Formula E, the single-seater motorsport championship for fully electric cars, began in 2014 and the first three carmakers to participate were Renault, Audi and Mahindra. Seven seasons have passed and for the eighth one, the team from Mercedes-Benz will again compete, having started in the 2018 – 2019 season.
The Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team opts for continuity and will once again field the strong, well-proven driver pairing of reigning World Champion Nyck de Vries and Stoffel Vandoorne in their third season.
Continuity is important
“Continuity and stability definitely play a big role,” said Team Principal Ian James. “How does the saying go? ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!’ But at the same time, there’s another old adage that being successful does not automatically mean that there’s no room for improvement. Nyck and Stoffel both play an absolutely key role in that respect. They’ve been phenomenal as drivers so far while also making a huge contribution to the development of this team that we’ve built up from scratch, so having that continuity going into Season 8 is a tremendous advantage.”
There will be plenty of fresh challenges awaiting the team in the 16 races at 12 different venues that include new street circuits in Jakarta, Vancouver and Seoul. There is also a new qualifying format when drivers go head-to-head after the group stages. Both drivers think that the new qualifying format seems very promising and should prove really interesting.
More power for the racing cars
All Formula E cars are homologated for Season 8 but drivers will still have more power available, thanks to a number of changes to the rules. Power on tap in races will increase from 200 kW to 220 kW and drivers will in future have 250 kW at their disposal when using Attack Mode instead of only 235 kW.
Same platform to be used
Because of the team’s forward-thinking approach to development, they will be able to use the same hardware for the new season, and yet get more power out of the power unit. “That was part of our work when we opted for a platform homologated for 2 seasons,” said Pierre Godof, Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains. “Part of our durability testing included the duty cycle for Season 8, which we see as the second half of a long season to all intents and purposes. It’s why right from the start, we designed the power train so that it could also be used for Season 8.”
In another innovation, the race duration of 45 minutes plus one lap could be extended by as much as 10 minutes should there be any Safety Car or ‘Full Course Yellow’ periods. 45 seconds will be added to race time for every minute of an SC or FCY period. If, however, one of these periods proves necessary after 40 minutes has elapsed or starts subsequently, then no more time will be added to the race.
In Season 7 of the Formula E series, the Mercedes EQ team won both the Drivers and Teams championship titles.
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 11th, with reigning champion Antonio Felix da Costa (DS TECHEETAH) down in 15th 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.
It’s always a thrill for the home crowd when the winner is from the same country and British driver Alex Lynn sparked celebrations in the Mahindra Racing garage as he won the Heineken London E-Prix Round 13. Behind him were Mercedes-EQ’s Nyck de Vries and Mitch Evans (Jaguar Racing) who joined him on the podium.
Lynn had navigated a frenetic encounter that had it all, and the decisive moment of the race took place with the pack released from a spell under the Safety Car (a MINI Electric Pacesetter) on Lap 13. Down at the double hairpin, Oliver Rowland (Nissan e.dams) made a move for the lead with a surprise lunge on Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes-EQ) who had started from pole position.
A bump in the braking zone left the Nissan driver a passenger as he speared into the side of the Belgian’s Mercedes. The pair were left all tangled up, allowing de Vries to pick up the pieces and pinch second – and then first when Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler) leapt for ATTACK MODE.
With the track cleared, the Mercedes’ seized the initiative. Vandoorne led Rowland and de Vries away, and the latter was able to jump by the Nissan in the middle of the Silver Arrow sandwich to take second – thanks to that extra lap of ATTACK MODE relative to Rowland.
Another appearance for the Safety Car followed on Lap 11, with da Costa in the wall at Turn 1 after contact with Porsche’s Andre Lotterer. The Mercedes duo at the head of the pack did manage to sneak in their second ATTACK MODE activations just prior, crucially before Rowland this time.
Heading into the final quarter hour, di Grassi had made the most of that 35kW boost to slip by de Vries into Turn 1. On the next circuit, Lynn followed with what would ultimately be the race-winning move – the Mahindra driver also in ATTACK MODE. De Vries’ early dart for his second activation had not paid dividends, and he’d have to settle for second spot, while Evans picked his way through from fifth on the grid to an eventual third at the chequered flag.
