Category: Open Wheel Racing

It feels like forever since the chequered flag fell at the Marrakesh ePrix, closing out the first act of the 2016–17 Formula E championship. But at long last the calendar has turned, and with just three weeks to go until the Buenos Aires ePrix, it’s time to take a quick look ahead to what’s next for Formula E in 2017.

When last we saw it, Formula E’s third season was firmly in the grasp of defending champion Sébastien Buemi. Having won both of the opening rounds in Hong Kong and Marrakesh Buemi is sitting atop the standings a mighty 22 points clear of Lucas di Grassi, and with the might of the Renault e.Dams ZE16 beneath him, he’s already looking like a difficult man to catch.

However, when it comes to Formula E, anything can happen—and indeed, it probably will. If the last two ePrix are anything to go by, as the Formula E championship progresses along its longest-ever calendar, Buemi will have to fend off some stiff opposition if he wants to defend his title.

If Mahindra’s Felix Rosenqvist doesn’t already factor in Buemi’s calculations, he should do. The Swedish rookie made a serious impression on his debut in Hong Kong before taking pole position and almost the victory the next time out in Marrakesh, and at fourth place in the standings can hardly be ignored by the traditional frontrunners. With his street-fighting pedigree and Mahindra’s rapid M3Electro, a maiden ePrix victory shouldn’t be too long in the coming—whether Rosenqvist can convert that into a credible title bid still remains to be seen, but he at least has the potential to deprive Buemi of some major points hauls.

Also likely to be a thorn in Buemi’s side is Sam Bird. The Briton goes into the next round in Buenos Aires as the defending race winner, and has a good chance of retaining that particular trophy in a Virgin DSV02 that is considerably quicker, if perhaps more fragile, than its predecessor. Nor can Buemi afford to discount the ever-tenacious Lucas di Grassi, despite a lacklustre last race for the Brazilian—if anyone can consistently pick points off the champion’s lead, it’s di Grassi.

2016/2017 FIA Formula E Championship. Marrakesh ePrix, Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan, Marrakesh, Morocco. Saturday 12 November 2016. Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), Mahindra Racing, Spark-Mahindra, Mahindra M3ELECTRO. Photo: Andrew Ferraro/LAT/Formula E ref: Digital Image _79P4894

2016/2017 FIA Formula E Championship. Marrakesh ePrix, Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan, Marrakesh, Morocco. Saturday 12 November 2016. Photo: Zak Mauger/LAT/Formula E ref: Digital Image _X0W5885

But rivals aside, Buemi may face another obstacle in his title defence this year when June’s penultimate ePrix meet in New York clashes with his duties driving for Toyota in the Nürburgring round of the WEC. If, as Buemi and Toyota have suggested, his LMP1 role holds contractual priority, it will mean the reigning champion is set to miss out on a maximum 58 points across the weekend, and with only the Montreal finale to make up the difference—a boon for di Grassi, who is now clear to race in New York after Audi’s withdrawal from the WEC last year.

Devastating as that blow will be for Buemi’s campaign, the silver lining for spectators is that it not only paves the way for a more open title fight, but also opens several doors for new drivers to make their Formula E debuts deputising for the likes of Bird, Lopez, Piquet and Prost.

FIA Formula E Second Pre-Season Testing Event. Donington Park Racecourse, Derby, United Kingdom. Wednesday 7 September 2016. Photo: Adam Warner / LAT ref: Digital Image _14P4080

DS Virgin has already taken steps to cover the absence of both of its drivers in signing 2014 GP3 champion Alex Lynn to a reserve driver role, no doubt to acclimatise him within the team before making his ePrix debut later in the season. Expect similar announcements to come from the likes of Renault and NextEV in the coming months—especially as names like Pastor Maldonado and Marvin Kirchhöfer have been linked with Formula E over the winter.

One name already signed on for the New York ePrix is ex-Haas F1 driver, Esteban Gutiérrez. The Mexican announced earlier this month that he would be making his Formula E debut sometime in 2017 ahead of a full campaign in season four, with a programme which includes both the New York double header and his home race in Mexico City. Although no team has yet been announced as his employer, Gutiérrez has been strongly linked with replacing Loïc Duval at Dragon, deputising for the Frenchman when his Audi DTM drive clashes with the summer’s Paris and Brussels ePrix.

