All you need to know for Season 12's pre-season testing at Valencia
- Vyas Ponnuri
- 5 hours ago
- 7 min read
Written by Vyas Ponnuri
It's finally time to dust off the cobwebs and shake off the rust, as Formula E's much-awaited Season 12 gets up and running. But it's not for any competitive racing action just yet, as the 20 drivers and 10 teams will first need to get through a week of testing in Valencia.
Pre-season testing returns to Valencia for the first time in two years, with Season 11's testing moved to the Circuito Del Jarama in Madrid last year, after large-scale flooding in the region cut off access roads to the regular test venue in Valencia.
While Formula E certainly contributed to assisting in relief efforts at Valencia, by donating €50,000, apart from 20 electric scooters and 20 electric bicycles, it also recognised the good work done by the officials in Jarama to accomodate pre-season testing in short order, rewarding the Spanish venue with a race weekend in March 2026.
However, Formula E wouldn't move away from the Ricardo Tormo Circuit just yet, as the traditional pre-season testing host venue hosts yet another round of testing ahead of the final season in Formula E's Gen3 era.
The four-day test will help drivers and teams shake down their recently unveiled Season 12 machinery, alongside giving vital opportunities to gain mileage and confidence ahead of the upcoming season. This would be all the more important for the likes of Citroën Racing, who enter their first ever Formula E campaign in Season 12.
Likewise, pre-season testing offers vital track time for the full-time rookies joining Formula E, namely Cupra Kiro's Pepe Martí, Envision Racing's Joel Eriksson and Andretti's Felipe Drugovich. It was a mixed scene for the rookies last year, with McLaren's Taylor Barnard amassing 238 laps during the four days of pre-season testing, while Lola Yamaha ABT's Zane Maloney managed only 149 laps.
The boy from Barbados had an interrupted session of running, though, as Lola Yamaha ABT ran into technical issues on Day 3 of testing, depriving him of valuable track time in the afternoon session, and limiting his morning session to just 21 laps of running.
While the times from testing are to be taken with a pinch of salt, they can sometimes turn out to be representative of the pecking order. Porsche, who had set the quickest lap times right off the blocks, looked to be consistently quick throughout the test, and eventually took the constructors' title at the end of the year.
On the other hand, Jaguar, who incurred a penalty for financial overspending in Season 10, were forced to miss the first session of running during pre-season testing in 2024. The team found themselves among the slowest in pre-season testing, and were looking for answers well into Season 11.
Likewise, newcomers Cupra Kiro also found themselves closer to the front of the field, with David Beckmann even topping the afternoon practice session on Day 2, while Dan Ticktum found himself in the top three across two sessions in pre-season testing.
Yet, there are only a handful of conclusions you can draw from pre-season testing, while a clearer pecking order will emerge only in Round 1 of Season 12 at São Paulo.
The venue: Circuit Ricardo Tormo
It's a classic testing venue for Formula E, as the familiar sights of Valencia return to host five days of Formula E's pre-season testing. Teams and drivers will get one more day of testing, with five days slotted in for Season 12's testing, as compared to four for last year's running at Madrid.
The Formula E version of the circuit is a shortened version of the regular layout, standing at 3.376 km (2.098 mi) long, and features a chicane on the main straight, just before the entry into the pits.
The other major change features the right-hander at Turn 9, with a short burst of speed taking the drivers down to Turn 10, and eliminating two sweeping corners as well as the Jaume Masiá hairpin, and the ensuing straight.
This layout has already hosted the Valencia E-Prix double header back in 2021, with the first race yielding a controversial conclusion that saw most drivers trundling onto the final lap. A major miscalculation in energy levels caused only nine drivers classified as finishers, while five drivers were disqualified for using more than the stipulated energy limit.
This will also be the first time Formula E takes to Valencia in the Gen3 Evo Formula E car. The current lap record stands at 1:24.474 by Mitch Evans, although you can certainly expect this record to tumble once the first laps are set by the Gen3 Evo Formula E cars.
The itinerary for teams and drivers in pre-season testing
The timings for Formula E's pre-season testing for Season 12 are as follows:
Monday 27 October:
Official Test Session 1 - 14:00 - 17:00 CET (13:00 - 16:00 UTC)
Tuesday 28 October:
Official Test Session 2 - 09:00 - 12:00 CET (08:00 - 11:00 UTC)
Official Test Session 3 - 14:00 - 17:00 CET (13:00 - 16:00 UTC)
Wednesday 29 October:
Official Test Session 4 - 09:00 - 12:00 CET (08:00 - 11:00 UTC)
Thursday 30 October:
Official Test Session 5 - 09:00 - 12:00 CET (08:00 - 11:00 UTC)
Official Test Session 6 - 14:00 - 17:00 CET (13:00 - 16:00 UTC)
Friday 31 October:
Official Test Session 7 - Women’s Test - 09:00 - 12:00 CET (08:00 - 11:00 UTC)
Official Test Session 8 - Women’s Test - 14:00 - 17:00 CET (13:00 - 16:00 UTC)
Each test session will last for three hours, split into the morning and afternoon sessions. Teams and drivers will get the chance to run their cars at qualifying power and regular race modes, simulate racing conditions, and shake down their Season 12 cars to sort out reliability gremlins ahead of the upcoming season.