Di Grassi had led on track for more than half of the race, and crossed the line first. The Brazilian was ultimately shown the black flag for failing to serve a drive-through penalty – deemed to have illegally taken the race lead by audaciously driving through the pit-lane, and crucially failing to come to a stop in his pit-box, under Safety Car conditions on Lap 12.
De Vries followed Lynn home with Evans 5 seconds back. Frijns crossed the line fourth – having climbed the order from eighth – while Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein and BMW i Andretti Motorsport’s Maximilian Guenther completed the top six.
The weekend’s results put de Vries at the top of the Drivers’ World Championship heading into the final race weekend of Season 7 in Berlin in 3 weeks, while Robin Frijns’ points haul with fourth – up from eighth on the grid – proved vital and sees him second in the table, just 6 points behind the Dutchman. Sam Bird (Jaguar Racing) holds third in the standings.
Among the teams, Envision Virgin Racing still heads the way in the Teams’ running by 7 points from Mercedes-EQ, with Jaguar Racing third.
The advancement of battery technology over the past 20 years has accelerated as electrification by the auto industry becomes more extensive. The battery has a vital role in an electrified powertrain (hybrid or fully electric), influencing performance and operating range. New technologies, materials and chemical processes have enabled the batteries to be more compact and store more energy, a trend which will continue.
Inevitably, motorsports are also going electric with Formula E and Extreme E, the latter a pioneering off road championship which is in its first season this year. These events push electric powertrains to extremes and will certainly help in the development of new technologies that can be used for road cars.
Supplier to Formula E and Extreme E
To get the best available batteries, the organisers of both Formula E and Extreme E brought in Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) as a partner. The company (which is related to the racing team) is a major force in the electric motorsport arena, having been the original and only battery supplier to the Formula E series when it began in 2014.
Williams Advanced Engineering provided the batteries for Formula E (above) and with all the expertise gained in developing and manufacturing batteries for motorsports, it was in a good position to also be a supplier for Extreme E (below).
“Following the on-track successes we’ve had at Le Mans (providing engineering support for Porsche’s sports car racing programme), through the hybrid F1 era, then 4 seasons supplying batteries to the first-generation Formula E grid (and due to supply the Gen 3 batteries), together with being technical partner for Jaguar Racing, we have learned a lot about how to extract the highest levels of performance from a battery,” said Craig Wilson, CEO of Williams Advanced Engineering.
Greater challenges with Extreme E
Their expertise put them in a good position to gain a sole developer role in Extreme E. But while the basic technology would be the same, Extreme E presents a greater challenge because of its off-road nature. “In Extreme E, we are taking battery technology away from the traditional race circuit and into hostile environments, where humidity, dust, extremes of temperature, shock and vibration will play a huge part and to that end, the batteries have had to be uniquely tailored for the environment,” explained Glen Pascoe, WAE Principal Engineer.
“And with races being head-to-head over short distances, the batteries are sized to manage high intensity operation over a shorter time than in other e-racing series, but in a far harsher environment,” he added. “As a result, we have developed a whole new module that can produce 400kW peak power in a bespoke battery construction along with an entirely new pre-race conditioning system to maximise robustness and minimise mass.”
Simplicity, serviceability and modularity were all critical design requirements. Commercially available cells were selected and designed into a pack in conjunction with the series to align both with the race format and the vehicle performance duty cycle. “Working with limited space in the car, we had to meet tough power and mass performance targets and deliver a bespoke battery pack design in under 12 months!” recalled Pascoe.
Environments change with each round
Each venue of Extreme E has different environments and in the opening round in Saudi Arabia in April, sand and high temperatures were the big challenges, as well as thin air. “The first run simulation took part at the hottest time of the day and a battery rebuild we carried out was intensive and not helped by strong winds and even a sandstorm providing an unwelcome interruption, which covered all battery parts and electronics with a fine grit. We had to bring out the vacuum cleaner to deep clean for all components in time for the team-wide shakedown runs,” he said.
The Senegal event brought a mixture of similarities but also differences to Saudi Arabia in the challenges faced. Whilst not as hot, ambient temperatures in the seaside area still remained high, accompanied by 90%+ humidity levels. This brought its own unique challenges in actively managing the battery temperature both during the on-track action and between races.
“Alongside this, the Senegal event showed the cars tackling a very demanding, technical and aggressive track. The batteries were constantly punished with heavy impacts and harsh vibrations as the cars bounced around the dunes and deep ruts. Ensuring battery health throughout the weekend was key to ensuring a successful event,” Pascoe revealed.
