Why Formula E's feel-good comeback story has no bitterness

When Daniel Abt was effectively sacked by Audi at the end of May, the reaction broadly fell into two camps.

Many agreed that use of a sim racer to take his place in the Formula E Race at Home Challenge Esports competition had undermined a source of motorsport entertainment during the coronavirus pandemic. He was therefore right to lose his seat.

The others felt that, although he needed to be sanctioned, the punishment did not fit the crime, and that it had been used as a thinly-veiled opportunity to drop an under-performing driver to eventually make room for double DTM champion Rene Rast.

For those who fall into the latter party - and not least for Abt himself - there's been a lifeline to pave the way for his return to FE. The two-time E-Prix winner will maintain his record as having started every race in FE history when he deputises for NIO 333 driver Ma Qinghua - unable to attend due to travel restrictions - in the six races at Berlin's Tempelhof Airport that are set to conclude the current 2019-20 season.

Now a free agent, Abt had received a smattering of contact and offers from teams outside of the electric series. But, still believing there was a chance to return, he let them pass by as "there was nothing that felt right for me to do". Then a text landed to say there was opportunity to stand-in for Ma. Deal later confirmed, it's an FE comeback that few might have predicted, let alone so soon. That goes for Abt, too.

He tells Autosport: "I was quite sure that I would not race in Berlin. Honestly, I think no one in the paddock probably expected me to be in Berlin, including myself.

"It feels good for me to have not actually missed any races after all the drama that happened. I'm just back in the race car. I have a team that gives the trust for me to drive for them. Obviously, I'm also excited to see everyone again."

NIO 333 made contact with Audi out of courtesy to get its blessing for the temporary signing of Abt, with his former employer issuing a gracious statement to congratulate their long-term driver on his second chance. But for the 27-year-old German, not only has he had to be forgiven, but he too has had to make his peace with recent events that could have put paid to his FE career for good. It's a process he's managed to undertake rapidly.

"It's not like I have any hard feelings with anyone or that it's the other way around," he says. "There were a lot of other drivers that supported me in that time and also Formula E supported me. I'm just excited to see everybody again and have a good time.

"I don't think there's going to be much more attention on me, I don't feel like I need to prove anything to anyone now. The situation that I had is over, now I go back to real racing.

"I don't feel like I need to prove anything to anyone now. The situation that I had is over, now I go back to real racing" Daniel Abt

"I've been doing that for 20 years and I've never had a situation where I did anything bad or wrong before. I've always been part of the sport and then I lost it. I just want to continue and do my best."

That goodwill extends through to Abt's replacement, Rast. The pair have known one another for over a decade, well before their signings as factory drivers to the Audi stable.

"Rene deserves to be in that seat," adds Abt. "It's the way life goes that of course DTM stops [when Audi pulls out of the series at the end of 2020], he wants to be in racing, he tries to push for that seat. I think that's natural, that's normal. And I fully understand that, I respect him as a person and I wish him all the best.

"It's the same for me and Lucas [di Grassi, former Audi team-mate]. We are more than just team-mates. We've had so many races and also personal moments together. He's an amazing person. I've learned so much from him.

"I'm really happy I got to spend the time with him. We have a lot of memories that no one can take away from us. It's a bit different now racing against him and with a different team, but it's been a great six years. Also for him, I just really wish him all the best."

Although Abt does have deep reserves of FE experience to fall back on as he prepares for the first Berlin race on 5 August, all of that comes from his time at Audi. He must still adjust to the operational, software and systems requirements that come with switching teams.

A few days in the NIO 333 simulator will form the bulk of the learning process, prior to a proper FE car test in the UK later this month. That transition will be aided further when Abt reunites with at least one familiar face: Roberto Costa. The former Audi FE engineer is now NIO 333 team manager, and has notably run ex-Formula 1 drivers Rubens Barrichello, Giorgio Pantano and Pastor Maldonado.

