Formula E has announced that major changes have occured for the Jakarta E-Prix, just 1 week ahead of the double header.
Presenter Vernon Kay left the role of lead presenter after the Monaco EPrix a few weeks ago and today, it was announced that Radzi Chinyanganya would take over this role in Jakarta.
As Radzi will leave his pitlane reporter role to fill in for Vernon, Saunders Carmichael-Brown will take over as a pit-lane reporter with Nelson Piquet Jr, Oliver Askew and Kelvin Van Der Linde all taking up their roles.
Also announced is Nicki Shields will be absent for the Jakarta EPrix and will return for the Southwire Portland E-Prix.
A familar face to motorsport fans will be taking over from Jack Nicholls as lead commentator for the Jakarta EPrix with Ben Edwards stepping up. Karun Chandock will be in the commentary box as well.
Speaking about the change, Edwards said “I am very excited to get back behind the mic with Formula E as the on-track action this season is a commentator’s dream.” said Edwards. “The championship is more competitive than ever and I get to bring that to life for viewers around the world. I’m delighted to be joining the team and calling the action in Jakarta.”
Jack Nicholls is also out as the lead commentator for the rest of season 9 and the entire championship.
Qualifying was first up and Group A saw Nato, Fenestraz, Ticktum and Evans all through to the duels. The DS Penske duo of Vandoorne and Vergne both lost their lap times due to a technical infraction which dropped them to the back of the grid.
Gunther, Hughes, Mortara and Sette Camara all went through to the final from Group B. Fenestraz appeared victorious over Dan Ticktum for the first session of quarter finals, Nato beat Evans in the second quarter final, Hughes beat Mortara and Sette Camara beat Gunther in the 3rd and 4th quarter finals respectfully. However, Sette Camara got his best lap time deleted so Gunther took his place in the duel. Before their duel however, it was a nissan quarter final with Nato vs Fenestraz and Fenestraz won that battle. Hughes took victory over Gunther in the second semi final so it was Hughes against Fenestraz for the battle for pole.
It was a tight battle which saw Fenestraz snatch the position from Hughes after Hughes made an error. Fenestraz, however, used more power than he was meant to and got the pole snatched away!
Race:
The 29 lap race started by Hughes leading the race with Cassidy trying to make a lot of places up. Cassidy went up to P7 by the end of lap 1. Jake Hughes held the lead from the two Nissans and from Ticktum and Gunther in P5. Dennis managed to get Cassidy on lap 2. Rowland who started P13 is up to P7. By lap 3 rowland managed to make up to P6. A yellow flag then came out on lap 3 due to lotterer and retiring. Rowland took his first attack mode on lap 3. Evans and Gunther were battling on the final sector of lap 3 which Gunther managed to win. Nick Cassidy made a big move on lap 5 to make up 2 places at once. Cassidy made HUGE moves to go up to P2 after Hughes took attack mode! Hughes went down to P4 just ahead of Ticktum. Evans managed to make his way up to P5 after a lunge in the hairpin. Cassidy and Nato took their attack mode together which allowed Ticktum to make his way up to P1. ahead of Evans and Fenestraz. Fenestraz and Cassidy attack their way up the hull after turn 1 and Fenestraz manages to keep the position over the New Zealander.
An image from the ABB FIA Formula E Monaco EPrix. Credit to Formula E.
Lap 13 saw Cassidy lead the race from Evans and Fenestraz who are 2nd and 3rd. Lap 14 saw a titanic battle between Evans and Dennis coming out of the tunnel to battle for position. Gunther had a big moment in the swimming pool section of the track on lap 15but he managed to keep it goether. Evans took the lead of the race at the start of lap 16 . While ths was going on, Vergne and Vandoorne managed to make their way up to P13 and P14 after starting at the back of the grid. Bird and Nato collided after the tunnel and Da Costa suffered a puncture and fell to the back of the grid. Both Maseratis took attack mode on lap 17 and fell to P7 and P8 with Gunther leading the way. Cassidy managed to get the lead of the race on lap 18. Dennis tried to get ahead of Evans into the hairpin but he didn’t manage to make it stick. Hughes and Ricktum Kept switching positions on lap 18 too with Ticktum taking the position. Fenestraz tried to get Dennis into the hairpin but didn’t manage to get him. Ticktum tried to squeeze Vergne into the wall down into the hairpin but Vergne managed to make it out. Mortara appeared to lose his front wing. Ticktum had an issue after he collided with another driver. Nato had to slow down and Gunther stopped on track which resulted on a safety car on lap 22/29.
