Formula E Season 7 Archives

Mercedes-EQ team ends Formula E involvement with double championship win at Berlin EPrix

With 13 drivers in contention heading into the 2021 Berlin E-Prix, which was Round 15 of the seventh season of Formula E run between 2020 and 2021, the scene was set for a frenetic finale. Four of the drivers had a chance at the title so qualifying performance was closely watched.

Conditions varied throughout Group Qualifying, making it anybody’s game. Jaguar Racing’s Mitch Evans soared to Super Pole from Group 1, then produced another strong lap despite ‘rising tensions’ as the championship picture became a little clearer. Jake Dennis (BMW i Andretti Motorsport) was left best of the rest of those right at the sharp end in the battle for the Drivers’ crown but found himself outside of the Super Pole cut-off.

The Brit took a workable ninth, ahead of current standings leader Nyck de Vries (Mercedes-EQ) on 13th and Edo Mortara at 11^th, with reigning champion Antonio Felix da Costa (DS TECHEETAH) down in 15^th on the starting grid. Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler), who missed out on Super Pole by only 0.120 seconds, qualified 17th.

Vandoorne’s lap was clean and clinical, with the Belgian happy to recover from some procedural mistakes in qualifying. Rowland joined the Belgian on the front row, just ahead of Evans, while Mahindra Racing’s Alex Sims produced a storming lap, steering his M7Electro to fourth with an ultra-precise lap.

The final race
Right off the line, there was drama and heartbreak as Evans – perhaps the favourite given his strong qualifying performance – and that the rest of the contenders sat outside the top 10 – failed to get away. The pack behind was forced into avoiding action but Mortara couldn’t swerve clear of the stricken Jaguar and a violent crash saw the pair out of the running but unhurt.

That left Jake Dennis (BMW i Andretti Motorsport) – now seventh – seemingly in prime position with standings leader de Vries (Mercedes-EQ) down the order. Even before the field had made the first corner after a spell under the red flag while that start line accident was cleared, another title contender as the Brit locked up into Turn 1 and hit the wall.

The pendulum swung again, with de Vries sitting pretty and Mercedes-EQ looking strong to take Teams’ honours with Vandoorne leading the pack away. Through the first round of ATTACK MODE activations, Nato made it count and flew clear having passed Vandoorne on Lap 10 – the Belgian’s late deployment of the 35 kW boost leaving him shuffled down the top six.

The scrap for points was tough, and Mercedes’ haul, with de Vries also in the points and on the way to eighth, was enough to seal the Teams’ title as it stood. A 3-wide clash with the Porsches heading into the closing stages almost saw both de Vries and Vandoorne in contact but the pair steered clear, avoiding the sort of controversy we have been seeing in F1.

Nato leapt away and left the rest to it, despite an interruption via a second appearance for the MINI Electric Pacesetter as Antonio Felix da Costa was squeezed by Lucas di Grassi at the hairpin – confirming beyond doubt that the Portuguese would have to relinquish his crown. The Venturi racer drove on to a composed victory, with Rowland picking his way through to second while Vandoorne came home third.

Andre Lotterer crossed the finish line fourth ahead of Mahindra Racing’s Alex Sims, Pascal Wehrlein and a resurgent Sam Bird who has fought from 22nd to seventh doing his valiant best for Jaguar’s World Championship chances.

With that, de Vries take home the first Formula E Drivers’ World Championship – this being the first one because the all-electric series has now been given World Championship status by the FIA. Combined with teammate Vandoorne’s podium, that also meant Mercedes-EQ sealed the Teams’ World Championship ahead of Jaguar Racing and DS TECHEETAH.

Last season for Mercedes, Audi and BMW
While it was already announced that Audi would stop involvement in Formula E at the end of this season, there was also news that the Mercedes-EQ team would not continue into the Gen3 era. The team has had only two seasons in Formula E but apparently, the big bosses in Stuttgart have made the decision. Also ending direct factory involvement after this season is BMW which had entered with Andretti Motorsport. However, BMW’s powertrain will continue to be used by the team in its Gen3 racing car in the next season.