He added that the batteries performed flawlessly even with the severe impacts that happened in the Desert X Prix as well as the intense head-to-head battles on the 6-km long harsh, technical course, through woods and beach sand of the Ocean X Prix.
The paddock area in the Desert E Prix in Saudi Arabia. On the left side is AFC Energy’s hydrogen fuel cell station to recharge the e-SUVs with zero emissions generated except water.
On-site servicing and recharging
Unlike being at a closed racing circuit, Extreme E’s tracks are in the open, without the usual facilities. Nevertheless, the WAE team was able to work on the batteries on location without difficulty. “Servicing and maintaining the batteries throughout the events went well, which is a reflection of all the design work that went into them,” said Pascoe.
After two rounds, the ODYSSEY 21 racing SUVs have covered 1,070 kms, of which 480 kms were recorded in Senegal. Cumulative energy discharge has been nearly 2,000 kWh, with about half drawn in Senegal. In total, over 12 hours of on-track running has taken place.
The first two rounds of Extreme E in Saudi Arabia and Senegal (above and top) have had a lot of sand and high temperatures. The third round – the Arctic X Prix – will be in a very different environment in Greenland (below).
The third round next month is the Arctic X Prix which will take place in Greenland. The engineers will be glad for no more sand, but the climate and track conditions will be vastly different. “There will be very new challenges of snow and of course, water and mud. There will be stone impact and less grip resulting in more drift and vertical impact. In addition to the physical challenges, the remoteness of the location means we need to forward plan for every eventuality before arriving on location as there will be no opportunity for late deliveries or freight, no additional transport available or indeed, supplies!” noted Pascoe.
Unlocking further vehicle performance
As the season progresses, the engineers at WAE will gain more data on battery and overall powertrain performance and behaviour. This will allow them to unlock further vehicle performance so the performance envelopes will be extended. “The batteries have been designed for multi-season use so WAE will inspect, re-test and go again. Any incremental improvements available will be implemented during the turn-around. Once the batteries reach the end of their final racing season, the cells can be easily removed as module ‘building blocks’ and configured into a suitable second-life application. Some components are targeted for reuse in alternative applications, and some will be recycled in order to recover valuable raw materials,” said Pascoe.
Whatever is learnt during the events and the solutions found may be transferred into production cars. With the R&D opportunities that the series gives, innovations can filter into the consumer market. “Specifically in areas such as fast charging, battery management and software development,” said Wilson. “Essentially, affordability comes with volume production. By pioneering and showcasing EV technology in a series such as Extreme E, manufacturers will be able to ‘carry over’ technology into road cars and in doing so, enable the technology to become more affordable.”
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In everyday driving, the brain has to be quick enough to analyse and get a driver to act correctly in any situation – millions of times on a journey. And that’s at a moderate speed too. For racing drivers, the demands are even greater as they travel at far higher speeds so they need quicker reactions and faster abilities to assess situations.
To help its Sebastien Buemi and Oliver Rowland, Nissan’s racing drivers in the all-electric Formula E series, the carmaker has developed an innovative program focused on brain function and anatomy research, training and development in the motorsport field.
Nissan Brain to Performance, as the program is called, uses advanced brain imaging and analysis to determine the anatomical specifics of high performance, professional drivers. The program aims to develop bespoke, optimized training to enhance the brain functions and anatomy related to driving and racing.
“At Nissan, we dare to do what others don’t. With this groundbreaking program, we aim to understand our racing drivers’ brain functions like never before and push the boundaries of on-track performance in Formula E,” said Tommaso Volpe, Nissan’s Global Motorsports Director. “What if, through advanced brain function analysis and training, we could help make our drivers perform better? Every tenth of a second counts in Formula E, so we’re excited to see how our cutting-edge Nissan research team can enhance the drivers’ already high-performing brain functionality.”
Better connection between people and vehicles
The program will be coordinated by Dr. Lucian Gheorghe, a leader in the field of brain analysis and training, and a driving force behind Nissan’s forward-looking research on how to better build the connection between people and Nissan vehicles. The immediate priority of the program is to enhance the performance of Nissan’s Formula E racers.
“Our brains are incredibly powerful. Without us realizing it, they perform a multitude of critical functions every second we drive our cars. Our highly trained and experienced Nissan Formula E drivers perform these functions under intense pressure and at great speed as they constantly search for faster lap times. Our new Nissan Brain to Performance program seeks to understand what it is about their brains’ electrical activity that enables them to do what they do,” said Dr. Gheorghe.
