Barbados’ Zane Maloney has signed for Lola Yamaha ABT for its first ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. He will be teammate to ‘Mr Formula E,’ Brazilian Lucas di Grassi, in what the team describes as one of the grid’s most exciting driver pairings.
Less than a week away from his 21st birthday, The Boy From Barbados is the first rookie to be confirmed for Season 11. Maloney already has experience in the category as Andretti Formula E’s official reserve and development driver.
The championship features 17 rounds at 11 locations, starting at São Paulo in Brazil on December 9 and concluding with a London doubleheader in July 2025. Four days of pre-season testing in Valencia, Spain (November 4-7) will be the first time all the teams gather on track with their new GEN3 Evo machinery.
“I am delighted to be part of the Lola Yamaha ABT team and looking forward to this exciting challenge,” said Maloney. “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.”
Maloney has already tested with the team in Varano, Italy, and is back in the new car in Spain this week. “We won’t know how good our package is until São Paulo. I am confident that I have the raw speed to be competitive, but experience is key in Formula E, so I will do everything I can to catch up here as quickly as possible,” he said.
There are few more experienced Formula E drivers than Season 3 (2016-17) Champion di Grassi, an 11-time race-winner who has finished either second or third at year-end four times. He finished in the top three of the GP2 Series in 2007-’09 before a season in F1 with Virgin Racing; he is also a three-time podium finisher in the Le Mans 24 Hours.
“We are very much looking forward to having Zane as part of the team for Season 11, and he has already brought a breath of fresh air during our first days working together,” said ABT CEO, Thomas Biermaier. “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.”
Maloney’s rise through the junior ranks of motorsport has been hugely impressive, having started his karting career on the 0.9km Bushy Park circuit in his native Barbados where he competed against and beat juniors almost twice his age. Honing his speed and astute race craft, he took the bold step to compete in European karting, where he faced grids almost ten times the size of those he was used to.
Success in these categories led to Maloney competing in numerous junior formulas, including claiming the British F4 Championship, as well as securing race wins in the Formula Regional European Championship and Formula 3. (PR)
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