25/03/2014
NEWS STORY
Jarno Trulli has applauded the Formula E following a test drive at the La Ferte Gaucher circuit near Choisy-le-Roi in France.
The 39-year-old, who last week signed up to the Championship's Drivers' Club, spent a whole day at the wheel of the single-seater using the final race-going 200kw (270bhp) battery.
Trulli, one of the most experienced drivers in the history of F1, and who, over the course of a 15-year career, drove for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault, Toyota and Lotus, said: "From inside the cockpit it feels like driving a proper Formula One car, the sound is different but you still hear the sound of the electrical engine and gearbox, so in terms of feeling it's perfect for a racing driver. Maybe from the outside it seems different but inside you don't notice it. So far I have enjoyed it because it's a nice car to drive.
"As a first day I expected something different and it certainly is, but having a feeling of a racing car was the most important thing. I have been racing for 30 years, 15 in Formula One, so I have seen more or less everything so I anticipated finding something unlike anything else but it gave me the same feeling of the old days."
Speaking on the forthcoming championship, he added: "There is a lot of potential in this series and it's going to be fun because you are going to be driving in street circuits bringing the cities into the fans' house."
To date, the SRT_01E has completed more than 1,500km of testing and will shortly go into production with the first cars delivered to teams at the Championship's new Donington Park headquarters in mid-May.
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