“If we can, we’d like to help them further improve their performance through bespoke brain training. In the future, could our cutting-edge research help improve the driving skills of the average driver, and inform the development of our road-going EVs? We hope so,” he explained.
The first stage of the new program will involve detailed analysis and testing of the Formula E racers’ brain functions, compared against a control group of ‘average’, non- racing drivers. All drivers will perform a range of tasks on state-of-the-art driving simulators while their brain activity is monitored and recorded. Based on the results, a bespoke driver training program involving electrical brain stimulation will be developed with the aim of improving driver performance.
Key research areas
To understanding how a Nissan Formula E drivers’ brain functions and anatomy differ in comparison to average drivers, the program establishes a spectrum of driver brain activity first. Attempts will be made to see if, through the use of electrical brain stimulation, a professional driver’s brain be enhanced to improve on-track performance.
The longer-term goal is related to future Nissan EV product development, with a focus on achieving the highest level of driver excitement and focus. An increased understanding of bio-electricity will further enhance the driving experience and intuitive nature of future EV operation.
After picking up pole position for Round 11 of the 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in New York City over the weekend, Sam Bird bounced back for a dominant win around the challenging Brooklyn street circuit, repaying Jaguar Racing’s efforts from a difficult Saturday that saw the team rebuild his car.
The win puts Bird atop of the Drivers’ standings with 81 points as the all-electric racing series heads to his home race in London later this month. However, on the other side of the Jaguar garage, the team was left frustrated missing out on a potential 1-2 finish after team mate Mitch Evans suffered severe damage to his car whilst trying to defend second position.
Evans’ misfortune led to a second podium for Envision Virgin Racing’s Nick Cassidy, the Kiwi rounding out a solid weekend in New York City after finishing third on Saturday. On the final step of the podium was DS TECHEETAH’s Antonio Felix da Costa, the reigning champion stealthily making his way up from seventh on the grid to secure vital points for his title defence as the series heads towards the final four races of the season.
The race around Brooklyn
Under grey skies, Bird got the drop on the field and sped into Turn 1, pulling a clean lead out of the tricky first complex of corners. Behind the Brit, his Jaguar teammate had a rough launch off the dirty side of the track, locking up into the first turn whilst defending from his compatriot Cassidy.
After breaking down in qualifying, Vergne’s day went from bad to worse as the Frenchman was unable to get his DS Techeetah off the line and was left stranded on the grid, bringing out the MINI Pacesetter Safety Car.
With the green flag out again by Lap 3, Bird wasted no time and immediately jumped to put some air between himself and Evans. After losing a place following a robust move from TAG Heuer Porsche’s Andre Lotterer for 7th, Alexander Sims (Mahindra Racing) was the first driver to make the dive to the outside at the Turn 10 hairpin, taking an additional 35 kW from the ATTACK MODE activation.
After qualifying down in 19th, Jake Dennis made some movements through the field to the just outside of the top 10, but the BMW i Andretti Motorsport driver’s progress was halted after clipping the rear of ROKiT Venturi Racing’s Edoardo Mortara and spinning the championship leader on Lap 7, the Swiss-Italian losing some vital positions in the process.
On Lap 8, the Jaguar duo, line astern, both dived for their ATTACK MODE. Bird was able to retain his lead, but Cassidy moved by Evans into second. With an extra 35kW of power under his feet, Evans quickly pounced on his compatriot with a clean pass.
With 15 minutes of the race in the bag, Bird looked smooth and control in the lead, pulling a gap of nearly a second on Evans and Cassidy, with the latter closely covering the rear diffuser of the second-placed driver.
A few laps later, Bird and Cassidy both jumped for their ATTACK MODE. In a perfectly choreographed piece of strategy, Evans allowed his teammate back through to keep Cassidy at bay with Evans working as a moving roadblock and allowing Bird to stretch out a gap of nearly 2 seconds.
With Cassidy having a power advantage, the Envision Virgin Racing rookie made his move on Evans to take second, sweeping round the outside before braking for Turn 6. With that place lost, Evans took his second and final ATTACK MODE to mount a challenge on Cassidy.
