Formula 2 race winner Zane Maloney will make his Formula E debut later this yr, joining the Abt Formula E team ahead of the upcoming 2024/25 season.
The 20-year-old's first appearance in the electrical vehicle championship will happen on December 7 on the Sao Paulo E-Prix, before starting pre-season testing in Valencia on November 4-7.
Maloney, who also became Sauber's Formula One reserve driver this yr and will probably be the primary Barbadian driver to race in Formula E, was previously Andretti's test and reserve driver for the past two seasons.
During this time, Maloney took part in several beginner test sessions, including in Berlin, Rome and Misano, and had already tried out the brand new Gen3 Evo machine, in addition to the primary drivetrain created by the brand new Lola and Yamaha collaboration.
“I'm really looking forward to this challenge. It's an amazing opportunity to affix Abt, Lola and Yamaha on this latest journey for them,” Maloney told Motorsport.com.
“It's an enormous step in my profession to be employed by such a tremendous group of individuals.
“I don't have any expectations of where we will be now, there is no pressure and we just try to improve every day.”
Maloney currently sits third within the F2 standings, having won each the sprint and have races at Rodin Motorsport's opening event in Bahrain, but will now miss the ultimate two rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi attributable to his latest Formula E commitments.
Zane Maloney, Abt Lola Formula E
Photo: Abt/Lola
He replaces Nico Muller at Abt after the Swiss driver joined Andretti and Maloney partnered with Formula E stalwart Lucas di Grassi.
“We can't wait to have Zane as part of the team in Season 11, and he has already brought a breath of fresh air to our first days working together,” added Abt CEO Thomas Biermaier.
“Giving opportunities to young talents and supporting them has been a strong tradition at ABT for many decades and that is why it was clear to us that we would also follow this path in Formula E.”
This season will probably be the primary latest partnership between Abt, Lola and Yamaha, and di Grassi is “very positively surprised” by the team's progress to this point.
Maloney admits that the chance to affix prestigious brands in the beginning of the journey was an incentive to affix the project.
“I see it as an opportunity, it's obviously exciting,” he said.
“If I used to be 35, I might probably give it some thought a little bit otherwise, but I'm young and able to tackle the challenge of developing a team with amazing engineers and Lucas, who’s way more experienced, to learn from him too.
“I can't wait, we don't know where we will probably be [in the pecking order] but I’m optimistic and I do know that everybody within the team could be very motivated to get to the front of the pack.
Maloney has tested for Andretti before
Photo: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
“I don't know how quickly it will happen, but I know they are doing the best job they can to prepare themselves and me for this season.”
Wednesday's announcement means Maloney is currently the one driver on the grid who has not began in Formula E.
ERT is the one team that has not yet confirmed its driver lineup, last season was led by Dan Ticktum and Sergio Sette Camara.
Formula E 2024-25 driver lineup
Abt: Lucas diGrassi, Zane Maloney
Andretti: Jake Dennis and Nico Muller
DS Penske: Maksymilian Guenther, Jean-Eric Vergne
Imagine: Sebastian Buemi. Robin Frijns
ERT: To be determined
Jaguar: Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans
Mahindra: Edoardo Mortara, Nyck de Vries
Maserati MSG: Jake Hughes, Stoffel Vandoorne
McLaren: Sam Bird and Taylor Barnard
Nissan: Norman NATO, Oliver Rowland
Porsche: Antonio Felix da Costa and Pascal Wehrlein
