The signing of Joel Eriksson on a multi-year deal by Envision raised some eyebrows among Formula E fans ahead of the season, but it is one team principal Sylvain Filippi can already feel very pleased with.
Prior to the current season, Eriksson's actual racing experience in Formula E was minimal. His competitive debut came in 2021, when he entered the final eight races of Season 7 in Gen2 machinery for Dragon Penske Autosport.
Eriksson returned to sports cars at the end of Season 7 before being snapped up by Jaguar as its reserve driver in 2022. As a result, he was an easy stand-in for Envision, Jaguar's customer team, at the 2024 Berlin E-Prix, where he replaced WEC-tied Sebastien Buemi.
However, that was not Eriksson's first taste of the Silverstone-based team, having tested its car when it was known as Virgin Racing in 2018.
Both his first test and his Berlin outing played a key role in him replacing Robin Frijns for Season 12. Being signed to a multi-year deal with only 10 starts to his name—just two in the Gen3 era—did result in questions being raised by fans, questions Eriksson is not overly bothered by.
His immediate impact this season has highlighted the strength of his signing by Envision, with him already having scored solid points in São Paulo and Miami.
Qualifying remains his biggest difficulty, but for a driver who spent several years on the Formula E sidelines supporting Jaguar, he has showcased his pace and potential in rapid fashion.
Asked for his views on those who believed he did not deserve the seat, Eriksson explained to RacingNews365: "I don't think about it, to be honest.
"I'm very much the kind of guy who doesn't care what people think or what they expect, because I was given this opportunity and, at the end of the day, I'm trying to make the most of it. If it works, it works, and that's fine. If it doesn't work, I will keep moving on.
"What people expected, and whether they thought I deserved it or not, I don't know, to be honest. I mean, now that you ask it, yeah, I can start thinking about it and we can discuss it a bit. But at the end of the day, I don't really care, to be honest.
"I think the goal for myself and the team was to score points. That was a reasonable and realistic goal at the beginning of the season, and we have managed to do that in two of the races, so that's really good.
"And yeah, if it's overall under people's expectations, it's hard to say. I don't know."
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