James Matthews, Formula E editor

Sébastien Buemi has continued his winning start to the 2016-17 Formula E season with victory in the Marrakesh ePrix, but it was Mahindra’s Felix Rosenqvist who stole the spotlight on race day.

Building on his promising Hong Kong debut, Rosenqvist hit the ground running in round two by fending off the likes of Buemi and Sam Bird as he flew to a maiden pole position in only his second ePrix. This put the Swede in the prime seat to command the race, and after seeing off Bird long before the braking zone for the first corner, Rosenqvist looked set to disappear into the Moroccan sunset.

But even after gathering a gap of several seconds in the opening laps, Rosenqvist’s lead was far from safe. Behind him, Buemi was making rapid progress as he sought to overcome the grid penalty that relegated him from second to seventh, and was clearly not prepared to bank on attrition helping him to the lead as it did in Hong Kong.

After taking a gifted position from teammate Prost, Buemi reeled in and passed Daniel Abt on lap 8 before joining the back of the battle for third between Nelson Piquet and Jean-Éric Vergne. Piquet then fell on lap 12 as Buemi’s Renault out-dragged the NextEV on the straight down to Turn 7.

Further up the road, Rosenqvist had opened up his lead to five seconds from Bird, who was forced to back off to defend from former teammate Vergne. Bird eventually yielded second easily as he conserved energy for a longer first stint – but by then their battle had allowed Buemi to draw up tight behind, and when the Swiss driver stayed out a lap later with Bird he was just close enough to pass the Briton and lead him into the pits on lap 17.

Now holding a net third, Buemi was restored to his original qualifying position of second when Vergne was hit with a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane. With the road then clear ahead of him, the championship leader set his sights on the win.

Using the advantage of both his conservative first stint and his extra FanBoost power, Buemi cut down Rosenqvist’s lead with six laps to go – going around the outside at Turn 11, Buemi assumed the lead without contest and cruised home to take his second win in as many races.

But the pressure was still not off for Rosenqvist, as Bird took advantage of the Mahindra’s depleted energy reserves to steal second place with two laps remaining. Nevertheless, the Swede still had enough time in hand over fourth-placed Nico Prost to end the Marrakesh ePrix in third, his first Formula E podium.

Meanwhile, after serving his drive-through penalty Vergne emerged behind Prost and began a heated battle for fifth place with Lucas di Grassi. The Brazilian had been having a difficult race without the pace to challenge the leaders, but managed to pass Vergne’s Techeetah in the end.

The demands of fighting at the front on an aggressive energy strategy then hit Vergne as they did Rosenqvist, and before the chequered flag the Frenchman had fallen to eighth place behind Daniel Abt and Oliver Turvey. Nick Heidfeld, unable to match his teammate’s speed in Marrakesh, came home in a quiet ninth place, and DS Virgin’s José María López took his first Formula E point in tenth.

Andretti, Venturi Dragon and Jaguar ended the race with both cars outside of the top ten, though Dragon still picked up a solitary point with Loïc Duval, who finished three laps down in eighteenth place but set the fastest lap before the end.

James Matthews, Formula E editor

https://youtu.be/UUZ3faWp4m0

After a frantic start to the 2016-17 Formula E season in Hong Kong, the championship heads westward now to Morocco for the second of its five new season three races, the inaugural Marrakesh ePrix.

The battleground for round two of the championship is the Marrakesh Street Circuit. Located just outside the walls of the Jardins de l’Agdal, the track begins with a short straight and two long left handers in Turns 1 and 3. With a chicane at Turns 4 and 5 and a snap right hander at Turn 6, maintaining a good exit from this section will be crucial for drivers who want to avoid getting mugged on the long straight down to Turn 7.

Braking suddenly for Turn 10 after the fast and wide half-moon of Turn 9, the field faces the final angular section of the track, with a long back straight down to the alternating right angles at Turns 11 and 12 providing the last opportunity of the lap to effect a slipstream pass.

Reigning champion Sébastien Buemi won October’s Hong Kong opener in his usual comfortable fashion, but neither he nor his Renault e.Dams team appeared to have as much in hand as they hoped over their rivals across the weekend.

DS Virgin in particular should be a threat to Renault in Marrakesh. The Citroën-powered team was unlucky to leave Hong Kong with no points after being struck with technical and mechanical problems for both cars, but the pace that allowed them to lock out the second row ahead of Buemi bodes well for this weekend – especially if José María López can marry that up with his experience of three WTCC wins around the Marrakesh Street Circuit.

