Aron and Eriksson to replace WEC-bound Buemi and Frijns at Envision in Berlin

Envision will be forced to replace both drivers at next month’s Berlin round due to its clash with the World Endurance Championship.

The nine and tenth rounds of this year’s Formula E championship at Berlin’s Templehof Airport circuit takes place on the weekend of 11th and 12th of May, which clashes with the third round of the World Endurance Championship at Spa-Francorchamps.

Although the WEC race takes place on Saturday, just 560km away from the site of the Formula E round, both races of the Berlin double header are counted under FIA regulations as being part of the same event. This means that any driver who does not participate in the first Formula E race on Saturday will not be able to race on Sunday.

Due to Buemi’s WEC contract with world champions Toyota and team mate Frijns’ role as a BMW driver, neither will be racing for Envision in the Berlin round in May. As a result, Envision will bring in Jaguar reserve driver Eriksson and Formula 2 racer Aron to compete in their places.

Former Mercedes junior driver Aron will make his debut in the championship in Berlin. He will also participate in this weekend’s rookie session for the team in Misano, replacing Jack Aitken, who the team originally announced would drive.

Eriksson has made eight previous appearances in the all-electric championship, racing in the final four double-header rounds of the 2021 season for Penske. He scored his only point with 10th place in the second London race.

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Envision team principal Sylvain Filippi was unimpressed the clash between the two FIA series had forced them into the change. He said it was a “very unusual situation for us as a team” as the regulations have not allowed for a compromise to be made.

“We are obviously frustrated that the calendar clash could not be resolved by the FIA and FEO,” Filippi said.

“However, we have to make the best of the situation, and I believe with both Joel and Paul we have two very exciting and competitive drivers.”

Aron described his debut at Berlin as a “great opportunity” for him. “I’m very much looking forward to experiencing Formula E for the first time and working with the team,” he said.

“We’ll be working hard up until the race to prepare for the event, starting with the rookie session this week in Misano.”

Mahindra have also announced that Jordan King will replace Toyota’s Nyck de Vries for the same event. Also making his debut in the championship, King will be competing in his first major series since 2029, when he ran two races in an LMP1 Ginetta in the World Endurance Campionship. King also drove for the team in the pre-season test.

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