With that perfectly timed ATTACK MODE, Evans put in the fastest lap to leap up to the rear diffuser of Cassidy and dived up the inside for second at the Turn 10 hairpin. Behind the pair, after stealthily making his way through the pack, reigning champion Da Costa ominously clawed up to Cassidy for the final spot on the podium.
Rivals from the very beginnings of Formula E, Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler) spun Nissan e.dams’ Sebastien Buemi at Turn 6, the Brazilian coming under the watchful eye of the FIA and picking up a 10-second penalty for the offence.
On Lap 25, Bird continued to stretch his legs and run away with a lead over 2.5 seconds on his teammate, whilst a fight brewing build behind the leader. Da Costa attempted a move on Lap 27, engaging his FANBOOST but getting into the dusty part of the track it allowed Cassidy to hold the position with a daring defence. However, with the New Zealander appearing to be overusing his useable energy, Da Costa’s crew encourage the Portuguese driver with a message over the radio saying ‘we can get him’.
At the head of the pack, Evans was now facing pressure from not only Cassidy and Da Costa but now also the Porsche pairing of Pascal Wehrlein and Lotterer. Trying to fend off the pack the New Zealander clouted the wall on the outside of Turn 4, taking some heavy damage to his left rear suspension – immediately dropping back from second down to fourth after looking relatively in control of the pack.
Evans’ mistake left Cassidy in second now facing pressure from Da Costa in third, the experienced Portuguese driver trying to force the rookie to over-consume his useable energy in the final stages. With too much damage to the rear of his car, Evans was left in trouble losing places left, right and centre on the final lap. He eventually made it across the finish line in 13th position.
Next up it is London’s calling for another two rounds of the 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship at the Heineken London E-Prix on July 24 and 25.
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship continues with Rounds 10 & 11 of Season 7 being run in New York City this weekend. As with the other rounds and a unique feature of the all-electric series, the circuits are created just for the event, mostly around cities. This weekend, the circuit for the New York City E-Prix will wind around the streets of Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighbourhood
The circuit is a familiar one and a favourite of the drivers, teams and fans alike. Its 2.320-km, 14-turn layout remains largely unchanged from Formula E’s last visit in 2019. The circuit, which goes around the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal site in the heart of the Red Hook area, is a real test – it is lined with many kilometres of unforgiving concrete. The drivers will have to familiarise themselves with the revised ATTACK MODE activation zone to negotiate, though, with the loop moved from the exit of Turn 5 to the outside of Turn 10 this year. This may sound like a minor detail, but optimising ATTACK MODE has proven to be crucial at previous races this season.
New race leader after Mexico
In the race for championship honours, 12 drivers now sit within 24 points – one race win – of Edoardo Mortara (ROKiT Venturi Racing) who leads. Eight found themselves in the same bounds after Round 7 in Monaco but as the Puebla weekend in Mexico showed, everything’s liable to change, and fast, in Formula E. Mortara rocketed to the top of the standings after following up a podium in the Puebla E-Prix (Round 8) with a long-awaited return to the top step in Round 9 to take the lead with a huge 40-point haul.
Nick Cassidy (Envision Virgin Racing) steered to his first Formula E podium in the second race in Puebla and Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler’s long wait for its first silverware of the year came to an end via a Lucas di Grassi-Rene Rast one-two in Round 8. That all meant the championship table saw a shuffle with a number of drivers joining the title battle, rather than any breakaways at the top.
The rivals gunning for Mortara
So Mortara’s huge points advantage means he’s the man with the target on his back in New York City. The Swiss-Italian went to Mexico 13th in the running and 30 points behind then-leader Robin Frijns (Envision Virgin Racing). The Dutchman will be hoping for a better race in New York and he’s every reason to be encouraged following his 2019 win in the city – his most recent in Formula E.
Reigning champion Antonio Felix da Costa (DS TECHEETAH) may have struggled to secure the results they’d have hoped for in Mexico but both he and double title-winning teammate Jean-Eric Vergne left relatively unscathed, in pretty much the same situation as they’d arrived. It was a net gain for the champion despite his struggles, with the Portuguese sitting third.
Audi’s 1-2 saw Rast fire himself into fourth in the standings, Jaguar Racing’s Mitch Evans is fifth after a double points score last time out, while de Vries currently places sixth having led the Drivers’ running heading into Round 7 in Monaco after a measured victory in the DHL Valencia E-Prix Round 5 and that storming opening-round drive in Diriyah.