The Audi-aligned ABT team will also be buoyed by Lucas di Grassi’s surge from the back of the grid to second, and will be hoping Daniel Abt can also reap the rewards of his FE-02 instead of suffering another first lap retirement. Currently ABT stands joint with Andretti in the standings, and will want a good run this weekend to pull clear of second and keep touch with Renault ahead.

Finally, Techeetah will similarly be heading to Marrakesh with better fortunes in mind. After suffering a bitter double retirement in Hong Kong, the new Chinese outfit still has a lot to prove about its headline testing pace, and Marrakesh could prove an auspicious outing for them – like López, Techeetah’s Ma Qinghua has raced the Moroccan streets before in the WTCC, finishing second in the first of the 2015 races.

The 2016 Marrakesh ePrix gets underway this Saturday at 16:00 UK time, with full race coverage available on our Twitter feed.

James Matthews

The rookies shone

One of the most obvious takeaways from the Hong Kong ePrix was the remarkable job done by Formula E’s five rookie drivers in establishing themselves amongst an already impressive grid. José María López in particular showed his potential pace in qualifying third, as did Felix Rosenqvist by starting sixth and setting the fastest lap of the race; and not to mention Maro Engel, who was not only the highest rookie finisher in ninth but also consistently outperformed his more experienced teammate Sarrazin through qualifying and the race.

The series’ two rookie teams also made strong impressions on their respective debuts. Although Techeetah’s day ended with a double DNF brought on by technical issues and a first lap collision, the Chinese team displayed considerable speed all weekend, suggesting even that Jean-Éric Vergne might have been a contender for pole had qualifying run uninterrupted. Jaguar also ran well despite lacking the pace to challenge the front, and it was a shame that their strategic dare of a long first stint could only net them twelfth.

Track layouts are still an issue

Formula E’s logistical side once again came under scrutiny in Hong Kong, after the profile of the Turn 3-4 chicane was controversially altered prior to qualifying. With the change contributing to heavy crashes from di Grassi, Frijns and Lopez across the day, it was no wonder the decision came under heavy fire from the teams and drivers, who reportedly were only notified of it a few minutes before qualifying.

Last-minute alterations such as this have unfortunately become a by-product of the “pop-up” nature of Formula E’s street tracks. But although these problems may always present themselves, the disorganised way in which they are solved does not likewise need to remain a fixture – if Formula E is to truly become a top-line series, it must remove these clumsy incidents from its DNA.

Reliability will be key

Managing reliability emerged as one of the critical tasks for teams in Hong Kong, with mechanical or technical trouble contributing to at least three of the five retirements, and afflicting many more drivers besides.

With several teams incorporating new powertrain designs this season, a few technical gremlins are only to be expected, especially from the two new teams. But as Formula E is now reaching a level where it is attracting big name marques like Audi and Mercedes, it can’t be good to see its existing outfits still suffering from niggling technological troubles after three seasons of development.

The field is as close as ever

Although on paper another Buemi/ di Grassi podium looked to be all too predictable, the Hong Kong ePrix proved that Formula E’s third season will be every bit as varied as its predecessors.

Sam Bird looks set to be a true contender for the title this season, if his qualifying and early race pace are anything to go by. The improvements made by stalwart midfielders Andretti and Mahindra showed enough give the top three teams something to think about, whilst Dragon and Techeetah should also have the ability to mix it at the front if they can overcome their various reliability issues. According to Hong Kong, there is not a single team on the 2016-17 grid that could not be considered a regular challenger for points – and at least six of them should be targeting the podium from here on out, if not the occasional race win too.

James Matthews, Formula E editor

Reigning Formula E champions Sébastien Buemi and Renault e.Dams got their respective title defences off to a perfect start, by taking the victory in Hong Kong as misfortunes carried their rivals out of contention.

In typical Formula E style, the 2016 Hong Kong ePrix began with a vastly mixed grid. Pole position was claimed by Nelson Piquet Jr in one half of a surprising NextEV front row lockout, and was decided without the usual Super Pole session as a heavy crash by Robin Frijns meant the track needed to be closed down for lengthy barrier repairs.