The safety car came in on lap 25 and Cassidy and Evans went battling for the win with Dennis not far behind. Bird went for attack mode but he managed to miss it! There was no added laps to the race. Muller collided with Bird on lap 28 which resulted in Muller stopping on lap and the safety car being deployed which ended this race. Nick Cassidy won the Monaco EPrix and takes the lead of the championship. Mitch Evans finished P2 and Jake Dennis finished P3. The front row finished P4 and P5 with Fenestraz finishing ahead of Hughes. Ticktum managed to hold onto P6 with Vergne going from p22 to P7. Buemi finished P8 with Vandoorne finishing P9 and Evan’s teammate Sam Bird collecting the final point position. Sam Bird later received a penalty so Pascal Wehrlein picked up P10.
The concludes Formula E for 1 month where we head to Jakara for a double header!
The first ever FIA Formula E Qualifying in Sao Paulo started off badly for Sergio Sette Camara. In his home race, he stopped on track but managed to get going again. Lucas Di Grassi hit the wall and found himself out of qualifying too. Vandoorne, Cassidy, Mortara and Hughes all managed to get through to the duels from group A. Bird, Guenther, Da Costa and Evans were the victors from Group B after Frijns stopped on track earlier on in the session.
Mortara and Cassidy went head to head for the first quarter final with Mortara taking victory. Vandoorne took victory over Hughes in the second quarter final, Da Costa won over Guenther and Evans over Bird in the 3rd and 4th quarter final respectfully. Vandoorne claimed the win against Mortara in the first semi final and Da Costa over Evans in the second semi final. It was a battle between Da Costa and Vandoorne for the final and the reigning world champion Stoffel Vandoorne took victory over Da Costa.
Race:
The Sao Paulo E Prix got underway and from the get go, it was 31 laps of chaos. Da Costa got a good start fromthe front row, however, it was Vandoorne who lead the pack. The chaos continued as the front pack went 4 wide through the first two corners. Norman Nato got pushed into the back of another car and had to retire from the race. Eduardo Mortara’s misery continued as he picked up damage in the opening lap and had to retire. Lotterer was another casualty – starting from the back of the grid, his race ending in retirement in the early stages. It was a slip stream frenzy down towards turn 1 on the opening lap, with Guenther going wide. His race didn’t improve as he was handed a penalty for not following the race directors procedures.
Bird was on the charge from P10 as he wanted to make the most post penalty from Hyderabad as he passed the Neom McLaren of Rene Rast. His success continued when he dispatched of Jake Hughes, making his way up the order. Championship leader Wehrlein started in P18 and was a man on a mission to make the most of it, trying to attack Muller. Once he had dispatched of the ABT car, he proceeded to climb the order, getting past Guenther on the next lap. Vandoorne and Da Costa switched positions throughout the opening stages, with Mitch Evans in the Jaguar joining the battle for the top prize. Fenestraz stopped on lap 7, leading to a safety car but before it was activated, Bird managed to sweep past Hughes.
Norman Nato, Nissan Formula E Team, Nissan e-4ORCE 04 clashes with Jake Hughes, NEOM McLaren Formula E Team, e-4ORCE 04 (Image Credit: Formula E Media)
After the short safety car period, Da Costa made a move on Cassidy at the front, before passing Evans and began to challenge Vandoorne for the lead. Cassidy then made a two car overtake for the lead and championship protaganist Dennis got hit by Ticktum, ending his chances of a good result. Vandoorne, Evans and Da Costa all passed Cassidy, dropping the Kiwi back out of the podium places.