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Once Abt has completed his induction and is expected to be on the pace, and indeed ahead of Ma - bottom of the standings having finished last on the road in three of the five races so far this term - he faces a tall order to drag the NIO 333 FE005 into the points.

The team is amid an internal restructure following the fresh investment of new majority shareholders Lisheng Racing at the top of the season. Nevertheless, Ma nor team-mate Oliver Turvey have scored a point so far. With Abt 17th in the championship - compared to di Grassi in a comparatively lofty fifth - between the two, it's unwise to expect fireworks.

"It's clear to see everyone knows where NIO 333 is right now in the standings and therefore I don't think we arrive acting like we're going to win easily and go home," predicts Abt.

"We know that it's a big challenge for us together, but anything I can do to improve the team situation and to maybe finish on a high is good. I just want the team to be behind me and I feel that's the case. I feel motivated and that's all that matters."

By having Turvey, thoroughly imbedded in the team, as his nearest rival, Abt faces a tall order to win the internal bragging rights. As for Turvey, rated highly by his colleagues, it's a chance too for him to prove his worth against a stronger team-mate, having raced a largely uncompetitive car that has hidden his sheer speed on many an occasion.

Abt says of Turvey: "He's a great driver and has shown amazing results. But I've driven against [2016-17 champion] di Grassi for six years, so I don't think anything in that perspective will change.

"It's important for us to work together to see what we can do to improve the car and the team. Of course, you want to beat your team-mate, but for now it's more about working together because we need to make sure that we can score points if possible."

"If we do a good job together then it definitely helps for next season. That's quite clear" Daniel Abt

That target for Abt is, to some small degree, eased by the venue for the races. The Tempelhof circuit is where he scored his second of two FE wins back in 2018. From that dominant weekend, Abt remains the only driver in the series to have scored pole, fastest lap and led the entirety of the race on route to snaring victory. He'd backed that result up with a sturdy fourth the year before, and a sixth last season.

"The past has been quite positive for me in Tempelhof," reckons Abt. "It doesn't make it guaranteed that it's going to be good again, but every time I arrive at that track, every time I'm in Berlin, I just feel confident, I feel good.

"I like the track and I know where to go. Of course it's something new, it's a new car, a new team, but it's a very good place for me to do this comeback and to try to achieve good things."

For now, Abt - along with Rast - is only signed for the six Berlin races, and will again become a free agent bidding to find an FE seat for 2020-21 and beyond. This is a driver who has stated that his racing lives and dies with FE, and that he has little interest in pursuing GT or touring car moves in an effort to prolong his career.

"If I go racing, I want to race because I love it and because it's fun and because I'm just enjoying it," he says. "Of course you also want to make money if you're professional, but for me, that's not the number one goal in doing that.

"If you look at motorsport, it's tough times, there's not a lot of series where drivers actually get paid. Not a lot of series that have some sort of attention. I feel at home in Formula E. I love it, I love being part of it. I've started with the series from scratch. I've seen it all. If I can continue there, it's a great place for me to be."

Given that within the space of six weeks Abt was let go by Audi, left in limbo and seemingly set to bow out of FE, and now has been re-signed by NIO 333, his sights haven't extended beyond the Tempelhof finale. But that's unsurprising for a driver that was continually re-signed to Audi on a rolling one-year deal and knows little in the way of long-term security.

"I will try to do my best and help NIO 333 to have a good season finish," he says. "I think it's important for the team and for myself also. If we do a good job together then it definitely helps for next season. That's quite clear.

"But for me now, the focus is not to think ahead. It's more about doing a good job in these six races in Berlin, a place that I love. I'm just excited to go racing."

Abt and NIO 333 will not set the FE world alight as they unite in Berlin. But in a year where bad news is seemingly only followed by even worse news, positive stories have to be savoured. Abt's return is one such instance - an instance which will allow him to escape the prospect of having his career defined by one afternoon where he didn't take part in a virtual race.