Frijns was joined at the back of the grid by title contender Lucas di Grassi, who crashed himself in an earlier group session after being caught out by a late change to the layout of the Turn 3-4 chicane.

But whilst Formula E’s more experienced drivers struggled on their first weekend back, its rookies shone in qualifying, with DS Virgin’s José María López and Mahindra’s Felix Rosenqvist particularly impressive in third and sixth respectively.

But if qualifying was frenzied, the race was even more so.

Piquet made a good getaway from pole, and managed to make the most of the clean air to avoid getting swallowed by the quicker DS Virgins on row two of the grid. But as he and teammate Oliver Turvey settled cleanly into formation at the front, it was anything but behind as the rest of the field barrelled into the opening corners.

The two Virgins of López and Sam Bird were the first to come together at the Turn 1 hairpin, and though the pair escaped without any visible damage, the contact appeared to leave López with some internal damage, and sent the Argentine plummeting straight down the order.

Then at Turn 2, Ma Qing Hua was caught out under braking and hit the back of Nico Prost, and was in turn hit from behind by a trapped di Grassi, who managed to continue albeit after taking on a new nose in the pits.

As the order changed rapidly on the opening lap, several drivers who qualified outside the top ten benefited from the attrition to get into the points, with Nick Heidfeld making the biggest jump from eleventh to fifth ahead of his rookie teammate Rosenqvist.

But Mahindra’s shot at a solid double points finish was was soured when Rosenqvist lost the rear through Turn 5 and dropped it into the wall. The Swede managed to limp back to the pits and return briefly in his second car, and scored a single consolatory point by setting the fastest lap before retiring.

At the front, Bird and Buemi brought themselves up onto the podium after passing first the stricken López and then Oliver Turvey, and set about cutting down Piquet’s two-second lead.

For a while the Brazilian looked comfortably ahead, but disaster struck on lap 17 when he came up to lap López and found the DS Virgin beached in the chicane wall – taking avoiding action, Piquet moved to the escape road and was forced to watch as Bird and Buemi both went past.

Bird appeared to have the race in hand from then on, opening a gap to Buemi and pitting later to conserve energy for the final stint; but his own stint as race leader was even shorter than Piquet’s, with a gearbox issue on his second car leaving him stranded in the garage during his stop.

Buemi then inherited the lead, and found himself heading off a surprise challenge from Lucas di Grassi. The ABT driver’s race looked to be run after the energy demands of his climb from the back row of the grid forced an early stop, but the safety car brought out by López’s crash allowed di Grassi to conserve power without losing touch with the pack.

The two season two rivals then continued to trade lap times throughout the closing stages of the race, although Buemi was ultimately able to hold off di Grassi and cross the line with over two seconds to spare.

Heidfeld completed the podium, having just enough useable power on the final lap to see off Nico Prost.

Andretti also had a remarkable race after managing a best of just thirteenth in qualifying. Both da Costa and Frijns conserved energy in the first stint ahead of a late charge, and brought home fifth and sixth place respectively to tie Andretti with ABT for second in the standings.

Jérôme d’Ambrosio ended a disappointing day for Dragon Racing in seventh ahead of front row starter Oliver Turvey, whilst the points were rounded out by Venturi, with rookie Maro Engel edging out his experienced teammate to score his first Formula E points.

Jaguar Racing had a respectable debut with Adam Carroll finishing twelfth and fighting for points early on, though their result was soured by Mitch Evans suffering a technical DNF.

The British marque’s fellow debutants Techeetah endured a torrid first ePrix, failing to capitalise on their testing pace as Ma’s first lap crash and technical troubles for Jean-Éric Vergne ended in a double non-finish.

https://youtu.be/zPaggopePqA

James Matthews, Formula E editor

It’s finally here – after a three-month off season, the start of the 2016-17 FIA Formula E Championship is just a few days away.

With an all-new calendar for season three, the championship will begin in Hong Kong instead of the traditional Beijing, and will also be the first single-header Formula E race to take place on a Sunday, as the e-Touring Car Challenge takes centre stage on Saturday. Formula E’s track action begins with practice at 10:30 local time and qualifying at midday, with the race following at 16:00 or 09:00 UK time.

As well as a new circuit and schedule, the opening round of season three will also feature two new teams and five new drivers, all of whom will no doubt be the focus of much attention this weekend.

