Mahindra Racing reserve driver Kush Maini and Théophile Naël will take part in the upcoming ABB FIA Formula E Rookie Test at the Circuito del Jarama near Madrid.
Naël, 18, will join Mahindra Racing for the test on 22 March, held following the inaugural Madrid E-Prix, and is the team’s first driver announced for the test.
A karting champion in his native France, Naël moved into car racing part way through 2022, before competing full-time in 2023.
After a solid run in that year’s Formula 4 UAE Championship, he went on to win the Spanish F4 Championship – with eight victories and six further podiums in the 21 races – taking the only single-seater title to date for Saintéloc Racing.
This prompted a jump to Formula Regional for 2024, where Naël would take race victory in both the Middle East and European championships, and qualifying in the top 10 for the prestigious Macau Grand Prix that year.
While Naël continued in the Formula Regional European Championship in 2025, he also stepped up to FIA Formula 3. Despite only completing a partial season in the former, he finished seventh in the standings with points in every race competed.
In F3, Naël had a solid debut season, finishing on the podium in three of the Feature Races and finishing eighth in the standings. Later that year, he returned to Macau and topped qualifying before winning the overall event on the iconic street circuit with a dramatic last-lap double overtake.
For 2026, Naël is competing once more in F3 – having switched to reigning champions Campos Racing.
Joining Naël for Sunday’s Rookie Test is Mahindra Racing reserve driver Maini. The FIA Formula 2 race winner will complete the lineup of M12Electro cars during the single-day test.
The team will be in action throughout the day of running, with both drivers looking to get more familiar with the car and for the team to continue their understanding of the chassis and powertrain, even at this late stage of the Gen3 Evo era of ABB FIA Formula E.
Ahead of his first test in a Formula E car, Théophile Naël said:
Firstly, a huge thanks to Mahindra racing for providing me with this opportunity to take part in the Rookie Test. This test is important to me to show my abilities on the track and to work with a team at a world championship level.
Jarama is a circuit I have never raced on, so there will be a lot for me to get to grips with on the day. The Gen3 Evo M12Electro is also a very different kind of car to anything I have raced before through my career. I will be watching the team closely through the E-Prix, especially Nyck and Edo as they are two very accomplished and very experienced drivers, and I look forward to learning from everybody through my time in Madrid.
Looking ahead to taking part in the Rookie Test, Kush Maini said:
I am very thankful to Mahindra Racing to give me this opportunity to compete in the Rookie Test. This will be a great chance to get more kilometres in a Formula E car under my belt as part of my development as a driver.
I will be following the progress of Edo and Nyck very closely throughout the weekend and I look forward to working with Theo and the team on Sunday. This is not a circuit I am especially familiar with as I have never raced here before, so there is a lot to learn and to get to grips with.
Mahindra Racing Team Principal & CEO Frederic Bertrand added:
It is great to welcome Théophile into the Mahindra Racing family for the rookie test at Jarama. Winning the Macau Grand Prix is a true stepping stone in any single-seater driver’s junior career, just as Edo achieved twice, and we cannot wait to have him in one of our cars to show what he can do.
Théophile is ready to make that step up after showing excellent speed in his career to date and the performances he has shown warrants this opportunity with us. As a young driver, there is a lot for him to learn in a short space of time – such as how an electric single seater handles compared to the combustion-powered machines he races normally, the complexities of the powertrain and also how the team operates compared to the outfits he has competed with before.
Kush will also be instrumental to our plans on the day of the test. He has already shown well with us, and he completes what is a very talented young line-up for us. While still in his junior career, he has already got a lot of experience with great teams which he brings and displays when working with us. We are looking forward to working with both drivers through the programme we have set out and to see what they can do on this very demanding circuit.”
Source: Mahindra Racing
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