Matt Brabham to spark up Malaysian Formula E with Andretti

Matt Brabham has been drafted into the Andretti Formula-E team for the second event of the FIA’s all-electric formula this weekend in the Malaysian city of Putrajaya.

At the age of 20, Matt will be the youngest driver in the field, which includes no less than 11 ex-Formula 1 pilots and a number of drivers with current INDYCAR and GP2 experience.

At the Beijing ePrix in September, Matt played a critical role in Andretti Formula-E’s strategic approach to the race, which saw Franck Montagny and Charles Pic finish second and fourth respectively, annexing the Michael Andretti-led outfit first place in the team’s Championship.

Electric is the future of where motorsport and our road cars are going.

Matt Brabham

Matt says all of the teams learnt a lot at that event and expects an even tighter race on the 1.55 mile (2.5 kilometer) Putrajaya circuit.

Brabham - who won the Indy Lights race in May on the Indianapolis Road Course for Andretti Autosport - will take control of the cars that were raced by Pic in China.

He will become simultaneously the only American and the only Australian driver to race through the streets of Malaysia’s Government district, by virtue of being born in Florida and raised on Australia’s Gold Coast.

Behind the Spark

Matt Brabham: “It’s going to be an exciting weekend to race in Malaysia, it’s come about fairly quickly, but I’m ready for the challenge,” Brabham said.

“The Andretti Formula-E team worked hard on preparing these unique cars for tight street circuits and that paid dividends in China. I’ve been communicating closely with the engineers since then to come up with new ideas and strategies for the future races - so hopefully we can move forward again.

“Formula E caught my eye from the beginning - the technology is intriguing and to get the chance to finally race after doing some early testing is really cool.

“The talent and experience in the field is tremendous - it’s the best that you’re likely to see outside a Formula 1 World Championship race. As an up and coming driver, it’s very rare that you get an opportunity to race drivers with such experience.

“I’m the youngest in the field, which is a real honor, but that doesn’t mean anything when the lights go out - I’m there to do a job for Andretti Formula-E and position myself as best I can.

“It will really help us if we can get the FanBoost, which is an awesome idea to get the fans involved.

“I ask everyone to jump onto FanBoost site and vote for me, so I have that bit extra power for five seconds.

“Electric is the future of where motorsport and our road cars are going. ‘Pop’ (Sir Jack) was at the forefront of bringing new thinking into motorsport and many of the innovations he brought into Formula 1 and INDYCAR 50-odd years ago are still talked about today.”

Matt Brabham