Formula E rookie Oliver Askew has praised his Andretti team for preparing him for his debut in the series after the took points in his first weekend.
The 25-year-old American driver finished ninth in his debut race in Diriyah, scoring two points, before taking 11th in the second race the following day.Askew’s fortunes contrasted sharply with the two other rookies in the field, Nio’s Dan Ticktum and former Alfa Romeo F1 driver Antonio Giovinazzi in the Dragon Penske who both finished towards the rear of field in the two races. Giovinazzi later described his first outing in the series as “really difficult”.
Speaking to RaceFans, Askew said he had enjoyed his first taste of racing in the all-electric single seater series.
“I’ve enjoyed it thoroughly and I definitely learnt a lot and everyone at Andretti has done a good job of preparing me and preparing the car to be as fast as possible right away,” Askew said.
“I’m looking forward to some more conventional tracks. A few weeks until Mexico – we’ll see what we can do there..
Despite missing out on the points in the second race, Askew says believes the race was more reflective of the performance levels of the field.
“I’m quite happy with how the weekend went, honestly,” said Askew.
“[Race two] was a much more representative race, as far as competition goes – being closer to guys who have been up front in the past and who have won races, championships. So [it] was a bit more difficult.”
The former Indy Lights champion previously raced for McLaren SP in the 2020 IndyCar Series, with a best finish of third in the first race at the first Iowa race. Askew ran a limited programme in the series last season, driving for McLaren SP, RLL and Ed Carpenter Racing.
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Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
31st January 2022, 9:58
I genuinely don’t expect Nio to score any points this season, and I expect Dragon’s only points will come from a lucky break in one race.
Placid (@placid)
3rd February 2022, 0:58
IT is pre-mature on how the season will go. But so excited for a FT US driver in the field. Hopefully Andretti Autosport will get into Formula 1 someday.