McLaren Racing considering participation in Formula E

Season 7 of Formula E opens in Saudi Arabia with first-ever night races

Formula E’s new season – the seventh in the all-electric series – began on Friday with two night races at Diriyah on the outskirts of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The new season sees updates to the regulations and three rookies – Jake Dennis (BMW i Andretti Motorsport), Nick Cassidy (Envision Virgin Racing) and Norman Nato (ROKiT Venturi Racing).

To support the teams during the global pandemic, Formula E and the FIA decided to extend the next homologation period, with manufacturers only able to alter powertrain components once over the next two seasons. Teams can either introduce a new car in Season 7, for a 2-year cycle, or continue to use existing technology before homologating a new car the year after for a single season.

Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler and Envision Virgin Racing, BMW i Andretti Motorsport, Jaguar Racing, Mahindra Racing, Mercedes-EQ, alongside customers ROKiT Venturi Racing, NIO 333 and TAG Heuer Porsche all opted for new machines for the season ahead. DRAGON/PENSKE AUTOSPORT, DS TECHEETAH and Nissan e.dams have chosen to delay their homologation and will be using their Season 6 package for at least the opening rounds.

Also new for this season, the tyre allocation will be reduced by 25% per single-race competition and by up to 50% at double-header events. Based on the Season 5 calendar and comparing to the previous allocation, this could potentially see a saving of 720 tyres with less emissions produced, which is a 29% reduction in the overall impact of the tyres.

Becoming only the second single-seater championship to gain FIA World Championship status is a true honour for the sport and carries enormous significance for the teams, manufacturers and drivers battling it out to be crowned the first official Formula E World Champions.

The Riyadh Street Circuit once again provided the spectacular backdrop to the opening events of the season as Formula E ran its first night races. The fast and flowing 2.49-km clockwise circuit flanks the At-Turaif UNESCO World Heritage Site and is largely the same as it was in the previous season. Track surface work has led to the reprofiling of some turns for slightly adapted racing lines that promote closer racing.

Sam Bird (Jaguar Racing) got the better of Robin Frijns (Envision Virgin Racing) – his former teammate – as the two engaged in a race-long back and forth under the floodlights. A red flag 5 minutes from the scheduled end of the race brought things to a premature end, confirming the Brit’s victory with Frijns following in second.

DS TECHEETAH’s Antonio Felix da Costa came home a net third after teammate Jean-Eric Vergne received a 24-second post-race penalty for failing to use his second ATTACK MODE activation, which saw the Frenchman demoted to 12th.

Frijns got away cleanly from pole to fend off Sette Camara into Turn 1, and Bird immediately challenged the DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT driver to make a tidy move stick for second up the inside of Turn 2. Antonio Felix da Costa banged wheels with Nico Mueller and Sebastien Buemi further back – passing the Nissan e.dams to take eighth spot with the Portuguese’ DS TECHEETAH teammate a little way clear in seventh and hounding Mueller.

*Visit www.bhpetrol.com.my to find out more about other promotions at BHPetromart.*

On Lap 5, Vergne pounced on an error by Blomqvist to pinch sixth and the Brit falling to eighth at the hands of the reigning champion a lap later. Meanwhile, Buemi and Cassidy diced for ninth, with the Swiss coming off best with a regulation pass into Turn 18 to set about hunting Blomqvist up ahead.

The lead pair drew out two seconds on Sette Camara in third, with Turvey running a collected race in fourth with Mueller kept at arm’s length. Meanwhile, the two DS TECHEETAHs hunted in packs as the Frenchman jumped for ATTACK MODE – his teammate following.

Frijns was next to dive for his first mandatory ATTACK MODE activation and importantly, he was able to hold off Sette Camara to keep within touching distance of the now race leader Bird – the Jaguar driver still to use that initial 35kW boost, and take the pain of going off-line to cross the ATTACK MODE loop.

Over the half-way mark, and Vergne’s charge continued apace with another regulation pass for third, this time on Sette Camara, just as Jake Dennis (BMW i Andretti Motorsport) was crunched by Pascal Wehrlein’s Porsche, which threw a Full Course Yellow (FCY) – holding the cars as they stood at 50 km/h until the circuit was cleared.

