Race starts in Brazil at 2:10 pm Sunday/1:10 am Monday in Malaysia
Race starts in Brazil at 2:10 pm Sunday/1:10 am Monday in Malaysia
Next race in Brazil on November 17
Race starts in Texas at 1:10 pm Sunday/3:10 am Monday in Malaysia
♦ Lewis Hamilton’s win in Mexico still does not confirm his sixth world title, and he will have to wait till the next round in Texas. His closest rival is his team mate, Valtteri Bottas who is now 74 points behind.
♦ Ferrari started off with an unexpected advantage of pole position for Charles Leclerc when Max Verstappen lost his pole position because he ignored warning flags. However, the Italian team again lost that advantage although Sebastian Vettel’s tyre strategy worked out well in the end.
♦ Daniil Kvyat finished 9th overall but was dropped to 11th when the official results came out. The Toro Rosso driver was given a 10-second post-race time penalty for his last lap incident with Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg. The change in position also lost him and his team 2 points.
♦ Alexander Albon put in a good performance in Mexico, rising as high as third in the running, but the 2-stop strategy he had to use prevented him from pursuing the Mercedes-AMG drivers.
♦ The chances of Hamilton winning in Texas are pretty good as he has won 5 races there over the past 7 years. After collecting another world title, he can decide if he wants to move to Ferrari, Formula E, become an actor (he revealed that he was approached to star in Top Gun 2), or try to save the world in other ways.
Next race in Texas on November 3
Race starts at 1:10 pm in Mexico Sunday/3:10 am on Monday in Malaysia
Season 6 of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship sees the BMW i Andretti Motorsport team joining, for the second season, in the competition for all-electric single-seaters. Much preparation has gone on both on the racetrack and in the simulator, with extensive analysed of the findings from the first season.
“In our maiden season, with a win, two pole positions and several podiums, we showed that we are able to bring home top results in Formula E. However, we know that the performance level is extremely high and is likely to rise. But in this competitive environment, our aspiration must be to continue improving in our second season and be able to be among the front-runners battling for the top positions,” said BMW Group Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt.
“Irrespective of the results, we want to show just how dynamic and emotive electric racing can be, through good and exciting races. And away from the racetrack we will be present with BMW i. We will continue to use Formula E as a platform to present innovations in electric mobility, autonomous driving and other BMW Group cutting-edge fields to the general public,” he added.
Highlighting the technology transfer between racing and production, Marquardt said that the technology transfer between racing and series production remains a central pillar of BMW’s involvement in Formula E. “Our objective for the works entry for Season 5 was to establish an efficient technology cycle between BMW i Motorsport and BMW i, and we were very successful. BMW i engineers are already benefitting enormously from the technological insights we are getting from the extreme use case of Formula E as they develop future production model engines. We will continue this close collaboration next season, for the benefit of both parties,” he said.
The BMW iFE.20
Like its predecessor, the BMW iFE.20 also has a uniform chassis as stipulated by Formula E regulations. BMW expertise remains primarily in the core of the car, the enhanced drivetrain. The characteristic of the BMW Racing eDrive02 was revised based on the detailed information on the individual racetracks that the team gathered in their maiden season, and modified to suit the specific challenges of Formula E races. The changes affect the E-motor and the inverter.
The main goal of the modifications is to improve the efficiency of the drivetrain. The same glycol as is used in production vehicles is now also used for its water circulation system. The BMW i Motorsport engineers also optimised the software that calculates energy management strategies, and the simulator in Munich. The rear-end structure was also reworked, to provide more flexibility for the set-up.
When working on the BMW Racing eDrive02, the BMW Motorsport engineers cooperated intensely and closely with their colleagues in BMW i production development. The iFE.20 serves as a tech lab for road car production. The knowledge gained by BMW i Motorsport engineers in the tough competitive environment of Formula E flows straight back into the development of future E-drives for BMW production vehicles. Motor racing makes it possible to test new materials, technologies and methods in extreme conditions and without having to take into consideration restrictive factors.
From the exterior, the slightly modified design of the iFE.20 is evident. It maintains some of the elements of its predecessor, including the blue and white corners which intersect in the style of the BMW logo. The view from above has also been accentuated which, considering the usually elevated seating position of spectators at Formula E races, plays a particularly important role. On top of this is the asymmetric layout, which provides maximum visibility at race speed. The striking changes also include the non-reflective, matt black cockpit element, which has been extended to the whole driver environment. It puts even more focus on the driver and highlights his pivotal role in Formula E.
The BMW logo pattern emphasised in its predecessor has been given a slightly more abstract interpretation for the iFE.20. In return, there is greater accentuation of the progression of colour from blue to violet, the natural colours of electricity. Also, the BMW i Motorsport ‘Spirit Marks’ established during the course of last season are now also reflected in the design of the cars.
♦ The strong typhoon forced qualifying to be postponed to raceday and both Ferrari’s were able to take the front row of the starting grid.
♦ With Valtteri Bottas winning in Japan, the 2019 F1 Constructors Championship is secured by the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Motorsport team. The sixth consecutive world championship double is a new Formula 1 record.
♦ Although the two Ferraris had the front row on the starting grid, the team lost its advantage when the lights went green as Sebastian Vettel fumbled his start. However, the stewards did not penalise him for what appeared to be a ‘jump start’. Charles Leclerc was also slow off the line and Bottas surged forward, taking advantage of the situation.
♦ Max Verstappen’s race was short after his car was hit by Leclerc’s early in the race. Although both cars were damaged, the Red Bull was worse off and Verstappen was forced to retire.
♦ It was Alexander Albon’s first time at Suzuka and the 4th place is the best he has achieved in his career to date, one position better than in Belgium and Russia.
♦ A Mercedes-AMG driver will win the title again but it’s still not Lewis Hamilton’s for sure. The round in Mexico will be a tense one as Bottas still has an outside chance, depending on the outcome.
Next race in Mexico on October 27
Race starts at 2:10 pm in Japan/1:10 pm in Malaysia
♦ Lewis Hamilton finally gets a win after 4 races and increasing assurance of another world championship title, possibly being confirmed in Mexico.
♦ Controversies again in the Ferrari camp led to Sebastian Vettel retiring with engine problems and Charles Leclerc losing his lead due to the virtual safety car being deployed.
♦ Red Bull’s two drivers – Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon – started the race in poor form, the former having been given a penalty and the latter having had an accident in qualifying. But they managed to finish 4th and 5th (Albon moving up from 20th at the beginning) to collect points for the team.
♦ Poorly planned pit stop saw Kimi Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo immobile longer than necessary and dropping way down the field to end 13th. He must miss the lightning-quick and precisely planned pit stops at Ferrari.
(Provisional results)
Next race in Japan (Suzuka) on October 13
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