This test will also offer a chance for teams to bank valuable mileage, and help drivers get in shape, and into race trim, across four days of testing.
There will also be a 'test race' on the second day of testing i.e. Tuesday, 28 October, at 14:10 CET (13:10 UTC) spanning 27 laps around the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. The usable energy will be set at 38.5 kWh, taking into account the extra 3.85 kWh charge to incorporate the Pit Boost feature. All in all, this 'race' will feature one Pit Boost stop and one mandatory attack mode activation, as was recently announced by Formula E.
This race would be helpful for teams to finetune their Pit Boost pit stops, which emerged as a major talking point in Season 11 when teams experienced several issues surrounding the technology.
Additionally, it would help the likes of Drugovich, Martí and Eriksson, the full-time Formula E rookies for Season 12, get used to the start procedures for a regular Formula E race, and get valuable race experience ahead of their maiden full-time campaigns.
But wait, how can I watch pre-season testing?
Unfortunately, pre-season testing wouldn't be telecast live, like regular E-Prix, but you can follow pre-season testing on the official Formula E website, click here.
The all-female Formula E test: Who's taking part?
As was the case for Season 11, this year's pre-season testing witnesses the comeback of the all-female Formula E test. Although, a major change for Season 12's test sees the contingent of 14 female racers get a full day of running, as compared to just a single session for Season 11's pre-season testing last year.
The test is a vital opportunity for female racers to gain track time in one of motorsport's fastest accelerating machines, and with a full day's worth of running, it could even open up more opportunities for the female racers to join forces with Formula E teams in the future.
Formula E has continued to prove itself as a foothold for female racers to flourish and explore their potential, and may even open up full-time opportunities for racing in the future.
Nissan's Abbi Pulling topped the sole all-female Formula E test session at Jarama in 2024, by a margin of 0.320 seconds from Jaguar's Jamie Chadwick, while Bianca Bustamante rounded out the top three, driving for Cupra Kiro.
All three racers have forged stronger alliances across Season 11, driving in Rookie Free Practice at Jeddah and the Berlin rookie test earlier in 2025, and return to the all-female Formula E test for the second year running at their respective teams.
However, they aren't the only ones returning, though, as a significant chunk of Season 11's all-female test racers return, including F1 Academy drivers Chloe Chambers and Ella Lloyd and former F1 Academy racers Marta García, Jess Edgar and Nerea Martí.
Newer faces on this year's line-up include stateside racer Lindsay Brewer (DS Penske), and Super Formula racer Juju Noda (Jaguar), while BMW GT4 driver Janina Schall joins Porsche for the all-female test for the first time.
All-female Formula E test 2025: Line-ups
Porsche - Gabriela Jílková, Janina Schall
Jaguar - Jamie Chadwick, Juju Noda
Nissan - Abbi Pulling
Mahindra Racing - Chloe Chambers
DS Penske - Lindsay Brewer, Jess Edgar
Andretti - Nerea Martí
Envision Racing - Alice Powell, Ella Lloyd
Cupra Kiro - Bianca Bustamante
Lola Yamaha ABT - Marta García
Citroën Racing - Tatiana Calderón
The full-time Formula E drivers taking part in pre-season testing
After plenty of shuffling and movement, the Formula E paddock returns to Valencia looking much different from the last time the grid left London, with new faces at new teams, although it is now a grid of 20, rather than 22, due to the departure of the McLaren Formula E team.
Citroën Racing will be making their Formula E debut, replacing Maserati for the final year of the Gen3 era, and this will be the first time their Formula E Gen3 Evo machine takes to the track.
Driver line-ups for Season 12
Porsche: Pascal Wehrlein, Nico Müller
Jaguar: Mitch Evans, António Félix da Costa
Nissan: Oliver Rowland, Norman Nato
Mahindra: Nyck de Vries, Edoardo Mortara
DS Penske: Maximilian Günther, Taylor Barnard
Andretti: Jake Dennis, Felipe Drugovich
Envision Racing: Sébastien Buemi, Joel Eriksson
Cupra Kiro: Dan Ticktum, Pepe Martí
Lola Yamaha ABT: Lucas di Grassi, Zane Maloney
Citroën Racing: Nick Cassidy, Jean-Éric Vergne
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