The official Safety Car for the current season of Formula E is the MINI Electric Pacesetter. It is developed from the new MINI Cooper SE and serves as a ‘bridge’ between MINI‘s historic motorsports legacy and its venture into electrification. The New York event will see the car being used for the fifth time this season.
More spectator involvement
Formula E blurs the lines between the real and virtual worlds of motorsport and there are other opportunities to engage with the championship in Season 7 even if you can’t be at an E-Prix in person. It’s the only motorsport event in the world that lets fans play an active role in influencing the outcome with FANBOOST.
FANBOOST for Round 10 remains until 15 minutes into the race, while voting for Round 11 opens shortly after Round 10 has finished. To give your favourite driver an extra boost of power, visit FANBOOST and the Formula E app.
With a new circuit in Mexico for the eighth and ninth rounds of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, the playing field was levelled a bit for all participants. Though it was the sixth time since the series’ inception that Mexico was a venue, the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in the capital city was not used. This time, the Autodromo Miguel E. Abed in Puebla, about 100 kms from Mexico City, was used instead. The reason for this change of circuit is because parts of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez are still being used as a hospital for COVID-19 patients during the current pandemic.
Coming out of the weekend, the happiest driver was Edoardo Mortara of ROKiT Venturi Racing who collected a win for the second time in his Formula E career. Mortara’s victory came after mastering the strategy with the challenging ATTACK MODE activation zone to control the race from the lead.
Mortara moves into the lead
The victory sees Mortara jump to the top of the Drivers’ standings from eighth in the table, the Swiss-Italian now sitting 10 points clear of Robin Frijns (Envision Virgin Racing). Pascal Wehrlein, who rebounded from the day before, took second position to boost TAG Heuer Porsche team’s standing in the championship.
The second round had started with Nissan’s Oliver Rowland making a strong start Nissan. While he sped ahead, Mortara out-braked Wehrlein around the outside, as Jake Dennis (BMW i Andretti Motorsport) duelled with Jean-Eric Vergne into the first bend.
Punching through the thin air (due to the high altitude of the location), Rowland gradually started to open up a gap, the Brit unfazed as he kicked up dirt after running slightly wide at the tricky Turn 7. Climbing up from 14th on the starting grid, Alexander Sims (Mahindra Racing) rounded out an action-packed second lap by running past both Sam Bird (Jaguar Racing) and Tom Blomqvist (NIO 333).
ATTACK MODE
As always, ATTACK MODE proved to play an important role in shaking up the lead group. Wehrlein dived to activate the first of his two power boosts and Rowland immediately followed the German. Tactically shadowing the Porsche driver’s moves to take his second and final ATTACK MODE in quick succession. With the ATTACK MODE zone open, Rowland took an early move to claim his extra 35kW of power on lap 4. The British driver immediately took advantage of the extra boost of speed to squeeze past Dennis into Turn 1.
Further down the field, there was drama on lap 8 as early season leader Nyck de Vries (Mercedes-EQ) had to crawl back to the pits with a tyre puncture following a collision with Lucas di Grassi. The Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler driver punting the rear left of the Dutchman’s Silver Arrow after immediately challenging on the exit of the ATTACK MODE activation zone.
Turn 7 saw a hard scrap between Sebastien Buemi and Bird running side-by-side into the right hander, with Di Grassi behind running out of room ploughing into the back of the Jaguar and forcing it into the side of Buemi’s Nissan.
Pascal Wehrlein’s missed chance
The battle for second started to get hot under the Mexican sun, with Wehrlein on a charge and right up to the rear diffuser of Rowland’s car. A mistake from the Nissan driver clipping the wall in the middle complex allowed Wehrlein to capitalise and move past Rowland. Clear of Rowland, Wehrlein set his sights on Mortara in the lead. The German driving with the bit between his teeth, lapping nearly a second quicker than the Swiss-Italian.
Rounding out a difficult weekend in Mexico after a DNF in Round 8, two-time champion and Rome race winner, Jean-Eric Vergne spun out of fifth position, losing two places in the process and then a few corners later Maximilian Guenther (BMW i Andretti Motorsport) picked off the Frenchman for seventh.
After a mistake running just slightly wide at Turn 7, Wehrlein handed a strong advantage to Mortara heading into the final laps with the Venturi driver making the most and picking up a gap on the German.