However, Cassidy fought back to snatch the lead away, holding it throughout a brief safety car period. Da Costa disposed of Vandoorne for P2. Da Costa, Rast, Wehrlein and Evans were all under investigation for overtake under yellow flag conditions but these were ruled to have no further action. Wehrlein continued up the order, fighting his way past Vergne as Da Costa made a mistake in the latter stages of the race, losing his shot at a podium place. Cassidy continued to excel, pulling a gap at the front of the race as Wehrlein took attack mode but he was instructed to hold position and to save energy behind his teammate Da Costa.
Four extra laps were added onto the race due to the safety cars as Bird managed to pass Vergne to take a potential podium in the dying stages of the race. He then proceeded to snatch away P3 from Vandoorne. However, Evans was beginning to show momentum, passing Cassidy in the last added laps, the pair had afight to the line as they went side by side towards the penultimate corner of the race but Evans held off the Envision to take victory. Bird finished P3 with Da Costa, Vergne, Vandoorne and Wehrlein finishing off the top 7. The Neom McLaren duo of Hughes and Rast finished P8 and P9 respectfully whilst Buemi snatched P10 to round off the points positions.
Antonio Felix DaCosta brought home the victory for Porsche after a day to remember for the inaugeral Cape Town ePrix.
Qualifying:
Qualifying in Group A saw Sacha Fenestraz, Nick Cassidy, Pascal Wehrlein and Jean-Eric Vergne advance into the duels.
Group B saw Rene Rast, Mitch Evans, Sebastian Buemi and Max Guenther advance to the duels after the Maserati of Eduardo Mortara crashed into the wall, no yellow flags being brought out and then the Jaguar of Mitch Evans colliding with the same wall and hitting Mortara. This led to a clean up and Evans being ruled out of the race.
Absent from qualifying, however, were both the ABT Cupra and Mahindra cars. This is due to the fact that there were safety concerns with the suspensions of the cars and the teams withdrew them from the race. This brought the amount of cars on the grid down to 16.
Within the Duel Quarter Finals, Wehrlein took on Cassidy and Cassidy was able to beat the championship leader by 0.152seconds. Next up saw the rookie of Fenestraz take on the two time champion of Vergne. The rookie beat the champion to progress further in the duels. Buemi took on Evans in the next duel and Buemi was ahead by a few thousands of a second but overcooked it and hut the barrier which cost him a shot at moving further. Evans then progressed. The final quarter final saw Maximilian Guenther take on Rene Rast with Guenther claiming victory.
The Duel Semi Finals saw Fenestraz take on Cassidy for a shot at the final and Fenestraz managed to beat the Envision driver to earn his first shot at pole and a guaranteed spot on the front row. Guenther took on Evans and while Evans was ahead as Guenther crossed the line, Evans made a mistake which saw Guenther through to the final.
With both Fenestraz and Guenther through to the final,this guaranteed Formula E a new pole sitter. It was very close around the lap but Fenestraz managed to pull a gap of over 4 tenths by the time they reached the line and managed to get his first pole position in Formula E. Along with this, the lap by Fenestraz was the fastest lap ever in the history of Formula E.
Race:
The start of the race saw Fenestraz keeping the lead and Cassidy challenging Guenther on the first lap for P2. It was a clean lap 1 until the championship leader Pascal Wehrlein hit the back of Sebastian Buemi. This led to the championship leader retiring from the race and a safety car being deployed on lap 2. Just as the safety car was came out, Guenther overtook Fenestraz for the lead of the race. Eduardo Mortara also had to retire from the race.
The safety car went into the pits on lap 5. By lap 8, Vandoorne, Dennis, Lotterer, Buemi and Sette Camara had all used one of their attack mode. Vergne was close on the tail of Rene Rast. Fenestraz and Evans both took attack mode on lap 10. Guenther took his attack mode 1 lap later and managed to stay ahead of Fenestraz. Cassidy lead the race but he still had to take both of his attack mode. Evans, meanwhile, receieved a drive through penalty for an overuse of power.
