Daniil Kvyat Confirmed as NIO 333 Driver for Formula E Rookie Test

NIO 333 Racing have confirmed that former Formula 1 driver Daniil Kvyat will complete Monday’s Formula E Rookie Test for the Chinese team, with reigning WTCR Champion Mikel Azcona alongside him.

Kvyat’s appearance Monday’s Rookie Test at the Tempelhof Street Circuit will be his first time driving a single-seater since he was dropped by Scuderia AlphaTauri at the end of the 2020 season. Most recently Kvyat has been gaining experience racing in NASCAR and in the World Endurance Championship, a series he is competing in this season.

The Russian driver – who’s since obtained an Italian racing licence – is competing in the LMP2 class this year for Prema Racing, with the former Oracle Red Bull Racing driver having already claimed a podium at Sebring. Kvyat is “really excited” to drive a Gen3 car next week and is clearly a fan of the all-electric series, with him noting that the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is “very competitive”.

“I’m really excited to be trying the Formula E car for the first time ever and with NIO 333 Racing,” said Kvyat, as per fiaformulae.com. “I think Formula E has proved for many years to be a very competitive, high-level championship, with very interesting environmental goals as well.

“The racing is very fast, and very competitive. The team has also been making a lot of progress, especially this year, and has room to grow and fight for even stronger positions in the future. It’ll be interesting to see what we can do together at this test.”

Credit: Peter Fox/Getty Images

Whilst Kvyat is certainly very well-known in the single-seater world, Azcona isn’t. The Rookie Test will actually be his first time in a single-seater since 2012, with his career nowadays being spent in touring cars. He’s certainly enjoyed plenty of success in touring cars, with him having won the Nurburgring 24 Hours and the World Touring Car Cup last year.

This season, Azcona is competing in the TCR Europe Touring Car Series. He does have some experience of electric cars at least, with him being a race winner in the ETCR.

He’s certainly looking forward to the test in Berlin and is intrigued to see what he “can bring” from his ETCR background, with some of the technology being “similar in theory”.

“It’s a really nice feeling to be at the Rookie Test, and I’m very grateful for the opportunity that NIO 333 has given me,” said Azcona. “It’s something new for me in my career, and it’s my first time driving a single-seater since 2012. So I really want to improve my skills there, and I really want to learn about this new technology.

“It’s going to be interesting seeing what I can bring from my time in electric touring car racing, which was also new to me, but where I was very competitive. Some of the technology is similar in theory, but I’m expecting it to be quite something else when I get into the Formula E car.”

Credit: FIA Formula E