Jaguar's Calado set to miss final two Berlin FE races, Blomqvist likely to fill in
Jaguar Formula E driver James Calado is set to miss the final two Berlin races in August and will likely be replaced by new reserve Tom Blomqvist, Autosport understands.
Calado was signed by Jaguar for the current 2019-20 campaign but will lose his seat to Envision Virgin Racing driver Sam Bird next season – with reigning Super Formula champion Nick Cassidy taking Bird’s place.
Autosport understands that Calado will not be able to complete the six August races at the Tempelhof Airport due to his World Endurance Championship commitments in the GTE class for Ferrari.
The WEC season will resume at Spa, with the race held on 15 August, but Ferrari has confirmed to Autosport that Calado will be required in the AF Corse 488 GTE Evo for first practice on 13 August.
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Due to the three double-header format of the Berlin races, this means Calado will miss the final race on 13 August and the preceding day’s E-Prix also.
When asked for comment, a Jaguar spokesperson told Autosport: “James Calado is currently scheduled to drive for Jaguar Racing in Berlin.
“We are aware of the potential clash with WEC and are monitoring the situation closely.
“There are plans in place if was the clash was to happen for Berlin.”
The team has also revealed that Blomqvist has been signed as its new reserve driver to replace Alex Lynn, who has moved to Mahindra Racing following the sudden departure of Pascal Wehrlein.
Blomqvist, 26, contested six FE races for the Andretti team during the 2017-18 season and achieved a best finish of eighth on his debut in Marrakech.
The Anglo-Swede has since raced for BMW in the GTLM class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship in North America.
Lynn (Aston Martin GTE), Sebastien Buemi (Toyota Gazoo Racing LMP1) and FE points leader Antonio Felix da Costa (JOTA LMP2) also face the same WEC fixture tie as Calado.
The WEC has shuffled its Spa timetable so there is now only one Thursday session, so it is understood that Lynn, Buemi and da Costa will contest the FE races before travelling to Belgium.
Jaguar fielded inaugural W Series title winner Jamie Chadwick and reigning Japanese F3 champion Sasha Fenestraz in the I-Type 4 for the Marrakech rookie test earlier this year.
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