Chambers and Pulling get up to speed in Formula E Rookie Free Practice in Miami

Chloe Chambers and Abbi Pulling tackled the ABB Formula E World Championship’s Rookie Free Practice session on Friday, with both drivers relishing the opportunity to get behind the wheel of the all-electric cars.

The 40-minute session at the Miami International Autodrome saw both Chambers and Pulling gather crucial data for their teams, Mahindra and Nissan respectively, before their full-time drivers hit track for FP1.

Clocking in a 56.857 as part of her Qualifying lap simulations, Chambers reflected positively on the session and how the experience has helped her broaden her skillset as a driver.

“For us, the session was just about getting through their typical FP1 run plan,” she explained. “It's a new track for the team, so I think it was more so about the feedback that I gave back to the team. I did kind of a little bit of everything.

“I did a couple of 350kW laps, then some coast laps and then 300kW laps. So I was able to get a feeling for everything, plus a practice start at the end. I was able to hopefully give back some valuable feedback to the team and hopefully we'll be back in the Formula E car again sometime in the future.”

Chambers added: “For a young driver, getting to drive any type of car is going to be valuable. Any seat time that you can get is definitely going to aid in your development as a driver, but also especially in the Formula E cars, which require a very unique type of driving style compared to most other open wheel or GT cars. It's definitely important to get experience in a different type of car and get used to that style of driving as well.”

As Nissan’s Rookie and Simulator Driver, Pulling is already well acquainted with the GEN3 Evo cars, with three previous appearances across both the 2024 and 2025 Women’s Test and last year’s Berlin Rookie Test. Additionally, she knew what it takes to perform around the Miami circuit, albeit with an altered layout, having scored two wins there on her way to becoming the 2024 F1 ACADEMY Champion.

Looking back on the Practice running, the Briton believes that her time of a 57.230 wasn’t indicative of her real pace and her potential was showcased by the strong manner she started the session in.

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“It was a really great start to the session. I felt right at home. Obviously back with Nissan, we did a lot of prep beforehand and out of the box it was I think really comparable. 300kW is what we ran for the majority of the session, so it’s the lower power mode.

“In that (I was) comparable to my teammates and the other rookie drivers who have some great names. Obviously Gabriele (Minì), Théo Pourchaire — he’s an F2 Champion — Dennis Hauger, he won in F3. Huge names, so it’s nice to be brushing shoulders with them.

“I think the deficit was four or five tenths in 300kW. Then I did some race running and worked on my technique and that for the team, that was the most important part of the session. I had a mistake on my end, I damaged the tyres a bit and then got traffic. So the one or two laps we do get to qualify, I never actually got to do it, so it was a bit unfortunate."

Pulling continued: “On the timesheets, it looks less pretty, but you know what, it’s part of racing and it happens. At the end of the day, everyone that it matters to can see everything and all the positives from that session. It was a lot learnt, a great experience being back here in Miami after being with F1 ACADEMY and having such a great weekend.”

Compared to the single-seaters Pulling currently drives in the GB3 Championship, the Formula E cars require a distinct approach with multiple power modes and the need for lifting and coasting to recharge their batteries. Despite the differences, the 22-year-old stressed the value that these high-pressure opportunities have in a young driver’s development.

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“It’s really different,” she explained. “Thankfully the team, they’ve got a really great simulator set with Dynisma. Now I’ve driven the car a few times, so I know what to expect a bit more. As I said, I felt right at home as soon as I jumped in. I didn’t necessarily feel like I had to adapt too much as I knew what to expect and already quite comfortable. I think it also goes to show you why the start of the session was so positive, but it’s a completely different beast than anything I’ve driven to be honest.”

Pulling added: “It's super important. It's a different weekend. I feel like Formula E is very unique in the fact that it's very cutthroat and you don't get many opportunities or much opportunity to do consecutive laps. You go into the Duels and if you get to that point, you get one lap and that's it. I kind of felt that in that FP0. Although necessarily, the stakes weren't that high. There's no margin for error and it's so close across the grid and it teaches you a lot.”