With a potential 2025 Audi F1 seat on the table, Zane Maloney has taken himself out of the running as he heads to Formula E.
Zane Maloney will make his Formula E debut for the 2024/25 season with the Lola Yamaha ABT team.В?Maloney was made a member of the Sauber junior driver program this year, taking up the role of reserve driver for Stake F1 team.
Maloney turned heads in the 2024 Formula 2 season. Racing with Rodin Carlin, Maloney led the opening races of the championship. With wins in both the sprint and feature race in Bahrain. Even with some bad luck and the occasional retirement he still sits in third in the championship.
A potential move to Formula E for Maloney has been on the cards for a while. In the 2022/23 season, Maloney took up the role of test driver for Andretti. He moved to become their reserve driver in 2023/24. For the Berlin, Rome and Misano Rookie Tests that Formula E holds each season he was one of Andretti’s picks.
Being a part of the Sauber Junior driver program meant there were rumours around the likes of Zane Maloney along with Théo Pourchaire being in contention for the Stake F1 seat for 2025. However, the team has faced a personnel reshuffle with Mattia Binotto coming in. With Binotto’s entry, Pourchaire and Maloney have faded from conversation replaced by drivers like Gabriel Bortoleto and Franco Colapinto. Subsequently, Maloney began to look elsewhere.
Lola Yamaha ABT
The driver from Barbados replaces Nico Müller at ABT with Müller taking the seat at Andretti. The team previously known as ABT CUPRA faces a change for the 24/25 season, joining Lola Cars and Yamaha Motors as their technical collaborator for powertrain and software development. With the new GEN3 EVO cars for the 11th season, the team present an exciting opportunity for Maloney.
Maloney’s teammate for his rookie season is Lucas Di Grassi who has been affectionately nicknamed “Mr Formula E”. A nickname he acquired through having the most race starts in the history of the championship. The perfect experienced partner for Maloney.
Maloney told Formula E:
“I am delighted to be part of the Lola Yamaha ABT team and looking forward to this exciting challenge. Although I already know the championship well, this is a completely new chapter for me, so working with such an experienced team, and alongside such a successful driver, is the perfect next step. I’ve followed and admired Lucas’s battles over the past seasons, including when he became champion. I’m sure that I will learn a lot from him and together we will push both ourselves and the development of the car forward.”
Equally, Till Bechtolsheimer, the Chairman of Lola Cars Ltd. shared his excitement over the signing of the talented rookie.
He said, “Zane is a hugely talented young driver with an abundance of speed and potential and, alongside Lucas, we have an ideal combination of youth and experience. Zane has demonstrated his abilities in a variety of junior categories and proven himself as a race winner, and we’re looking forward to seeing him get behind the wheel in testing, and then at round one in São Paulo.”
Finally, the CEO of ABT, Thomas Biermaier said Maloney was “a breath of fresh air during our first days working together.” Biermaier recognised the importance of bringing new talent into the sport. With just ERT yet to confirm their line-up Maloney will currently be the only rookie on the 2024/25 grid.
Biermaeir referenced this, saying, “Giving young talent a chance and supporting them has been a strong tradition at ABT for many decades and that’s why it was clear to us that we would also follow this path in Formula E.”
The season begins for Maloney in Valencia for preseason testing on the 4th-7th of November. His maiden race will be the Sao Paulo E-Prix on December 7th.
Featured Image Credit: Tim Clarke, Stake F1 Team