Cassidy and Guenther took attack mode on lap 13 but Cassidy managed to keep the lead while Guenther came out in 3rd place.
Formule E’s Nick Cassidy leading the Cape Town E Prix. Image Credit to Formula E.
Vergne took attack mode on lap 16 which saw Antonio Felix Da Costa take P4 as lap 17 arrived. Fenestraz was keeping on the back of Cassidy. Lap 19, the driver who was P2 in the championship, Jake Dennis received a drive through penalty for not respecting mimumum tyre pressure. Dennis’ teammate Andre Lotterer was also under investigation for a safety car infringement.
On lap 21, the driver who started P2 Max Guenther crashed into the wall and had to pull over to retiring from the race. Lap 22 saw a full course yellow which was right after Fenestraz and Cassidy took their second attack mode. This led for the majoirty their attack modes to be wasted. Cassidy maintained first but Fenestraz dropped down to P4.
As lap 23 occured, Lottrer was given a 5 second time penalty for a safety car procedure. Cassidy lead the race from Da Costa in P2 and Vergne in P3 but Da Costa had another attack mode to take. On the next lap, he took a risk going to the lead which paid off and he took first from Cassidy. Vergne then took P2 form Cassidy. Lap 26, Da Costa tried to take attack mode but he missed one of the sections where he must enter in order to obtain it. Vergne managed to keep near Da Costa so when Da Costa did take it, Vergne would take the lead of the race.
The final 4 laps of the race saw Da Costa racing after Vergne. On lap 30, Fenestraz managed to overtake Cassidy for third place. However, there was 2 added laps due to the laps while under the safety car.
On the second last lap, Da Costa went for a move that not seen before and mnaaged to take the lead of the race from Vergne. Fenestraz hit the wall on the last lap. Da Costa took the victory ahead of Vergne and Cassidy in P2 and P3. Rene Rast finished P4 and Buemi in P5. Ticktum, Vandoorne and Nato finished in P6, P7 and P8 with Lotterer and Hughes finishing off the top 10.
HYDERABAD STREET CIRCUIT, INDIA – FEBRUARY 11: Jean-Eric Vergne, DS Penske, DS E-Tense FE23 , 1st position during the Hyderabad ePrix at Hyderabad Street Circuit on Saturday February 11, 2023, India. (Photo by Sam Bagnall / LAT Images)
After starting P2, the two time world champion turned a front row start to his first victory in over 2 years.
Qualifying:
Qualifying saw Hughes, Evans, Fenestraz and Buemi get through from Group A and Rast, Vergen, Bird and Mortara through from group B.
However, Hughes had his times from the group stage deleted due to the minimum pit stop time not being abided by and missed out in the duels.
Buemi, Evans, Bird and Mortara all won their finals. However, all was not as it seemed as bird and Mortara both had their lap times deleted due to track limits. This seemed to have promoted Vergne to the semi finals as well as Rast. While Vergne did go to the semi finals, Rene Rast also had his lap time deleted so Vergene had to do 1 lap by himself around the track to go through to the final.
Evans went head to head with the double world champion for pole but Evans managed to just take it away from Vergne.
Race:
The lights went out for the debut race at Hyderabad and Evans managed to hold onto the lead from Vergne. A few moves were also made on the opening lap including Hughes. Further on into the race, Nick Cassidy managed to make a move up to P6. On lap 2, Mortara hit Cassidy and ended up losing his front wing. The lead changed hands on lap 7 as Buemi made a move at the same time that Evans decided to take attack mode.
Lap 9 and 10 saw Buemi and Vergne respectfully take attack mode and both stayed ahead of Evans. Bird saw a gap to try and overtake his teammate, Evans but he misjudged it and ended up colliding with him. Fenestraz and Genther ended up being passengers in that collision and dropped down the order. Both Bird and Evans had to eventually retire from the race while Fenestraz and Gunther continued to the chequered flag.
