Photo: Fotospeedy
Tim Tramnitz made the most of a gap between Formula Regional European Championship rounds to try two quite different single-seaters in April, joining Formula E’s rookie test and Euroformula’s season opener.
The 18-year-old German told Formula Scout about his hectic schedule and what he learned from the experience.
Tramnitz’s first taste of FE in Berlin came with Abt Cupra, whose reserve driver Kelvin van der Linde became ineligible for the test after racing for Abt earlier in 2023 as substitute for the injured Robin Frijns.
With backing from the ADAC, which supports Tramnitz through its national sports foundation, Tramnitz was therefore a natural choice, although that necessitated a hurried flight onboard Abt’s private plane to get from FREC’s season opener in Italy to Germany for the next day’s test.
“It was a really nice experience and I’m very thankful to Abt and the ADAC Stiftung Sport for their support. It was incredible to try the FE car, especially to do this in Berlin,” Tramnitz said.
“It’s a completely different car. At the beginning it was a bit strange without any sound but after a couple of laps you get used to it and you’re just so focused on driving and trying to understand the car.”
Unlike FRegional, FE’s Gen3 car is equipped with driver aids such as an anti-lock braking-style system and assistive software.
“To trust the brake system is a bit weird when you come out of a FRegional car [without] ABS, so you can brake quite hard without locking the tyres,” noted Tramnitz.
Abt was reportedly impressed by Tramnitz’s professionalism and precise feedback, as he went 12th fastest.
“It was only one day but I would really like to work with the team again, but nothing is fixed yet so let’s see,” he added.
Out of the blue, the next day Motopark called to offer Tramnitz an opportunity to race in Euroformula at Algarve that weekend.
“It was really last minute. We got the call and the opportunity on Tuesday and then on Wednesday I flew to the track.”
Tramnitz’s first race experience in the Formula 3-level Dallara 320 car resulted in three podiums and the points lead.
“Lots of positives to take away, a lot of fun as well,” he reflected. “The power is quite similar, maybe [there is] even more in the FREC car, but you just have a lot more downforce, so you are able to carry a lot more speed into the corners.
“It was pretty much the first time I sat in the car, apart from one day in 2021, but I think I learned something every session.”
Despite the small field, he enjoyed some “good battles, quite hard racing” and was “a bit unlucky but we were really fast all weekend”.
“Three cars in just seven days was quite hard but I really enjoyed it,” he concluded.
Tramnitz has no further Euroformula outings planned and has slipped down the standings, but he took the FREC points lead with two wins at Barcelona last month.