Every Formula E Driver Who Came From A Funded Junior Program

Formula E, the world's only all-electric open-wheel racing series, has established itself as one of the premiere forms of motorsport in the world — but there are still folks who discount the series based on the fact that many drivers on the grid were previously headed toward careers in other, more established forms of racing.

Today, inspired by a friend on Twitter, I decided to look into the Formula E drivers who came from well-funded junior programs — and I found that plenty of drivers found their way to Formula E via other series' feeder leagues.

Of the 77 drivers who have competed in Formula E, 28 have been part of a funded junior program designed to funnel them into a top-level series — usually Formula 1, but in some cases IndyCar or other sports car, touring car, or endurance racing series.

That doesn't mean these drivers' entry in Formula E was a second-choice, nor is it a critique of Formula E to point out that drivers have come to it from other backgrounds. FE is an incredible series deserving of merit. Rather, this is meant to be an interesting look into the places today's FE drivers came from.

Daniel Abt competed in the Formula E series for six seasons, mostly with Audi, though he did contest a handful with 333 Racing. In 2010, Abt signed with the Volkswagen Junior Program; he's been part of it ever since, and his association with the program helped him score a second-place finish in GP3.

Jaime Alguersuari is the first of many drivers on this list who were once part of the Red Bull Junior Program, which he joined in 2006. Alguersuari was one of the few juniors, though, who did actually progress up into Formula 1, competing with Toro Rosso for two and a half years.

His time with the Red Bull program had ended when Alguersuari joined Virgin Racing for most of Formula E's first season. Since then, he's retired from racing and has gone on to become a DJ.

Oliver Askew is one of a few Americans who have driven in Formula E, which he came to via the IndyCar Series. Back in 2017, Askew joined the Rising Star Racing program, designed to help fund American open-wheel drivers and advance their careers. RSR most notably aided Josef Newgarden, who is now competing for Team Penske in IndyCar.

Askew signed on with Andretti in Formula E for the 2021-22 season after a concussion saw him lose his IndyCar seat with Arrow McLaren.

With an impressive series of wins and strong performances under his belt, Tom Blomqvist was selected to join the McLaren Driver Development Program in 2012 — a program whose most notable alumnus is Lewis Hamilton. The team helped Blomqvist through Formula 3 before he transitioned into DTM. He contested one full Formula E season with 333 Racing, though he did pop in for a handful of events during two previous seasons.

An early entry in the Red Bull Junior Program, Buemi joined in 2005 and ultimately moved to Toro Rossi in 2009. It wasn't a terribly fruitful career, and he only lasted a handful of seasons. However, Buemi's relationship with Red Bull lasted well into his Formula E career. Buemi has competed in the series since its very first season, scoring one FE championship and three second places overall.

Adam Carroll joined the Panasonic Jaguar Racing team for one season in 2016-17, signing with the BAR-Honda team as a reserve driver and thus getting a smidge of help for his upcoming 2006 GP2 season. He removed himself from the program after realizing he wouldn't have a significant chance at getting to the main team with Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello on the roster.

Formula E driver Jerome D'Ambrosio has been part of the series since its beginning, first as a driver and then as team principal of the Venturi team. He had signed with the Renault F1 Driver Development Program in 2004, which helped him progress through the ranks of the junior formulae and into F1 with Virgin and Lotus.

For a while, Simona de Silvestro looked set to become the next woman in Formula 1. While not part of a dedicated "junior team," de Silvestro did join Sauber to undertake an intensive training program in 2014 with the intention of providing her a seat with the team. Due to "contractual troubles," however, she was let go in October of that year.

De Silvestro competed in the London ePrix doubleheader during the first Formula E season before joining Andretti for a full year in the sport's second season. With a ninth place in Long Beach, she became the first woman to score points in F1.

Formula E Champion Nyck de Vries signed with the McLaren Young Driver Program when he was 15 years old, remaining with them for nine years, also joining with the Audi Sport Racing Academy between 2016 and 2019. He's since become something of a boy wonder, though his future is a little up in the air now that Mercedes is leaving FE.

Tom Dillman joined the Red Bull Junior Team in Formula 3 ahead of the 2007 season, but his results weren't exactly great, and he lost out on that seat by the end of 2008. He competed in one full FE season and two partial seasons prior to that.

Maro Engel was signed as a junior driver to the Mercedes-Benz program in 2007 while he was competing in Formula 3. After that, he primarily transitioned into sports car and touring car racing, though he did join the Venturi Formula E team for two seasons.

