Pulling Leads F1 ACADEMY Trio as Lloyd and Bustamante Gain Ground in Formula E Rookie Test

F1 ACADEMY Talent Steps Into Formula E Spotlight

Ella Lloyd and F1 ACADEMY alumni Abbi Pulling and Bianca Bustamante took centre stage in Madrid as they joined the ABB Formula E World Championship’s Rookie Test at the Circuito del Jarama.

Pulling Sets the Benchmark Among Female Drivers

A productive morning session saw the Briton climb to eighth on the timesheets with a 1:31.757, just 1.5 seconds shy of pacesetter and Formula 3 racer Théophile Naël. Her programme was intensive, incorporating race simulations, energy management work and multiple set-up configurations across both 300kW and 350kW power modes.

She continued to build momentum in the afternoon, posting a 1:30.708 in the final hour to secure ninth place in the session. In the combined classification, the 23-year-old narrowly missed out on a top-10 result — but notably emerged as the fastest female driver of the Madrid Rookie Test.

Reflecting on her performance, Pulling said: “Today went well, I’m proud of my efforts and really happy to have improved compared to my last time at this track. I hoped to be further up the timesheets in the afternoon session, but I know why I set almost the exact same time, so I can work on that in the simulator.”

“To have two top-10s is a positive result. I’m not quite where I want to be but I felt comfortable in the car instantly and I’m pleased to be making more steps forward.”

Bustamante Builds Momentum With CUPRA KIRO

Bianca Bustamante returned to action with CUPRA KIRO, having previously driven for the team at last year’s Berlin Rookie Test and Women’s Test. Now progressing in her role as Development Driver, she completed six hours of running and classified P16 and P17 across the two sessions.

The Madrid test marked another step in her ongoing integration with the team throughout the ePrix weekend.

“We’ve had a really productive test here in Madrid, and it felt great to be back in the car after last driving in Valencia,” Bustamante said. “Working with CUPRA KIRO has been an incredibly rewarding journey so far, and from test to test, I feel like I’ve made good progress.”

She also highlighted the value of learning from Dan Ticktum and Pepe Martí across the weekend.

“It was also very valuable to continue to learn from Dan and Pepe across the weekend, and I was able to apply their insights across the day. I’m really looking forward to getting back behind the wheel in the future and to continue to build on what I’ve learned.”

Encouraging Pace for Lloyd Despite Setbacks

Ella Lloyd marked her second appearance with Envision Racing in Madrid. While the raw results showed P17 in the morning and P18 in the afternoon, the underlying performance painted a more promising picture.

At one stage in the morning session, the Welsh racer was nearly a second quicker than her previous 350kW benchmark before a spin interrupted the lap. Her afternoon followed a similar pattern, but there were clear positives — particularly in 300kW trim, where her lap times were comparable to Pulling’s.

For Lloyd, the headline positions did not fully reflect the progress made, with pace and potential evident despite the setbacks.

A Platform for Progress

Across the 20-car field, the Madrid Rookie Test offered valuable mileage and critical development time in Formula E’s GEN3 EVO era. For Pulling, Bustamante and Lloyd, it also served as a tangible measure of progression — each leaving Jarama with encouraging signs and further momentum in their respective Formula E journeys.