World Championship Archives

Formula E’s Gen2 EVO racing cars will run for the last time in Season 8 in 2022, with Gen3 being used in 2023

Just as Formula 1 will have a major change in technical regulations from the 2022 championship, Formula E – the all-electric single-seater championship – will also transition to an entirely new generation of racing cars in Season 9, which will be in 2023. Referred to as ‘Gen3’, the new racing car is described as ‘a machine created at the intersection of high performance, efficiency and sustainability’. Formula E manufacturers are set to take delivery of Gen3 cars in the first quarter of 2022 for further intensive development testing on and off the track, and will use the Gen2 cars for Season 8.

World’s most efficient racing car
A series of design, performance and sustainability innovations in the Gen3 car make it the world’s most efficient racing car, with at least 40% of the energy used within a race produced by regenerative braking during the race. It will be the first formula car with both front and rear powertrains: a new front powertrain adds 250 kW to the 350 kW at the rear, more than doubling the regenerative capability of the current Gen2 car to a total of 600 kW.

The Gen3 racing car is sleeker and its design is inspired by the aero-efficient delta wing of a fighter jet, optimised for street racing. The Gen2 EVO racer (below) will be used for the last time in 2022 during Season 8.

The new powertrain will use an electric motor delivering up to 350 kw of power (470 ps), making it capable of a top speed of 320 km/h, with a power-to-weight ratio that is twice as efficient as an equivalent 470 ps internal combustion engine.

It will also be the first formula car that will not feature rear hydraulic brakes due to the addition of the front powertrain and its regenerative capability. Being lighter and smaller than the Gen2 car, it wil enable faster, more agile wheel-to-wheel racing.

Aligned with Life Cycle Thinking
The Gen3 racing car is the first formula car aligned to Life Cycle Thinking with a clear path towards second life and end of life for all tyres, broken parts and battery cells. In addition, it will be net-zero carbon, maintaining the championship’s status as the first sport to be certified as net-zero carbon since inception.

All carbon fibre broken parts will be recycled by an innovative process from the aviation and aerospace industry into new fibres reusable for other applications. A pioneering process will deliver 26% sustainable materials into the composition of tyres.

Additionally, new financial regulations will be introduced October 1, 2022 for Season 9. There will be 2 sets of financial regulations to be introduced by the FIA to monitor and control spending levels of competitors, one for teams and one for manufacturers. This will enhance long-term financial sustainability of Formula E, supporting retention of current participants and attracting investment in the championship from new manufacturers, teams, investors and commercial partners.

ROKiT Venturi Racing fastest in testing
Meanwhile, after a combined total of more than 4,100 laps (equal to almost 14,000 kms) of pre-season testing at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Spain, ROKiT Venturi Racing’s Edoardo Mortara recorded the fastest time of the week during the final session as the test drew to a close.

DS TECHEETAH’s double champion Jean-Eric Vergne placed the next best time of the week, just 0.041 seconds back, while another Mercedes-EQ powertrain closed out the top three times of the week, with Vandoorne’s Silver Arrow 02 also within a tenth of-a-second.

The top 17 drivers recorded times faster than Antonio Felix da Costa’s pole position qualifying lap from last season. Their first race of Season 8 will be in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia at the end of next month, followed by another 15 races in major cities of 9 countries, with the final round in South Korea in August.

*The last time the teams were in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, was in February this year for the opening round of Season 7, which was also Formula E’s first night race.*

*The final round of Season 8 will be held in Seoul, capital city of South Korea.*

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

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

Hamilton crowned 2017 F1 world champion

After an eventful race at the recent Mexico grand prix, Lewis Hamilton has won the 2017 Formula 1 world championship. The race was anything but ordinary for Mercedes-Benz after the British driver was involved with an accident with Sebastian Vettel early in the race.

This shunt forced both drivers to scramble to the pits for repairs and to change tyres, which effectively left them in second last and last place. They were well behind the charging pack once they rejoined the race. What matters worse was that Hamilton was eventually lapped, which placed him in an unfamiliar situation.

Though many wrote off Hamilton’s chances of sealing the championship title in Mexico, the Briton proved his tenacity and unwillingness to accept defeat by clawing back up the order. He eventually finished in 9th place while closest title rival, Vettel, managed a more successful 4th place.

Despite finishing well ahead of Hamilton, it wasn’t enough to stave off his pursuit of a fourth world title. The race was eventually won by Max Vestappen with Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen completing the top 3.

Hamilton, who is now part of an elite club of five drivers who have won four or more world titles, was unhappy with how he won the title. Based on an article published by F1.com, he stated that felt it was a horrible way to win the title considering the drama that unfolded shortly after the race began.

There are only four other F1 drivers in history that have won four or more world titles, which are Juan Manuel Fanio, Alain Prost, Micheal Schumacher and Sebatian Vettel. It’s a proud moment for the Briton, but we are sure he will be gunning for a fifth title next year.

Source: F1.com

Piston.my