When talking about drivers who have left a stamp on Formula E, we must undoubtedly mention Daniel Abt, the German who was with the electric single-seater series in the inaugural season until the 2019-2020 campaign. Since then, he decided to take a break from the tracks.
Born in 1992 in Kempten, Germany, Daniel has been linked to racing since birth. He is the son of Hans-Jürgen, co-owner of Abt Sportsline, a motorsport and automatic tuning company that has supported Audi on its Formula E journey.
At the age of 6, Daniel Abt first pushed the accelerator in karting, making his way into the Formula 3 Euro Series, starting as the youngest driver ever, with three podium finishes.
His growth was so accelerated that, at the age of 22, he premiered in Formula E’s debut campaign alongside his peer Lucas di Grassi. For the 2017/2018 season, their excellent work earned Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler the Championship title.
Daniel Abt’s run through the EV category ended in the 2019/2020 season.
Read also: Lucas di Grassi and Formula E are One and the Same
Audi’s Departure
The driver was suspended from competition by his own Audi team in May 2020. The reason? During a virtual race at the Formula E Berlin E-Prix, he hired a professional simracer to drive for him.
But Daniel didn’t know the magnitude of what he was doing at the time. The mistake was so big, that after Lorenz Hoerzing was found to be behind the wheel in the race, Audi decided to remove him from the team.
“I would like to apologize to Formula E, its fans and also to my teammates for having outside help this Saturday. I didn’t take it as seriously as I should have taken it. I regret that, because I don’t know how much work there is behind this championship’s organization”
Daniel Abt
Nevertheless, that would not be the end for Daniel Abt at Formula E, because that same season he was asked by NIO 333 to fill the space left by Ma Qinghua.
Will He Return to Tracks?
After his departure from the electric category, Abt decided to take a break from racing, and signed with Sat.1 TV channel, as he felt it would do him good not to drive for a year.
He did say that he would return “with great enthusiasm” after his break. Will he return to Formula E in 2022 or will he wait to join the new Gen 3 era?
Written by | Osward Rubio
