Who’s next? While the protagonists are expected next weekend in the Principality of Monaco, the most glamorous meeting of the season, no one would venture to make a prediction. While eight races have already been contested and we have just passed the mid-season mark, the Formula E world championship remains true to its reputation by being as competitive and lively as ever. Truth be told, even Formula 1 doesn’t always offer such a thrilling spectacle. The struggles are high intensity at all levels of the board. In Berlin last April, the two rounds resulted in 362 overruns, including 172 in the second round alone. Methods of intimidation, kicks of the wheel: the protagonists of this one-design championship do not give each other any favors to win a place. It is not uncommon for carbon debris to litter the track. The outgoing world champion, the Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne (DS Penske), made the bitter experience of it. He was pushed into the wall on April 22 in Berlin. The mechanics and engineers were left for a sleepless night.
Since the start of Season 9, six drivers have shared the victories. Englishman Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti), New Zealander Nick Cassidy (Envision Racing), Frenchman Jean-Éric Vergne (DS Penske) and Portuguese Antonio Félix Da Costa (Porsche) climbed once on the top step from the podium. As for the German Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche) and the New Zealander Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing), they won two events.
Logically, Wehrlein is leading the championship, but nothing is certain. He leads Cassidy by just 4 points and Vergne by 19 points. Everything therefore remains open in this championship, which rewards performance as much as regularity and where the slightest misstep is paid for in cash. The top ten score points and a win is worth 25 points, pole 3 points and fastest lap 1 point. The races are played for almost nothing. All pilots have their chance. The Berlin ordeal showed that anything was possible. Cassidy won the second moto despite only starting eighth on the grid. Proof that the hierarchy can change very quickly: Robin Frijns and Nico Müller, the two drivers of the ABT Cupra team, placed their single-seaters on the front row of the second round of the German meeting. Also in Berlin, the Maserati team, the former Venturi team, showed that it was capable of playing the leading roles. Maximilian Günther grabbed third place in the first moto. This is the first podium for a Maserati single-seater in 66 years!
The winner is the one who makes the fewest mistakes and best manages his energy. This parameter is the founding element of a formula that claims its role as a laboratory for electrical technology and a showcase for the mobility of the future. In this perspective, the promoters of the discipline have introduced this year a third generation of single-seaters. The result of consultation with the teams and several years of development, the Gen3 is even more efficient and more efficient than the car it replaces. In São Paulo, at the start of the season, it set a new record of 264 km/h. Not content with being 60 kg lighter, it now accommodates a 250 kW electric motor at the front, in addition to the 350 kW power unit installed on the rear axle. Result: its regeneration capacity is thus doubled compared to the Formula E of the previous four seasons to reach 600 kW. Similarly, 40% of the energy used during the race comes from regenerative braking.
The Gen3 is also equipped with a new tire. Michelin gave way to Hankook, but the tires are still grooved.
As Formula E enters a new cycle with Gen3, promoters are already thinking about how it will evolve. Dieter Gass, who was responsible for Audi’s commitment to the discipline, thus becomes technical and sports adviser. Its role: to define the technologies of tomorrow so that Formula E contributes, more than ever, to the progress of electromobility.