Abbi Pulling was the fastest driver in the all-female Formula E test in Madrid

Abbi Pulling was the fastest driver in the all-female Formula E test last week in Madrid.

In this first of its kind event, the F1 Academy championship leader showed that she was not only adept in petrol-powered cars but could also embrace electrical power.

The driver from Gosberton set the fastest time of 1:30.889 around the Jarama Circuit which was less than a second away from the pace of the Formula E drivers in their opening test session.

Pulling said: "It was a really exciting session and felt amazing to put what I've learned in the simulator into real life and to experience the thrill of driving a Nissan Formula E car.

"The lap times were strong which is very pleasing, I think there was more time to extract at the peak of the tyre, but overall I'm happy with the performance.

"The whole team was great, explaining everything to me and answering any questions I had, so a big thanks to them.

"I’m delighted to have helped the Nissan Formula E team in the build up to the new season and I hope to have another opportunity to drive the car in the future."

Jamie Chadwick, who was representing Jaguar TCS Racing in the test, came in second with McLaren Development Driver and F1 Academy racer Bianca Bustamante rounding out the top three.

However, despite Pulling's pace and advantage over her fellow female drivers - she was four tenths faster than triple W Series champion Chadwick - it is unlikely that she will progress to Formula E any time soon.

It was recently confirmed that should Pulling win F1 Academy, she will be the beneficiary of a fully-funded seat in the GB3 Championship with Rodin Motorsport - her current team in F1 Academy.

In recent years, GB3 has been a step on the pathway to the upper echelons of motorsport with Mercedes Formula One driver George Russell being a former winner of the series and there are two previous champions currently racing in Formula Two - Luke Browning and Zak O'Sullivan.

However, there has been more recent female success in Formula E as in 2016 Simona de Silvestro became the first woman points scorer in the series.

Pulling's next race in F1 Academy is in Qatar on November 29 to December 1.