Zane Maloney has been very impressive in Formula 2 this season, but he will not complete the championship ahead of moving to Formula E.
The Bajan driver won the opening two races of the F2 campaign in Bahrain, taking a memorable double victory. But Maloney’s move to the all-electric Formula E with ABT Lola for next season is already confirmed, with him set to be teammates with Lucas Di Grassi.
His Formula 2 season started superbly at the Bahrain International Circuit, and Maloney also performed well at Silverstone after taking a couple of second places.
Yet Maloney stuttered last time out in Azerbaijan by failing to score over the weekend. However, this will have little effect on his campaign, as Maloney will miss the last F2 round in Abu Dhabi before moving to Formula E.
He also explained to the official Formula 2 website that despite his competitive campaign with Rodin, it can sometimes be difficult for Maloney to enjoy racing.
New ABT Lola driver Zane Maloney admits ‘it’s easy to hate racing’
Maloney has had a lot of ups and downs this season, from the double victory in Bahrain to scoring no points in Austria and Azerbaijan.
Formula E will provide a new challenge for the 20-year-old as he steps up to a professional championship for next season. Despite being competitive across his junior career, Maloney is wary that Formula E is a very difficult championship.
The competition will be highly experienced as the grid features multiple former Formula 1 drivers, including Stoffel Vandoorne and Di Grassi.
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Maloney feels he needs to return to enjoying racing as his junior career comes to a close. He said: “It’s easy to hate racing in a lot of ways, so I am trying to get back to the stage where I go into the car, enjoy racing, enjoy pushing the car to the limit.
“Hopefully, I look back at the end of the year and no matter what, I can say I did the best job I could and did something good for my career. That’s the main thing.”
Formula E will be a challenge for Zane Maloney after driving a multitude of junior single-seaters
Formula E is a very unique championship with the cars being powered solely by electric motors, requiring a specific driving technique.
Energy management is a critical skill to master in the series, which may be a challenge for Maloney who has developed his talent in naturally aspirated and turbocharged cars.
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The calendar will also be slightly different for Maloney with Formula E racing on a lot of street circuits, compared to the permanent venues he has driven on before.
But ABT Lola’s new driver has driven on street circuits such as Monaco and the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, which Formula E will visit on a slightly modified layout in Season 11.
This may allow him to adapt more quickly on those weekends, although it will be a different prospect in Formula E due to the different driving style and the performance of the car.
ABT Lola will also not like hearing that Maloney finds it very easy to hate racing having just signed him for the 2024/25 Formula E campaign. His comments could alarm the team given a few disappointing results as a rookie may seen the Bajan’s head drop.