Abt out, Rast in, Ma out, Abt in
When the Formula E season resumes with a six-race schedule – held over nine days from 5-13 August at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin – there will be two high-profile absentees from the grid.
Although Ma Qinghua sits last in the standings, the NIO 333 team remains steadfast in its commitment to always field a Chinese driver. But coronavirus-enforced travel restrictions and a second outbreak in the capital of Beijing mean he and his Shanghai-based race team colleagues will miss the three double-header events.
This has paved the way for recently sacked Audi driver Daniel Abt to maintain his record of starting every one of the 63 races in FE history, as he will deputise for Ma at the track where he claimed his most recent E-prix victory.
The two-time race winner was effectively sacked by Audi after he had a sim racer take his place in the FE Race at Home Challenge Esports competition, with double DTM champion Rene Rast now promoted to fill the vacancy.
Former Sauber and Manor Formula 1 driver Pascal Wehrlein is also set to miss the final races after he announced his immediate departure from the Mahindra team via a brief social media post.
In due course, Wehrlein is expected to sign for Porsche to replace Neel Jani alongside Andre Lotterer for the 2020-21 season. That’s given a surprise berth for former DS Virgin and Jaguar racer
Alex Lynn to make his series return.
Aston Martin factory World Endurance racer Lynn said: “I’ve raced twice in Berlin before and always felt that I went well there, including appearing in superpole last season. The format of Berlin is going to be exciting and challenging at the same time and I’m looking forward to hitting the ground running.”