In a perfectly played 45 minutes plus one lap, Mortara crossed the line to take the second win of his Formula E career. After a strong drive Wehrlein rebounded from Round 8 to end second with rookie Cassidy rounding out the podium with a debut rostrum finish.
The result sees Mortara become the eighth different winner in 9 races and leave Mexico with a 10-point lead at the summit of the Drivers’ World Championship with Mercedes-EQ leading the Teams’ World Championship by 3 points. The next venue is in New York City and will also be a 2-round affair on July 10 and July 11.
This will be a busy weekend in the motorsports world; besides the seventh Formula 1 race of 2021 being run in France, Formula E – the all-electric single-seater series – also returns after a 6-week break from racing. While Envision Virgin Racing’s Robin Frijns leads the Drivers Championship, the Mercedes EQ team is at the top of the chart in team standings, with Jaguar Racing just 2 points behind.
This weekend will have Rounds 8 and 9 of the 2020-2021 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship and both will be held at a new circuit in Mexico. For the previous 5 occasions that Formula E races have been run in Mexico,
New circuit to be used
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is being contested in Mexico for the sixth time since the series’ inception, the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in the capital city has been used. This time, the Autodromo Miguel E. Abed in Puebla, about 100 kms from Mexico City, will be used for the first time. The reason for this change of circuit is because parts of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez are still being used as a hospital for COVID-19 patients during the current pandemic.
After the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Spain, the 2.982-km Autodromo Miguel E. Abed is the second permanent racetrack to host Formula E races this season. The track has 15 turns taken in a counter-clockwise direction. A large part of the circuit is situated in the infield of an oval normally used by, most noticeably, the Mexican NASCAR series.
Leading back to the main straight, Turn 15 is a banked corner which Formula E will also use. The track will use the infield of the oval circuitwith a banked turn and an extended Attack Mode activation zone. Turn 1 at the end of this section is one of the best spots for overtaking on the whole circuit and Turn 11 at the end of the second sector is another good place.
Attack Mode activation zone
The Attack Mode activation zone is on the outside of Turn 8, so cars will have to deviate from the racing line a little more than usual as a result. The loss in time is expected to be over 2.5 seconds which will be the greatest amount ever seen till date in Formula E history.
“Puebla is pretty different to anything Formula E has done before, using part of a high-speed oval, and I think it will be very interesting. It will be a high-load start to the lap and there are a lot of long corners, which we don’t usually see in this championship,” said Mahindra Racing’s Alexander Sims.
Heat + high altitude
Races in Mexico have usually had a special challenge from the high altitudes and Puebla is situated 2,200 metres above sea level, an even higher altitude than Mexico City. With high temperatures as well, the drivers will be pushed to their limits managing the battery pack and tyre temperatures during the 45 minute + one lap double-header.
“It will be hard on tyre degradation and we’ll be running in high temperatures and in high altitude. I don’t think it will be as stressful on the battery as Santiago, but it’s going to be pretty tough nonetheless,” added Sims’ team mate, Alex Lynn.
Mercedes-EQ’s Nyck de Vries took the chequered flag first in one of the craziest E-Prix in Formula E history, leading home Nico Mueller (DRAGON/PENSKE AUTOSPORT) and his Mercedes teammate, Stoffel Vandoorne. Energy management is central to the racing in Formula E, and with the incident-packed, rain-hit race at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo seeing 5 appearances for the MINI Electric Pacesetter Safety Car, the teams’ carefully calculated energy management strategies were thrown off with the round running a lap longer than had been expected.
De Vries had been happy to sit behind long-time leader Antonio Felix da Costa (DS TECHEETAH) and conserve energy for a late attack. As it happened, that attack turned into a 2-lap sprint following the final spell under the Safety Car. However, only those who’d gone long as contingency, and conserved their usable energy, had enough power left in their cells to complete the extended race distance.
Longer race time than anticipated
Dutchman de Vries drove by da Costa as the Portuguese and many around him slowed with the race running beyond its anticipated finish. Mueller and Vandoorne followed – the man stripped of Julius Baer Pole Position on a technicality and sent to the back of the grid incredibly getting his hands on silverware, making the final step on the podium.
