MS&AD Andretti Formula E Pre-Season Test Report

New MS&AD livery for Andretti team

Formula E couldn't have chosen a more beautiful location for pre-season testing at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain. All three test days saw sunny weather and great opportunities for the newly-branded MS&AD Andretti team to test their new ATEC-003 Formula E car.

Testing kicked-off on Monday with veteran Antonio Felix da Costa behind the wheel of the No. 28 MS&AD Andretti car and test-driver Alexander Sims piloting the No. 27 entry. Both drivers got to work immediately, excited to test the updates made to the Andretti Formula E entries.

Fellow BMW Works driver Tom Blomqvist joined the action on Tuesday, getting a chance at driving the car for the first time with other drivers on track. He impressed in his official Formula E debut, finding himself in the top 10 of Tuesday's afternoon session, coming in 10th on the time-sheet.

After a break on Wednesday to work on the cars and conduct pre-season media activities, Blomqvist and da Costa completed testing activities on Thursday, taking advantage of the final opportunity to run the cars before the season opener in Hong Kong.

The FIA Formula E championship will begin the season with Rounds 1&2 in Hong Kong on December 2 and 3. Follow along all season long on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @MSADAndrettiFE.

Co-Team Principal Roger Griffiths
"Testing has just finished here in Valencia. We are fairly pleased with the way things have gone and we got through all the items on our test list. We learned an awful lot this week but we still have a lot of work to do before Round 1 in Hong Kong. It was an exciting time for the team, unveiling the new brand of the MS&AD Andretti Formula E team. The new livery has attracted a lot of attention and I think it's going to look incredibly dynamic when it's out on the race track. We ran with three different drivers in the cars and they all did a good job for us. For Tom and Alex, it was the first opportunity for them to run with the rest of the Formula E field. I think they learned a lot from it and certainly we've got a lot of good data to look at it. There's still some work to do but I'm encouraged by what I've seen so far. Next stop is Hong Kong and I'm excited to be back in Asia, close to the home of our new title sponsor, MS&AD Insurance. It's an exciting time but it's going to be a busy couple of months for the team as well."

MS&AD Andretti driver Antonio Felix da Costa
"We have been doing a lot of laps, testing many new things in the car. We have some new engineers in the background as well that are bringing fresh ideas to the car. We used the test to bring it all together and to evaluate changes so we can be in the best shape possible for the season opener in Hong Kong. We gathered a lot of useful information that will be valuable at the races. I am looking forward to the new season."

MS&AD Andretti driver Tom Blomqvist
"It was my first proper experience in Formula E, of driving the car and testing with other cars on track. It was intriguing, many of the guys here have vast experience in Formula E so I had a lot of things to learn but I am happy with the test and learned a lot. It is, in a way, quite different to the racing I have experienced before but I find it very interesting and appealing, so I enjoyed it. "

MS&AD Andretti driver Alexander Sims
"Formula E has several unique things that are different to any other racing series. That goes from energy management, even down to the way the tires perform because they are really different to the standard slick tires you normally have. Initially we were just doing flat out runs, so it was quite familiar like in Formula 3 or GT cars. The biggest challenge was when we were doing the race runs, trying to apply the energy management to an ideal situation."