Jamie Chadwick and Tatiana Calderon returned for another taste of the all-electric series for the Jeddah Formula E Rookie Practice - with both gaining valuable experience ahead of future opportunities in the series.
Following on from their strong showings at the all-women test before Formula E’s 11th season started, Jamie Chadwick and Tatiana Calderon returned for another taste of the all-electric series.
Chadwick, most well known for her trio of W Series championship titles, has a long history with Formula E having first tested for Nio333 at the 2018 Diriyah test. She switched to Jaguar Racing for the Marrakesh rookie test the following year and it is with Jaguar that she went on to take part in the all-women test and the Jeddah rookie practice.
The British driver was one of the first out of the pits when the session went green, sharing the tarmac with the likes of Formula 1 podium sitter Daniil Kvyat (DS Penske) and DTM champion Thomas Preining (Tag Heuer Porsche). This makes her one of the first to take to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in a Formula E car, with the series making its first trip to the circuit this season following the departure of the much loved Riyadh Street Circuit.
To keep with the trend of firsts, Chadwick was then the first to take attack mode and made use of her 50kW of extra power by jumping to the top of the timing sheets with a rapid lap.
While Chadwick returned to the pits for her first taste of Pit Boost - Formula E’s new 30-second recharge - it was Tatiana Calderon’s time to head out in her Lola-Yamaha Abt and get some laps under her belt.
Like Chadwick, Calderon also had her first Formula E experience at the 2018 Diriyah test and worked with DS Techeetah for the following season. Her appearance at the 2024 all-women test was with another Stellantis brand, Maserati MSG Racing, but has since switched again to Lola-Yamaha Abt.
As the sun began to set over the seaside circuit, the lap times improved with Maserati MSG Racing’s Theo Pourchaire taking the top spot off Chadwick by over a second, meanwhile Calderon improved her lap time into the 1:21s before returning to the pits for more Pit Boost.
In the final quarter of the session, most drivers were in the pits for tweaks, advice from the full time drivers, and more Pit Boost practice - something that benefits the teams too as Friday’s Jeddah E-Prix will be the first Formula E event to feature the long awaited strategy option. Mikkel Jensen (Cupra Kiro) and Gabriele Mini (Nissan) then sped up enough to knock Chadwick out of the top 3, where she’d sat for most of the session, as the track once again filled up with the rookies ready to make the most of their 40 minute session.
Although most of the session had run smoothly with no incidents, the flurry of activity on track at the end of it left the Envision Racing car of Zak O’Sullivan missing a front wing following his contact with Jamie Chadwick. O’Sullivan was on a fast lap while Chadwick was giving him room by staying on the outside of the corner, O’Sullivan reached the corner just as Chadwick was turning in leading to an unfortunate collision between the pair.
Calderon improved her time once more, ending the session in 10th with a 1:20.913, while Chadwick was just one position ahead of her with a 1:19.804. Formula 2 driver Kush Maini topped the session with a 1:17.184.
Although the rookie practice is only a 40 minute session, it is still a great opportunity for these drivers to get more Formula E experience and build relationships with their teams.
This won't be the last Formula E fans will see of Jamie Chadwick this season as she’s already set to join Jaguar Racing for the Berlin Rookie Test in July, and it is hoped that she won't be the only female driver taking part in that event after the success of the all-women test in November.
Calderon and Chadwick won't be the only women in action in Jeddah this weekend, as F1 Academy champion Abbi Pulling will be demonstrating the Gen3Evo for fans ahead of qualifying on Saturday.
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