Vergne managed to take the lead on lap 15 with Nick Cassidy in P2 and Jake Dennis in P3. Laps 17 to 22 saw Dennis and Cassidy swapping positions from P2 and P3 with Dennis almost hitting Cassidy at one point.
Porsche Formula E Car in Hyderabad. Image Credit: TAG Heuer Porsche on Twitter.
The Safety Car made a surprise appearance on lap 23 as Neom McLaren driver Jake Hughes crashed into the wall due to a mirror being stuck under his steering wheel.
At the start of lap 26, the safety car went into the pits and racing resumed yet again. Neom McLaren’s other driver Rene Rast, however, misjudged a move on Jake Dennis and ended up colliding with the Andretti driver. This resulted in Dennis being at the back of the pack and Rast having to retire.
The last stage of the race saw Cassidy and Vergne enter a battle for the win. Cassidy had 4% more energy for the entire final stage of the race but Vergne managed to hold him off to take the win.
Cassidy finished P2 with Da Costa taking the finish podium spot after Buemi received a post race penalty for a use of overpower which dropped him down the classification. Wehrlein managed to get up to P4 with Sette Camara, Rowland and Nato finishing P5,P6 and P7 respectfully. Vandoorne , Lotterer and Mortara concluded the points paying positions after post race penalties for Vandoorne, Rowland and Buemi occurred.
Qualifying for the first race in the Gen 3 era of Formula E in Saudi Arabia got off to a less-than-ideal start for Maserati as Maximilian Guenther crashed early on in the Group A session. He was uninjured after the collision with the barrier.
Ticktum and Rowland went head to head in the first quarter final with Ticktum taking the victory.
Di Grassi and Hughes went head to head for the second quarter final and Hughes taking the victory in that one.
It was Evans against Buemi in the third quarter final and Buemi took the victory.
Rast and Bird went head to head for the final quarter final with Rast losing out to Bird by 2 tenths.
In the first semi final, Hughes took victory over Ticktum which saw Hughes go through to the final.
The second semi final saw Buemi take victory over Bird by less than a tenth.
The final saw an epic battle from Buemi and Hughes. Buemi just took pole over Hughes.
Sebastian Buemi with his Pole Trophy in ahead of the Diriyah E-Prix. Credit: Formula E
Race
Before the race began, it was announced that Sergio Sette Camara would have a 3 place penalty for impeding Pascal Wehrlein in qualifying.
Maximilian Guenther’s crash in qualifying resulted in him not starting the race.
The 39 lap event started with contact between Rowland and Da Costa which resulted in them both pitting early on. This led to the safety car being brought out for less than a lap. Evans hit Rene Rast on lap 1 turn 1 as well. It was a calm safety car restart but then Sam Bird got Jake Hughes who started in P2. However, Bird was not done yet. He then started to hunt Buemi down and he eventually got him.
Fast track to Lap 7 where Bird took the lead over from Buemi after his hunt. Onto lap 11, Evans tried to get past Rast but locked up and lost a few places as a result. Lap 15 saw Muller pit and eventually retire from the EPrix.
Lap 25 saw an epic battle between Pascal Wehrlein and Sam Bird. Wehrlein had more energy and an extra attack more compared to Bird. He managed to stay with him but going into turn 18, he locked up and lost the place he gained for a few seconds. Further down, Cassidy was trying to get past the Andretti of Jake Dennis but instead, Dennis and Cassidy got the McLaren of Jake Hughes when Hughes had to get his attack mode.
Enter the final stages of the race and Wehrlein was still on Sam Bird’s tail. Onto lap 30 and turn 18, Wehrlein gets past Bird and maintains it. Buemi had to get his last attack mode which put Dennis up into 3rd place after starting 11th.
Lap 33 comes around and Dennis was on a charge. Dennis takes Bird on lap 34 just as Wehrlein gets his second attack mode. Wehrlein came out just ahead of Dennis but it saw a battle to the end which saw Wehrlein take his second victory in Formula E.
