Formula E: Gen4 laps Valencia over 9 seconds faster than Gen3 - how much is down to the new car?

Seven Formula E teams completed a day of private testing with the new Gen4 cars at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia on Wednesday. Nissan driver Zane Maloney set the fastest time, beating last year's benchmark by more than 9.5 seconds. Although a chicane had been removed, the new cars were almost four seconds faster than their predecessors in the first two sectors alone. Remarkably, every team had a driver within half a second of the fastest time.

Just a few days before the start of Formula E's official pre-season testing at Jarama, seven teams returned to Valencia for another day of running. As e-Formel.de reported back in August, the Formula E Teams and Manufacturers Association (FETAMA) organised a joint private test at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. The Spanish circuit had regularly hosted the electric world championship's official pre-season testing until last year.

According to Spanish motorsport outlet SoyMotor.com, a total of 14 drivers took part in the test, which ran from 8 am to 5:30 pm. Alongside the Nissan and Jaguar factory teams, the two new Stellantis teams Citroen and Opel were also present, as were Andretti, Cupra Kiro and Envision Racing.

Maloney ahead of Günther & Hughes: all 7 teams in the top 7

Somewhat surprisingly, it was Zane Maloney who set the fastest time of the day. The Barbadian newcomer lapped the circuit in 1:11.950 in his new Nissan, becoming the only driver to break the 1:12 barrier. Maximilian Günther, who has switched from DS Penske to Envision Racing for the Gen4 era, finished second, just 0.084 seconds adrift.

Formula E returnee Jake Hughes also impressed with his new team. The Briton took third place in his Porsche-powered Cupra Kiro, ahead of Jaguar driver Antonio Felix da Costa. The Portuguese driver had topped the timesheets at the lunch break.

Felipe Drugovich (Andretti), Jean-Eric Vergne (Citroen), Mitch Evans (Opel) and Pepe Marti (Cupra Kiro) completed the top eight. All seven teams therefore had one driver each in the top seven, with just 0.450 seconds separating pace-setter Maloney from eighth-placed Marti. Given the different testing programmes, however, it is too early to draw any conclusions about the competitive order.

Gen4 significantly faster: almost 4 seconds gained in just 2 sectors

Of particular interest is the comparison with last year's lap times. Mahindra driver Edoardo Mortara set the fastest lap during official pre-season testing in 2025 with a time of 1:21.493. Maloney therefore beat the Swiss driver's benchmark by 9.543 seconds.

However, the comparison comes with an important caveat. Unlike during last year's pre-season testing, the artificial chicane on the start-finish straight was not used on Wednesday. The extended layout at Turn 6, which Formula E traditionally uses in Valencia, remained unchanged.

A closer look at the individual sector times published by SoyMotor.com is therefore more revealing. In the first sector, where the layout remained unchanged, the fastest Gen4 time was 2.318 seconds quicker than last year's Gen3 Evo benchmark. In the second sector, which also remained unchanged, the new cars gained a further 1.480 seconds. Adding together the fastest times in each sector reveals a gain of almost 3.8 seconds compared with last year across these two unchanged sections alone.

Fastest sector times: Gen3 Evo vs. Gen4

Sector	Gen3 Evo (2025)	Gen4 (2026)	Difference
1	27.572 s	25.254 s	2.318 s
2	29.431 s	27.951 s	1.480 s
3	24,000 s	18,436 s	5,564 s
Total	1:21.493 mins	1:11.950 mins	9.543 s

In the third sector, the chicane on the start-finish straight was removed for the 2026 test.

FE Notebook estimates that removing the chicane accounted for around three seconds of the time gained. That would make the Gen4 cars around 6.5 seconds per lap faster than their predecessors on an identical layout in Valencia. In addition to the higher power output, permanent all-wheel drive and significantly increased aerodynamic downforce are likely to be major contributing factors. However, the different testing conditions and unknown power levels used by the cars make an exact comparison impossible. It is also unclear which of the two downforce packages was used to set the fastest Gen4 times.

Technical issue for Hughes & problems for Jaguar

The test day did not run smoothly for everyone. Jake Hughes caused the only red flag of the day in the morning when his Cupra Kiro came to a halt at Turn 4 with a technical issue. The Briton was able to resume testing after repairs and completed a total of 72 laps despite spending more than an hour on the sidelines.

Both Jaguar-powered teams also experienced technical difficulties. Envision rookie Zak O'Sullivan managed just three laps in the morning and was only able to complete longer runs after the lunch break. Stoffel Vandoorne had a similarly difficult day, initially completing only a handful of installation laps in the new Jaguar I-Type 08 before ending the test with the lowest lap count of all 14 drivers.

According to FE Notebook, Nick Cassidy also lost several hours in the garage due to a technical issue with his Citroen. His team-mate Vergne, meanwhile, completed more laps than any other driver with 95, followed by Drugovich with 93 in the Nissan-powered Andretti. Overall, the Nissan and Stellantis powertrains accumulated the most mileage.

5 teams absent from Valencia - testing in England & Germany

Five of the twelve Formula E teams were absent from the joint test in Valencia. Alongside Porsche, Mahindra, Lola, Fortescue Zero Racing and the new Fusion Formula E Team did not take part. Porsche had already told SoyMotor.com ahead of the test that it was not part of its own programme. The Porsche 975 RSE was nevertheless represented in Valencia by the two Cupra Kiro cars.

The remaining teams are preparing for pre-season testing elsewhere. According to FE Notebook, Mahindra is conducting its first shakedowns with its race cars at Croft Circuit in northern England this week. Lola and Fortescue Zero have also already run their new cars, with Dan Ticktum testing his new team's Jaguar-powered machine at Mallory Park in the UK.

New Porsche customer team Fusion is also set to take to the track at Weissach in the coming days. All twelve teams will then come together next week for Formula E's official pre-season testing at the Circuito de Madrid-Jarama.

Formula E: Test results in Valencia (11 November 2026)

Position	Rider	Team	Lap time	Gap	Laps
01	Zane Maloney	Nissan	1:11.950		82
02	Maximilian Günther	Envision	1:12.034	+0.084	70
03	Jake Hughes	Cupra Kiro	1:12.094	+0.144	72
04	Antonio Felix da Costa	Jaguar	1:12.110	+0.160	84
05	Felipe Drugovich	Andretti	1:12.141	+0.191	93
06	Jean-Eric Vergne	Citroën	1:12.272	+0.322	95
07	Mitch Evans	Opel	1:12.338	+0.388	76
08	Pepe Marti	Cupra Kiro	1:12.400	+0.450	69
09	Jake Dennis	Andretti	1:12.480	+0.530	86
10	Theo Pourchaire	Opel	1:12.549	+0.599	85
11	Oliver Rowland	Nissan	1:12.917	+0.967	79
12	Zak O’Sullivan	Envision	1:13.363	+1.413	37
13	Nick Cassidy	Citroën	1:13.471	+1.521	53
14	Stoffel Vandoorne	Jaguar	1:14.855	+2.905	34