Bird had found his way beyond Frijns for the race lead just prior to that FCY, with the latter heading for ATTACK MODE number two but once again, the Virgin racer was able to bite back – despite Frijns saying he was overconsuming energy over team radio.

Contact between Guenther and Evans ultimately caused the end of the race via a Red Flag leaving bird to head home Frijns, Vergne, Da Costa, Cassidy, Sette Camara, Mueller, Turvey, Oliver Rowland (Nissan e.dams), and Rene Rast (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler) on track.

Penalties for Vergne and Rast followed the chequered flag, however, as neither used their second ATTACK MODE activation. All three had not expected the sudden end of the race. This demoted the pair to 12th and 17th, respectively and nudging those ahead of them come the end of the race up the order.

Bird has not had a win for a long time, his last being 11 races ago. The weekend’s victory draws him level with Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler) in second on the all-time winners’ table with 10 victories.

There were the usual celebrations during the presentation of awards but on this occasion, it was frightening for all those present. Yemen’s rebel Houthis had launched flying devices said to carry bombs towards Riyadh and fortunately, the defence system intercepted and destroyed them in the night sky.

The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship heads to Rome on April 10 for Round 3.

McLaren Racing considering participation in Formula E

Jaguar Racing ready for Formula E season-opener in Saudi Arabia this Friday

*Visit www.bhpetrol.com.my to know more about promotions at BHPetromart.*

With the original opening round in Chile having to be postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions in the UK making it difficult for teams to travel on time to South America, the season-opener for Season 7 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will be in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. The venue was originally scheduled for later in the year and will have two races, both run at night. This will be the first time the all-electric single seater series is being run after dark.

The first of the two night races will be on February 26 – just 4 days away – and among the teams getting ready for this new season is Jaguar Racing. The British team has much experience in Formula E, having participated in 5 seasons. This year sees one of the strongest pairings on the grid with Sam Bird and Mitch Evans using the new Jaguar I-TYPE 5 racing car. Since the last race in August 2020, development of the new car has centred around an all-new in-house powertrain, suspension and state-of-the-art invertor which uses 24-carat gold.

To control costs the carbonfibre chassis and battery are common components and the same for all 12 teams competing. This allows the focus to be on developing electric vehicle powertrains which are efficient and lightweight, the technology and solutions eventually being transferred to production Jaguar Land Rover models with electrified powertrains.

“The team have worked harder than ever to create the most efficient, state-of-the-art race car and we will be pushing for points, podiums and wins,” said James Barclay, Jaguar Racing Team Director. “We have spent months developing the Jaguar I-TYPE 5 and we are now looking forward to take to the track in Diriyah for the double-header season opener and first ever Formula E night races.”

The engineers have focussed on efficiency gains, reduced weight and lowered the centre of gravity of the powertrain. New suspension will provide greater adjustment from track to track and a more efficient invertor will improve switching speeds and performance.

Jaguar Racing will also debut the use of new sustainable materials called TYPEFIBRE, which the car’s new prototype seat is made from. It will be tested at speed in different temperatures, loads and environments around the world as part of the team’s Race to Innovate mission – sharing the benefits of race technology with road cars and, in turn, Jaguar customers.

During the 3 days of intense pre-season testing at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Spain earlier, the I-TYPE 5 showed it on-track potential over 370 laps. “We learned a lot about the car – the hardware, the software and the systems – and we’ve understood what works well and how we can make the Jaguar I-TYPE 5 go faster. Overall, it was a really useful test,” said Sam Bird.

This is New Zealander Evans’ fifth season with Jaguar Racing while Britain’s Sam Bird, who has won races in every Formula E season, is new to the British team this season. Both drivers have experienced the Saudi Arabian street track – Evans secured points last year and Bird was victorious in the 2019 season-opener in Diriyah, located on the north-western outskirts of the country’s capital city, Riyadh.

