formula E will feel like coming home. I’ve been part of the Formula E family for three seasons — I know everybody very well. I’m looking forward to being back in a familiar environment, and to be back somewhere where ultimately, I’ve always enjoyed my racing.”
Mortara, who was de Vries’ rival for the 2020-21 title, joins the Dutchman on the team after recently making a surprise exit from the Maserati Formula E squad. Mortara also has signed a multi-year agreement with the Indian manufacturer.
“I’m extremely excited to be joining Mahindra Racing. It’s a team that I’ve been looking at for several years now, they have been in Formula E since the beginning of the championship, so there’s a lot of experience there,” said Mortara, a six-time race winner in Formula E. “What I could also feel from the people here is that we share the same values. We have a great project in front of us, but I can see a lot of determination and motivation from everyone in the team, and this is so important.”
“Mahindra is also such a big automotive manufacturer, with a worldwide reputation. I’m extremely proud to join and be a representative of this prestigious group. I can’t wait to get started, and I’m sure that, if we put in the necessary amount of work, we will be able to be successful in this very competitive championship in the future.”
Mahindra Racing CEO Frederic Bertrand, who replaced Gil last season, stressed the long-term nature of the team’s rebuild, as it looks to once again become a title challenger.
“I am delighted to welcome Edo and Nyck to the Mahindra Racing family. As a team, we are all embarking on a journey to bring Mahindra Racing back to the front of the grid in the coming years,” he said. “With their speed and experience, Nyck and Edo will play a key role in driving the team towards that goal, and I know everybody is feeling very motivated to work with them. Equally important for the team are the drivers’ appetites for a long-term project, which makes them the perfect fit for Mahindra Racing at the beginning of this journey.”
“We anticipate next year will be another year of development and progress, and in a championship like Formula E, success is impossible to achieve overnight. But the signing of Nyck and Edo, along with new recruits within the wider team, puts down a solid foundation on which we can build.”
