16-year-old to become youngest driver to test a Formula E car
Porsche hands German teen his first chance to test an FE car.
Elia Weiss will become the youngest driver to drive a Formula E car when he joins Porsche’s works squad for next month’s official test at Berlin.
Weiss, who turns 16 on 22nd June, has earned the opportunity on the back of a title-winning campaign in the 2024 German Karting Championship, DKM.
The Munich native is competing in single-seaters for the first time this year, having graduated to Formula 4 with Cram Motorsport in Italy.
He is part of the Motorsport Team Germany initiative, which supported talented youngsters from the age of 10 in both car and bike racing, while also offering simulator running with homegrown brands Audi, BMW, Mercedes-AMG, and Porsche.
Reigning Formula E champion and current Porsche driver Pascal Wehrlein is also a graduate of the Motorsport Team Germany programme.
“I’m incredibly proud – no doubt everyone dreams of being able to drive for Porsche!,” said Weiss.
“The fact that I get to do this is insane. It’s a huge step for me, which is why I have a lot of respect for it. But I’ve already practiced in the simulator in Weissach.
“It was all really positive: I was able to get to know the systems, felt right at home there, and got on really well with the engineers.
“Other than that, I’m preparing myself as best I can. In a Formula E car, you need a lot of strength and fitness, so I’m training particularly hard in those areas at the moment.”
Porsche’s Formula E chief Florian Modlinger praised Weiss for his maturity and approach.
“Elia comes from the Motorsport Team Germany, which is supported by Porsche Motorsport,” he said. “While he was a guest in our simulator, we were particularly impressed by how he interacted with the engineers. Elia turned 16 just a few days ago, but he comes across as a much more mature racing driver.”
Weiss will be joined in the post-Berlin E-Prix test by newly-crowned DTM race winner Ayhancan Guven.
This would be the first Formula E outing for the Porsche-contracted Turkish driver, who also won the Bathurst 12 Hour in 2024.
The Berlin FE test is scheduled on Monday 14 July, the day after the 14th round of the season.
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Rachit joined the Crash.net team in 2025 with a primary focus on IndyCar, NASCAR and sportscar racing.
He brings a vast amount of experience as a news editor, having played a key role in the day-to-day running of Motorsport.com.