Further down the field, Maserati’s last remaining car of Eduardo Mortara had to retire on lap 33. He joined Muller as the second retirement of the race. Muller’s teammate Kevin Van Der Linde only managed P16 on his debut for the injured Robin Frijns. Da Costa and Rowland also managed to make it to the end of the race but finishing in the bottom 2 positions due to their collisions on lap 1. Despite obtaining P4 in qualifying, Dan Ticktum dropped down to P14 by the end of the race with his teammate Sergio Sette Camara behind him in 15th.
Di Grassi, Nato and Vandoorne finished off the non points scorers with Evans Lotterer, Hughes, Vergne and Cassidy making up from P10 top 6 respectfully. Rene Rast for McLaren managed P5 with the fastest lap and Buemi finishing P4 to round off the non podium positions.
Wehrlein took the win ahead of Dennis in P2 and Bird in P3.
Mexico City ePrix: Jake Dennis Takes a Dominant Victory
Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis took the maiden win of the Gen3 era and Season 9 in Mexico City after a dominant performance.
At the start of the race, it was a clean getaway for all drivers. However, Robin Frijns hit the back of Norman Nato on lap 1 and had to stop the car on track. This brought out the first of three safety cars.
On lap 6, the safety car came in but Sam Bird suffered a mechanical failure and had to retire at turn 2. This brought out the safety car for a second time. From lap 9, the safety car and all remaining cars went through the pits due to where Bird’s car was stopped.
The second safety car entered the pits for racing to resume on lap 10 and Di Grassi held the lead from Dennis and Hughes. Lap 12 had a big surprise where Jake Dennis took the lead from Di Grassi and he built a healthy lead early on. He would build this lead over the course of the race and keep this lead for the rest of the race.
Lap 13 saw Dan Ticktum received a drive through penalty for overpower. That brought him down to last place. From lap 17, there was a fight for P2 between Di Grassi, Hughes, Wehrlein and Lotterer. Lap 18 saw Mortara crash into the turn 1 barrier and bring out the safety car for a third time.
The NIO cars- Image Credit: Formula E
We went green flag racing on lap 21 after the third safety car. Hughes held onto P3 while trying to catch up to Di Grassi in P2. Lap 25 saw Andre Lotterer make a mistake and go deep into corners 5 and 6. Lap 26 then saw both Di Grassi and Hughes take their second attack mode which saw Wehlein take P3 from Hughes. Wehrlein also took P2 from Di Grassi on lap 29.
Towards the end of the race, Lotterer was able to pressure Hughes for P5. A yellow flag appeared in the latter stages of the race due to debris and Vergne continued the race with no front wing. Rene Rast had to retire from the race in the latter stages of the race. On the last lap of the race, Lotterer attacked Hughes for P5 into turn 3 but Hughes just managed to keep it. Lotterer eventually made the pass for P4 and kept it as they went across the line.
Formula E returns with a double header in Saudi Arabia in 2 weeks time for the Diriyah E Prix.
A tense qualifying session for the first race of the 9th season of Formula E saw Di Grassi take pole in Mexico City! Here is how it all played out.
Group A:
The first Qualifying Session in Formula E got underway with Group A going out first. At the half way point of Group A, Lotterer, Di Grassi, Buemi and Guenther were all in the top 4. Rast, Sette Camara, Da Costa, Vergne Frijns, Fenestraz and Bird all needed to improve.
Lotterer, Di Grassi, Buemi and Fenestraz all went through to the duels.
Knocked Out in Group A:
Da Costa, Vergne, Sette Camara, Rast, Guenther, Frijns and Bird.
Group B:
In Group B, the remaining 12 drivers headed out to the track to try and get in to the finals. At the half way point, Ticktum, Hughes, Mortara and Wehrlein were all through with Evans, Cassidy, Vandoorne, Rowland, Dennis, Muller and Nato all needing to improve in order to get through.
Dennis, Ticktum, Wehrlein, Hughes are all make it through to the duels.
