The Andretti Autosport team has, to date, signed only one driver – Franck Montagny. Today’s announcement sees him joined by two more racing legends, Scott Speed and Formula E Ambassador Gil de Feran.
The two will share a car during the tests at Donington Park, giving the Formula E Ambassador an insight into the cars abilities and performance.
Scott Speed is not officially trying for a more permanent position in the team, but is instead acting as a fill-in while Andretti formalise proceedings with other drivers in order to sign them to the second seat alongside Montagny.
Speed admits he has not driven a formula racer in many years, commenting:
“I’m excited to get into a single-seater again,” said Speed. “I expect it to be a very steep learning curve seeing as I haven’t driven anything with downforce in seven years. The Andretti organisation has been an amazing company to drive for, and I’m happy to grow my role as one of its drivers while helping out with the Formula E test.”
Meanwhile, Gil de Feran felt equally out of his depth, stating that he hasn’t driven anything “feverishly” in more than five years. The Brazilian racer does have a good two decades worth of experience so we’re sure that it will be like riding a bike for him.
Team Principle Michael Andretti said:
“I’m delighted to see both Scott and Gil in our cars for the upcoming test. Scott is one of our contracted drivers with great open-wheel experience, so we’re happy to have him fill the seat while we evaluate options for our second full-time Formula E driver. Gil has been a long-time friend of the team and we look forward to hearing his feedback about the cars.”
Source; FIA Formula E