*Start of the race in Diriyah in Season 6 last year.*

The 2021 Formula E season is the first of the series to be granted full world championship status by the FIA in view of its truly global coverage. It will be the third year for the teams to be racing with the futuristic Gen2 race cars.

6-round Formula E Accelerate esports championship for 2021

Mercedes-Benz EQ Team prepares for second year of Formula E racing

In its debut season in Formula E where it finished third overall in the all-electric single-seater championship, the Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team is preparing to put in stronger effort in Season 7.

Opting for continuity
The driver pairing remains unchanged for the second campaign as the team has opted for continuity. Thus Nyck de Vries and Stoffel Vandoorne will once again be in the cockpits, armed with the experience of Season 6. In the last round, there already demonstrated strong performance on track with a 1-2 finish.

In the coming season, the team expects to face a multitude of new challenges, both on and off the racetrack. Competing against some of the world’s strongest drivers, teams and manufacturers is not only about performance, but also about coordinated teamwork, intelligent energy management and carefully thought-out strategies.

*First season of racing for the team saw a 1-2 finish only in the final round.*

Evolved Gen2 car
Since the launch of the Gen2 model for the series, the Formula E cars have been even more visually stunning with their unique, futuristic design. This goes for the Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 02 racing car which is an evolution from its predecessor.

Precise, EQ-blue flow lines extend over the entire length of the vehicle. They give the Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 02 more dynamics and highlight the EQ brand with their blue colouring. At the rear, large silver stars form a distinctive Mercedes-Benz pattern, leaving no doubt that it is a Silver Arrow.

The 5.1-metre long racing car produces 250 kW in the maximum power mode for qualifying or when deploying Fanboost. In race mode, the regulations limit output to 200 kW. The car accelerates from 0-100 km/h in approximately 2.8 seconds and reaches a top speed of up to 280 km/h.

The drivetrain consists of an inverter, motor, gearbox and parts of the rear axle as well as the software used for energy management. In contrast to the standard chassis, these areas may be freely developed by the teams and manufacturers.

DJI, well known for its drones, will supply the Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team with latest aerial imagery and creative camera technology to bring racing fans closer to the action on and off the track.

4 rounds first
The new season starts in January 2021 in South America and for now, given the uncertainty of the pandemic situation, the organisers have 4 races scheduled with the approval of the FIA World Motor Sport Council. Another set of will be announced in early 2021 following discussions with the FIA.

DS TECHEETAH previews design of its future Formula E racing car

Building on the support from leading car manufacturers, Formula E will officially become an FIA world championship starting from the 2020/2021 season (which typically starts towards the end of the year). As part of a constant process of innovation, the all-electric single-seater championship will introduce the Gen2 EVO, a restyled version of the current racing car.

DS Automobiles and its team partner DS TECHEETAH are already preparing for this new season with race livery design of their future racing car for Season 7. DS Automobiles and its sporting entity DS Performance successfully completed the transition between the two generations of Formula E cars. With a motor that increased to 250 kW and a battery of 52 kWh, the drivers can compete in an entire E-Prix distance without car change-overs. Aligned with DS TECHEETAH, the DS E-TENSE FE19 won the two Championship Drivers and Teams titles in the last season.

2019 DS CTHEETAH Formula E — *The current Formula E car run by DS TECHEETAH.*

Formula E DS Techeetah Gen2 EVO — *The Gen2 EVO car for Season 7.*

How the car will evolve
Formula E will evolve the design of the car and changes will include modification of the front and rear appendages, addition of a ‘shark fin’ on the bonnet and opening of the front wheel arches. The design of the Gen2 EVO to be used by the DS TECHEETAH Team incorporates the facelift imagined for the next season while retaining the black and gold codes of the DS E-TENSE FE20.

“Formula E is as much a place of experimentation as it is a field of expression for DS Automobiles. We demonstrate our vision by having been the first premium manufacturer involved, our expertise in electrification by winning races and championships and our know-how by multiplying innovative actions around competition. Being the first team to present the design of our future single-seater is a new step in this commitment, ” said Beatrice Foucher, CEO of DS Automobiles.

Piston.my