Ferrari F1 driver fastest in red-flagged Formula E rookie test

Ferrari F1 reserve driver Robert Shwartzman was the driver to beat in Formula E's official rookie test, held at Tempelhof Airport Circuit in Berlin. 

Driving for DS Penske, Shwartzman topped both the morning and the afternoon session, with his quickest time if a 1:01.937, just two-tenths shy of the fastest time from the Berlin E-Prix double-header.

Two red flags were flown during the six hours of running, with the morning stoppage having been caused by Dries Vanthoor and the afternoon one by Aston Martin F1 reserve Felipe Drugovich.

Morning session

Shwartzman was on it immedietly and found himself setting respectable 1:02s in the opening 10 minutes of running, with his leading time in the session having been a 1:02.150. 

The Israeli-Russian driver was just 0.071s clear of Drugovich for Maserati and a further six-thousandths of a second clear of Mercedes F1 reserve Frederik Vesti. 

2022 DTM champion Sheldon van der Linde was fourth fastest with Gabriele Mini completing the top five. 

A red flag was required after Vanthoor crashed at Turn 4, an incident which ended his running for the remainder of the day. The accident occurred a couple of hours into the session.

Afternoon session

It was Shwartzman on top again in the afternoon after sensationally dipping into the 1:01s, something very few drivers achieved in last weekend's double-header. 

Drugovich was to blame for the second red flag of the day after stopping on circuit; however, he was able to rejoin the session following repairs. The Brazilian ended the second session in fourth.

F2's Jak Crawford representing Andretti claimed second spot, with Van der Linde once again in third. 

Another F2 driver Kush Maini completed the top five for Mahindra. F2 championship leader Zane Maloney was eighth.