Kobayashi’s Hong Kong appearance may not be one-off
Kamui Kobayashi could continue with Andretti’s Formula E squad after a “one off” appearance at Hong Kong.
The ex-Formula 1 driver jumped into the Andretti ATEC-O3 with almost no experience in the car, and managed 15th and 17th place finishes from the two Hong Kong ePrix.
It was expected Tom Blomqvist, who was named on the FIA’s entry list for the season, would make his FE debut at Marrakech next month, but that may no longer be the case.
“The plan was always ‘We’ll do this weekend and we’ll make no promises to anybody’,” co-team principal Roger Griffiths told Autosport.
“We’ve got to review how [Kobayashi] got on, look at his qualifying performance and his race pace, his ability to save energy.
“I’m sure there’ll be a number of telephone calls [with BMW].
“We know he’s keen to do more races, we’ve just got to see how that fits with the overall programme.”
With BMW set to make the Andretti entry a works team in the 2018-19 season, the manufacturer wants factory driver Blomqvist to get as much experience in FE as possible, but the decision for this season remains with Andretti.
Andretti must confirm its Marrakesh driver line-up before the end of 2017.