Jaguar will be especially in the limelight as the latest marque to join the Formula E paddock, although the team is expecting to have a fairly low-key debut whilst its two rookie drivers Adam Carroll and Mitch Evans find their feet in the series.

Also joining the paddock for the first time will be Techeetah, the Chinese-funded outfit taking over the defunct Team Aguri entry. While the Techeetah name may not carry the same weight as Jaguar’s, the team is on course for a strong race in Hong Kong after new signing Jean-Éric Vergne took his new Renault-powered car to the top of the testing times on three of the six days.

But if either team is to score points on its debut, they will undoubtably have their work cut out for them as Formula E looks set for its closest field yet.

Renault e.Dams certainly left testing as the team to beat once again, both on qualifying and long run pace, but the battle at the front looks to be much tighter as DS Virgin and Dragon Racing both have made great improvements on their season two machinery.

Dragon in particular emerged as a challenger for race wins this season, with a new partnership with Faraday Future boosting their prospects, whilst DS Virgin’s hopes will be bolstered by their acquisition of three-time WTCC champion José María López.

Behind them, MS Amlin Andretti look on course for their strongest season to date as they pair the highly-rated Robin Frijns with season one race winner and BMW protege António Félix da Costa. Mahindra’s new M3Electro also appeared in testing to have the pace for podium contention, particularly in the hands of rookie Felix Rosenqvist.

All in all, the 2016 Hong Kong ePrix is set to give a fascinating first glimpse at the shape of the 2016-17 championship, with absolutely no guarantee we’ll see the usual suspects filling out the podium again on Sunday.

James Matthews, Formula E editor

Reigning Formula One world champion Mercedes-Benz GP has taken up an option on an entry to the 2018-19 Formula E season.

The news comes after fellow German marques Audi and BMW both announced future Formula E programmes of their own, in conjunction with ABT Schaeffler and Andretti respectively, as part of their growing commitment to hybrid electric vehicles.

Mercedes’ own foray into electric cars is set to begin in December, with the unveiling of their first ever electric SUV at the Paris Motor Show.

Toto Wolff, head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, said: “We have been watching the growth of Formula E with great interest…and we are very pleased with an agreement that secures us an opportunity to enter the series in season five.

“Electrification will play a major role in the future of the automotive industry – racing has always been a technology R&D platform for the motor industry, and this will make Formula E very relevant in the future.”

Alejandro Agag added that Mercedes would be a “major boost” to Formula E’s “exciting mix of consolidated manufacturers like Renault, Citroen-DS, Audi, Mahindra [and] Jaguar.”

The 2018-19 Formula E season was already set to receive a great deal of interest from manufacturers, with the move from two cars per driver to single cars that can last a race distance creating a logistical opening for another two entries on the grid.

James Matthews, Formula E editor

Porsche enters submits tender for season five battery supply

Porsche has emerged as the latest name in the running to become Formula E’s sole battery supplier in season five. Although the German marque’s application is as yet unconfirmed, it is believed Porsche is looking to add Formula E to a growing programme of electric and hybrid vehicles that already includes the Mission E concept car – slated for 2020 production – and the WEC LMP1 title-winning 919 Hybrid.

The FIA’s choice for the season five battery supply is expected to be formally announced at the forthcoming Hong Kong ePrix, with names such as McLaren, Williams Advanced Engineering, SAFT, DS and Mahindra also understood to be in the running.

New York ePrix track layout revealed

In the build-up to the new season, Formula E has revealed the track layout for the inaugural New York ePrix. The thirteen-turn track (pictured below) will be located in Brooklyn along the waterfront of Upper Bay, and features as its backdrop the Statue of Liberty and Lower Manhattan.

New York is one of four new host cities on the 2016-17 calendar, alongside Marrakesh, Brussels and Montreal, and has already been hailed by reigning champion Sébastien Buemi as a “spectacular” addition to “the most exciting calendar ever seen in motorsport”.

Formula E seeking new host cities for season four

Although the Formula E calendar has already swelled from nine cities in season two to twelve cities across five continents in season three, the series has announced this week that it is actively looking for yet more race hosts for the 2017-18 season.

CEO of Formula E Alejandro Agag said: “We have already enjoyed remarkable growth over two seasons of Formula E and now have partnerships with some of the most iconic cities in the world. There is now a unique opportunity for new cities to join our calendar and share in the continued growth of the championship.”

James Matthews