Sophia Flörsch and Abbi Pulling will test for Nissan at the all-women Rookie Test in Valencia next month.
The pair will join the likes of the already confirmed Chloe Chambers (Andretti), Marta Garcia (Porsche), Ella Lloyd (NEOM McLaren) and Alice Powell (Envision) at the session which will be the first time a full all-female test has been run in an FIA World Championship.
Both drivers are part of the Alpine Academy initiative and take part in different single-seater programmes in 2024. Pulling is currently leading the F1 Academy series after taking seven victories, while Flörsch is competing in the FIA Formula 3 with Van Amersfoort.
Flörsch and Pulling will be fully integrated into the team’s testing program, with the duo already working alongside the crew in its new Paris workshop, along with gaining experience in the team’s simulator.
Pulling said that she had been “wanting to drive a Formula E car for a long time, so to be given the chance to test the Nissan e-4ORCE 05 is a dream! I’m very excited to take on the challenge of learning the car with the guidance of the Nissan crew.
“There is a lot to learn and much more to manage so we will take it step by step. It’s a completely different environment to what I’m used to, but the focus is on doing what the team ask of me and to enjoy a productive test together.”
Flörsch, who has previously been largely against all-female competition said that she was “very excited to have the chance to drive the most modern Formula E car.
“It’s going to be very different to my previous motorsport experiences, but I’m always curious to try new things,” she added.
“I’m highly motivated to get the most out of the test and do my all to help the team as they prepare for Season 11. I’ll be spending time in the simulator to be as ready as possible for Valencia and allow me to extract all I can.”
Tommaso Volpe, managing director and team principal, Nissan Formula E Team added that ‘”the number of women racing drivers has been increasing in recent years, and we’re proud to be contributing to the acceleration of this process.
“It’s a fantastic chance for Sophia and Abbi to learn and to help the team iron out any difficulties we encounter during the week. We’re very pleased to have two of the highest-profile women drivers.”
Jaguar TCS Racing, DS Penske, Mahindra and Lola ABT Yamaha are still to announce its drivers, although FEN understands that F1 Academy racer Jess Edgar will be part of the DS Penske line-up in Valencia.
Entry List for Female Formula E Test
Porsche – Marta Garcia/ Gabriela Jílková
Jaguar – TBA/TBA
DS Penske – Jessica Edgar/TBA
Andretti – Chloe Chambers/Nerea Marti
Envision – Alice Powell/Alisha Palmowski
Nissan – Abbi Pulling/Sophia Flörsch
McLaren – Ella Lloyd/Bianca Bustamante
Maserati – Tatiana Calderon/Carrie Schreiner
Mahindra – TBA/TBA
ABT Lola –TBA/TBA
KIRO – TBA/TBA