Yet another Red Bull junior, Antonio Felix da Costa was selected to join the program during his Formula 3 days, even receiving tests behind the wheel of a Red Bull F1 car. He, too, has been competing in Formula E since the first season, swapping teams a handful of times before settling in with DS Techeetah, with whom he on a Championship.

Sacha Fenestraz raced as part of the Renault Driver Academy during his 2018 Formula 3 season, though he was ultimately dropped at the end of the year. He only competed in a single Formula E event, taking on the Seoul ePrix this season.

Alex Fontana was selected for the Lotus F1 Junior Team at the end of his 2012 Formula 2 season, which earned him a few tests behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car. He was dropped in 2015 when Lotus was sold to Renault. He went on to contest two races during the first Formula E season.

Pierre Gasly is currently a Formula 1 driver, but he did make a one-off appearance in place of Sebastian Buemi at the 2017 New York ePrix. He finished seventh in his debut race before dipping back into the F1 world. He's remained with a Red Bull-affiliated team ever since.

Brendon Hartley, yet another Red Bull Junior who signed with the program in 2006, competed in the first five races of the 2019-2o season with Dragon Racing. After the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the final six races of the year, forcing them all to be hosted at in Berlin, Hartley left Dragon.

Jose Maria Lopez was a member of the Renault Driver Development Program between 2004 and 2006, during which time he competed in GP2. He went on to compete with Virgin and Dragon Racing for three seasons in Formula E.

Vitantonio Liuzzi was part of the Red Bull Junior Team in the lower formulae during the early 2000s, ultimately graduating to Formula One. He contested a handful of events in Formula E's first season.

In 2014, Alex Lynn joined the Red Bull Junior Program ahead of his GP3 season with Carlin. He remained with them into his GP2 career before he severed his ties with the program by becoming a development driver for Williams. The following year, in 2016, Alex Lynn joined Virgin for two races in 2016. He contested a full season the following year, followed by two partial seasons and finally a full season with Mahindra in 2020-21.

Ma Qinghua was added to the HRT F1 Driver Development Program in 2012, making history as the first China-born driver to test an F1 car. The development didn't last long, as HRT collapsed at the end of the 2012 season. He then competed in a handful of events with Aguri, Techeetah, and NIO four four seasons.

Charles Pic only contested five Formula E events — one with Andretti and five with China Racing / NEXTEV TRC — during the sport's first season. However, he entered the sport after a brief stint in Formula 1 thanks to his association with the Renault Driver Development Program, which he joined in 2009 to aid his transition from Formula Renault 3.5 to the GP2 series.

Oliver Rowland received both the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award and funding from the McLaren Young Driver Program, the first in 2012 and the second between 2007 and 2010. He joined Formula E with Mahindra in 2015 before moving to Nissan e.dams for three seasons and then returning to Mahindra last season.

Serge Sette Camara joined the Red Bull Junior Team in 2016 but was dropped at the start of 2017. He has since competed in three seasons of Formula E with Dragon Racing.

Scott Speed was one of the first few Red Bull Junior drivers in history, which he did after winning the Red Bull Driver Search in 2003. Despite ultimately losing out on an F1 seat due to mediocre performance, Speed has remained affiliated with Red Bull to this day.

He competed in four Formula E races with Andretti, with his best finish being a second place at his debut event, the one-off Miami ePrix.

Dan Ticktum joined the Red Bull Junior Team in 2017, during which time he won the Macau Grand Prix twice and finished second in the 2018 Formula 3 Championship. He left the program in 2019, joining the Williams Driver Academy instead. He remained there until the summer of 2021, by which time he had joined Formula E with NIO 333.

Stoffel Vandoorne joined the McLaren Young Driver Program back in 2013, during which time he ultimately became a McLaren F1 driver. Unfortunately, the team was a bit of a mess at the time, and Vandoorne ultimately joined Formula E, where he has remained for the previous four seasons.

Jean-Eric Vergne may have one of the more poignant Red Bull Junior Program stories. He made it all the way to F1 alongside Daniel Ricciardo at Toro Rosso before he was ultimately passed over when it came time to select one of the two to take up a Red Bull Racing seat. Vergne went on to join Formula E two races into the series' history, becoming the series' first two-time champion.

Our final junior team driver is Pascal Wehrlein, who became the first ever Mercedes F1 junior driver in 2014. He tested with the team and joined Sauber before leaving the Mercedes Junior Team at the end of 2018. That was also the year he joined Formula E, where he has been ever since.