Nick Cassidy (Envision Virgin Racing), Rene Rast (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler), Robin Frijns (Envision Virgin Racing), da Costa, Alexander Lynn (Mahindra Racing), Sam Bird (Jaguar Racing) and Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler) rounded out the top 10. Jake Dennis (BMW i Andretti Motorsport) and Jean-Eric Vergne (DS TECHEETAH) were the only other drivers who were classified.
With the rain falling and the MINI Electric Pacesetter leading the pack away, da Costa pulled a gap on Maximilian Guenther (BMW i Andretti Motorsport) and Lynn with the pack cleanly away as the race went green, for a lap or two at least. Andre Lotterer and Sebastien Buemi collided at the hairpin – the Porsche man collecting the Nissan e.dams driver – leaving the Swiss stuck in the gravel.
ATTACK MODE activations
This brought out the Safety Car for a lengthy spell while recovery of Buemi’s Nissan was underway, with leader da Costa leading the pack away when racing resumed. He was able to get the jump on the rest once again to the tune of 2 seconds once the green flags waved.
Through the first ATTACK MODE activations, it was the young German who pounced first – smart as Guenther had been slipping back down the order. He managed to hold on to fourth with Rowland just behind, and the rest of the top six followed with their initial jump through the ATTACK MODE loop a lap later.
With 25 minutes plus one lap to run, things looked calm and collected for da Costa with the Portuguese firmly in his groove. De Vries held second, 3three seconds back but still 2 seconds clear of Lynn in third. Rowland, Guenther, Sims, Nato, Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche), Cassidy and Edo Mortara (ROKiT Venturi Racing) rounded out the top 10.
Wet and slippery conditions
Guenther’s race came to a sticky end on Lap 10 as the Bavarian’s iFE.21 left the track in tricky, slippery conditions. The BMW snapped under braking as he clipped a white line and despite an armful of opposite lock, Guenther couldn’t prevent the inevitable and ended up trapped in the gravel.
The MINI Electric Pacesetter made another appearance while the BMW was cleared and da Costa shot off early when the race went green once again – with Mercedes’ de Vries all over his diffuser. The Mercedes driver was content to have the Dutchman remain in the DS’ slipstream, though, with energy management looking likely to come to a head towards the final minutes of the race. This would force da Costa into punching a hole in the air and use more energy in doing so, as de Vries let the Portuguese do all the hard work.
5 laps later, Sergio Sette Camara (DRAGON/PENSKE AUTOSPORT) and Mitch Evans (Jaguar Racing) clashed with the Brazilian sent off into the gravel and out of the race and the Kiwi forced to retire in the pits. Yet another spell (the fourth) under the Safety Car followed, while Mercedes informed de Vries he had energy in-hand to push leader da Costa with 13 minutes plus one lap to run.
The pack was once again let loose with less than 10 minutes to run, and da Costa controlled things at the restart, though de Vries had a couple of per cent of usable energy in-hand over those around him – the leader still needing to use his second dose of ATTACK MODE. Da Costa intelligently combatted this with FANBOOST used to create the gap needed to jump through the activation zone and stay ahead of de Vries.
Energy management was crucial
By the time the MINI Electric Pacesetter peeled off the circuit after its latest outing, the race had become a straight 2-lap sprint. However, with the Safety Car so busy, and the race running to an extra lap not planned for, only a handful of drivers looked like they’d enough energy to make the finish.
De Vries had worked it best, to take the race win from Mueller and Vandoorne, sending the Dutchman to the top of the standings from teammate Vandoorne and Mercedes-EQ to the summit of the Teams’ pile. Robin Frijns (Envision Virgin Racing) secured the point for TAG Heuer Fastest Lap.
Full Season 7 calendar finalised
Formula E and the FIA have also revealed the full calendar for the 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. It has a new race venue and updates to previously scheduled events. The Season 7 calendar is set to host more races than ever before in a single season, comprising 15 races in 8 cities, covering 3 continents.
The final set of races to be announced starts with a new location for the all-electric racing series, with the Puebla E-Prix in Mexico on June 19/20. This replaces the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City which has previously hosted 5 Formula E races. It cannot be used now because the circuit is still a temporary field hospital.
The Marrakesh E-Prix and Santiago E-Prix, scheduled for in May and June, respectively, have been removed from the calendar this season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Events in Santiago, Sanya and Seoul will be rescheduled for Season 8, with fans in attendance. However, the running of races will still depend on travel restrictions, as well as local government protocols, and the organisers will continue to monitor the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and communicate changes if any are required.
