Formula E rookie Oliver Askew has praised his Andretti team for preparing him for his debut in the series after scoring points in his first weekend.
The 25-year-old American finished ninth in his debut race at Diriyah, scoring two points before finishing 11th in race two the following day.
Askew’s fortunes contrasted sharply with the other two rookies in the field, Nio’s Dan Ticktum and Dragon Penske’s former Alfa Romeo F1 driver Antonio Giovinazzi, both of whom finished at the bottom of the field in the two races. Giovinazzi later described his first appearance on the series as “really difficult”.
Speaking to RaceFans, Askew said he enjoyed his first taste of racing in the all-electric single-seater series.
“I really enjoyed it and definitely learned a lot and everyone at Andretti did a good job preparing me and preparing the car to be as quick as possible right away,” said Askew.
“I’m looking forward to some more conventional circuits. A few more weeks to Mexico – let’s see what we can do there..
Despite missing out on points in race two, Askew believes the race was more a reflection of the field’s level of performance.
“To be honest, I’m very happy with how the weekend went,” said Askew.
“[Race two] was a much more representative race in terms of competition – closer to the guys who have been at the front and won races and championships in the past. So [it] was a bit more difficult.”
The former Indy Lights champion previously drove for McLaren SP in the 2020 IndyCar Series, with a best third place finish in race one at the first race in Iowa. Askew drove a limited program in the series last season, driving for McLaren SP, RLL and Ed Carpenter Racing.
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