In the first Quarter Finals it was Lucas Di Grassi bs Sebastian Buemi. Di Grassi headed out first. Buemi had an early lead by 0.085 and increased it by 0.163 at the midway point. Di Grassi started to catch Buemi towards the end but Buemi lost time in the final sector and Di Grassi got through by 0.019!
In the second Quarter Final it was Sacha Fenestraz and Andre Lotterer. Fenestraz went out first and Fenestraz had a very healthy lead by 0.25 but Lotterer was catching him. Lotterer got ahead of him and beat Fenestraz by 0.04 of a second!
In the third Quarter Final it was Jake Hughes and Dan Ticktum. Hughes went out first and had an early lead over Ticktum. Ticktum started to catch him but Hughes beat Ticktum by 0.134!
In the fourth Quarter Final it was Pascal Wehrlein and Jake Dennis. Wehrlein went out first but Dennis got an early lead. He then built it to over 4 tenths but he got through by only 0.02!
Knocked Out in Quarter Finals:
Buemi, Fenestraz, Ticktum, and Wehrlein.
Semi Finals:
In the first semi finals it was Andre Lotterer and Lucas Di Grassi. Lotterer went wide on the middle of the lap and that put Di Grassi over 1.5 seconds ahead of him. Di Grassi went though to the final after that error from Lotterer.
In the second semi final it was Jake Dennis and Jake Hughes. Jake Dennis went our first but Hughes got the jump on Dennis. Dennis quickly got some more time and started to catch. Jake Hughes had some slides in the final moments of the lap so Dennis got through to the final.
Knocked Out in Semi Finals:
Hughes and Lotterer
Final:
In the final it was Lucas Di Grassi and Jake Dennis. Di Grassi went out first Di Grassi got an early lead and Dennis had 2 errors early on the lap. This lead Di Grassi to win the final!
Final Winner:
Di Grassi
Did you expect Lucas Di Grassi to take pole position in his first race with Mahindra? Do you think he can maintain pole to take the first win of the season?
As a new year begins in the world, a new era dawns on a motorsport series. This time, it relates to Formula E. The changes being brought it are pretty huge in comparison to the previous generation.
2 Gen 3 Cars in testing. Credit: Formula E
Sporting Regulation Changes:
Laps replaced timed races:
One of the most notable changes for the Formula E championship is the removal of timed races and the introduction of lap raced. This brings it on par with some of its other counterparts in the FIA series such as Formula 1. The amount of laps is unknown but this may bring a curveball into the team’s strategy. With this change, if there are any Safety Cars or Full Course Yellows at any stage during a race, more laps will be added onto the end of the race to maintain consistency.
Goodbye FanBoost, hello Attack Charge:
A key feature in Formula E, FanBoost, will be removed. This feature saw fans vote for a driver to gain 5% more power near the end of the race. However a new feature will be added: Attack Charge. Attack Charge is a 30 second stop which is mandatory which will allow the energy in the car to be increased from 300kW to 350kW. This will be trialled at certain races throughout the season and where it is not at the races, Attack Mode will be reinstated.
Rookie Sessions in FP1:
Following the footsteps of Formula 1, Formula E will allow drivers who have “never previously competed in the championship” to have at least 2 FP1 sessions during the season. These are mandatory and they will allow young drivers to see what Formula E has to offer as a sport.
Speaking about these regulation changes, Formula E CEO Jamie Reigle said that the new regulations “are evidence of the continued evolution and positive impact of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship” They go on to state that ” The combination of sporting enhancements, a step change in car performance, cutting-edge battery technology and the innovation of Attack Charge will make our racing more competitive and entertaining .”
Team and Calendar Changes:
3 cars on track in pre season testing. Credit: Formula E
New Teams and Drivers:
As with a traditional motor racing series, there have been changes to the driver line ups at teams and a few team changes. The most obvious one is Mercedes EQ have left the world of Formula E and have been replaced by McLaren.
