The Roads To Formula E
- Jodie
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
To get to NASCAR there’s a simple ladder you go through Trucks to the newly renamed O’Reilly Auto Parts Series then boom you’re a Cup Series driver, in Formula 1 you go through F3 and F2. But for Formula E there is no ladder which creates some really cool stories as each driver has a different path. You can be a once promising F1 talent but forced to consider other options if theirs no space, or you can be an Endurance racing icon looking to do something new in the twilight of your career. It makes Formula E so diverse and interesting. And here are 3 drivers we want to spotlight and tell their story on their road to Formula E.
Felipe Drugovich:
For three years Felipe Drugovich stood at the very edge of Formula 1. He joined the Aston Martin family during his championship winning Formula 2 campaign in 2021 and brought with him the hype and support of the entire continent of South America.
A drive in the world championship was always just a few steps ahead of him, sick drivers were well enough in time for the race and he was stuck turning laps in FP1 as the nominated rookie for the team… and for a while it felt like the Brazilian would stay in reserve driver purgatory, never able to make the leap to a full time seat but not quite able to let to of Formula 1 as a whole.
Drugovich had his first taste of Formula E in 2023 when he joined Maserati MSG Racing for the Berlin and Rome rookie tests and - unsurprisingly - topped both events. The following year he took part in the European Le Mans Series for the first time, finishing 15th in the LMP2 class after missing one of the six rounds, and also made his 24h of Le Mans debut with Cadillac Whelen - with whom he returned the following year and for the 24h of Daytona.
He returned to Maserati for another go at the Berlin rookie test in 2024, this time taking 4th in a field of 22 drivers - but it wasn’t until 2025 that Drugovich would get his first competitive taste of Formula E.
The 2025 Berlin E-Prix clashed with the 6 hours of São Paulo and a certain Nyck de Vries was heading to Brazil to race for Toyota, leaving his Mahindra Racing seat vacant for Berlin. Mahindra could’ve picked their usual rookie tester Kush Maini to fill the seat, but with the rookie test taking place on the Monday after the race they would need to find another driver to fill their seat for that so instead they picked Drugovich.
His first Formula E race went terribly, but it was far from the worst debut in the all-electric championship. After battling through multiple penalties in his first race he went on to finish 7th in his second start for Mahindra - a result that caught the eye of Andretti who snapped him up for their season 12 lineup alongside championship winner Jake Dennis.
The first two races of season 12 haven’t ended well for Drugovich and he is one of only a handful of drivers yet to score points, but with the Miami E-Prix just around the corner at a new circuit to Formula E he should have a good chance at breaking back into the top 10.
Quick Facts:
Age: 25
Formula E Team: Andretti
Car no. : 28
Sébastien Buemi:
Sébastien Buemi has taken part in all but five Formula E races - and there’s been 150 - so it’s safe to say he’s a very experienced driver in the all electric championship. Aside from being a four times Le Mans winner and World Endurance Champion, Buemi is also known as the poor Toro Rosso driver who had both front tyres ping off his car during the 2010 Chinese Grand Prix.
After spending three seasons in Formula 1, Buemi switched to sportscar racing while stepping into a test driver role with Red Bull Racing - which later turned into a reserve driver role and eventually the development role he is still doing to this day - and this is where it’s clear to see just how loyal of a driver Buemi is.
The Swiss racer has been with Red Bull since 2007, with Toyota in WEC since 2012 and stayed with the e.dams team in Formula E from 2014 until the end of 2022, when he switched to Envision Racing.
Now if that’s not consistency…
In terms of Formula E, Buemi is considered to be one of the most successful drivers of all time. He topped the first ever Formula E test at Donington Park in 2014 and jointly holds the records for most Formula E wins (with Mitch Evans), most pole positions (with Jean-Éric Vergne), and has the 3rd most podiums.
Now in his late 30s, Buemi still races in both Formula E and the World Endurance Championship and is still considered one of the most talented drivers on the grid.
Quick facts:
Age: 37
Formula E team: Envision Racing
Car no. : 16
Dan Ticktum:
British driver Dan Ticktum is perhaps one of the most divisive drivers in Formula racing and has had a very rocky journey to Formula E.
After being banned from motorsport in 2015 after a purposeful crash, Ticktum returned to racing in 2016 and began his journey up the motorsports ladder. He took the first of his two Macau Grand Prix wins in 2017 before winning it again in 2018 and also taking runner-up honours in the European Formula 3 championship.
He soon found himself racing in Formula 2 as part of the Red Bull Junior Team and for a while was considered to take over from Brendon Hartley at Toro Rosso before he parted ways with the team midway through 2019. He followed this up with a short stint at the Williams Driver Academy which ended abruptly in 2021 - just around the time Ticktum criticised Williams Racing driver Nicholas Latifi on a livestream.
With no options in Formula 1, Ticktum followed in the footsteps of many before him and made the switch to Formula E. He joined Nio 333 Racing, a dying team that was struggling to finish races, let alone score points!
Ticktum stayed with the team through the withdrawal of Nio’s support and into their brief rebranding as ERT and is credited with introducing ERT to The Forest Road Company, an investment firm that now owns the team and has helped usher them into a new era.
He took his first podium, win and pole position in season 11 and was hoping to build on that this season - but two strokes of bad luck have forced him to retire from both races so far and he now sits at the very bottom of the standings.
Following round two of the championship in Mexico City, Ticktum spoke out about the standards of driving in the series and even called out the stewards for not punishing drivers for bad driving. His comments caused a flurry on social media and put him - once again - at the centre of controversy.
Love him or hate him, you cannot deny that Ticktum brings eyes to Formula E, and with his pace and willingness to take risks on track he’s certainly one to keep an eye on in 2026!
Quick facts:
Age: 26
Formula E team: Cupra Kiro
Car no. : 33
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