McLaren’s line up is Jake Hughes and Rene Rast. The Formula E champion of 2022 Stoffel Vandoorne has gone to Penske while Nyck DeVries has gone over to Formula 1’s Alpha Tauri team.
Nissan have signed Sacha Fenestraz who took over from Antonio Giovinazzi at the final race last year, Sergio Sete Camara has joined NIO 333, Andre Lotterer has joined Avalanche Andretti with Antonio Felix da Costa joining Porsche and Mahindra Racing signing Lucas Di Grassi. These changes are expected to spice up the grid and the racing.
New Venues Enter the Calandar:
With a new season of Formula E also brings new and exciting venues which bring a factor of unpredictable to the track. The 4th, 5th and 6th rounds of Season 9 are the majority of the new venues on the calandar. These are Hyderabad in India, Cape Town in South Africa and Sao Paulo in Brazil. The final new venue for this season is Portland, America. Each of these venues are set to bring new and exciting changes for the drivers and the teams.
Formula E kicks off the start of the new era in Mexico City on 14th January 2023.
Stoffel Vandoorne claimed his first Formula E title at the finale staged in South Korea’s capital Seoul this weekend. The Belgian scooped another podium to cement victory, with Mercedes also claiming the spoils in the constructor’s championship, a perfect swan song for the departing manufacturer. The Mercedes man held off a late charge from title rival Mitch Evans who won the race yesterday to take the championship as the curtain fell on the Gen 2 era. Vandoorne started the race from P4, with Evans in an insurmountable P15, but it was Edo Mortara who claimed victory in the final race of the Gen 2 era, a stark difference to the day before where his Venturi stopped on track. Jake Dennis continued his incredible form and shrugged off a five second time penalty to round out the podium.
Credit: Sam Bloxham
Da Costa took a dominant pole position, the departing Techeetah man looking impressive through qualifying. He made light work of Robin Frijns in the opening duel but Dennis was a more difficult challenge, the Portuguese man scoring a place in the final by a mere two tenths. Mortara, another dominant force throughout the new qualifying format had to settle for lining up in second position as Da Costa delivered an all but perfect pole lap, a fitting end to this generation as the Portuguese driver was the first to secure a pole position in the Gen 2 era. London ePrix winner Dennis also looked impressive in qualifying, but he just fell short having to settle for P3. Behind Vandoorne, Frijns and Lucas di Grassi rounded out the top six. Evans struggled as the clock ticked down and a brief impact with the wall left the Kiwi out of the duels as Dan Ticktum surged up the rankings at the last moment in a surprise inclusion, Nio’s first appearance in the duels. The Brit started the race in a respectable seventh position.
Da Costa held the lead at the start of the race, however, he soon came under pressure from Mortara. The Venturi man, hungry to shrug off the disappointment of his race ending from mechanical failure the previous day, surged past Da Costa on the third lap and after that, he never looked back. Mortara continued to manage his energy to seal victory in Formula E’s 100th race – fittingly, Mortara also won the 50th race of the electric series. On the other side of the garage, it was a race to forget for London podium winner Di Grassi as he was forced out of a points-paying position due to a puncture which all but handed victory in the team’s championship to Mercedes for the second year running. Former world champion Nyck de Vries was also forced out early on after a tangle with Pascal Wehrlein put both of them out of the race.
Credit: Andrew Ferraro
As the time ticked down, the leaders settled into a rhythm until the dying stages when Max Gunther’s Nissan stopped on track, forcing a late safety car. However, despite the squeeze, Mortara held firm against the pressure whilst Dennis and Da Costa tangled together, which sent the Portuguese driver to the back of the pack after he was forced wide. The incident handed Dennis a five second time penalty, with the Brit looking like he would lose his hard fought podium, but the Brit managed to hold off Robin Frijns, who rounded out the season in P4. Oliver Askew had a relatively quiet race, finishing in P5 ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne. Title hopeful Evans could only manage P7, with Nick Cassidy getting a few points to add to his tally in P8. Sebastien Buemi monopolised on other’s failure taking P9 and Da Costa rounded out the top ten, taking the final point.
