INDIA in F1

Category: Formula E

  • Akbar Ebrahim, Chandhoks lead 14 other Indians into FIA Commissions

    By David Bodapati

    Bangalore, 12 Dec 2017: It is almost a week since the FIA Annual General Assembly was held in Paris and a few days since the good news of Gautham Singhania, the drag master, and racer, adorned the highest post in his racing life. The glittering FIA grand gala Prize-Giving at the Palace of Versailles, also saw Gaurav Gill, the only Indian in the award winners list invited by the FIA, receive the honours for retaining his APRC title, on Dec. 9.

    Singhania, 52, climbed to the helm of motorsports administration being nominated by Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India (FMSCI) and then getting elected in the FIA General Assembly. An election to the World Motorsports Council, in the International Automobile Federation (FIA) is the highest form of governing body one can get into in this sport. He will be replacing, Vijay Mallya, the King of Good Times, is down in the dumps dubbed as the `willful defaulter’ and is facing an extradition case which looks very unlikely to stand in the London Court, with the lady lawyer grilling the prosecution and making arguments that the case is politically motivated. Whether Mallya will be indicted or not is a moot point. He lost his position as the member of the World Council and FMSCI was forced to nominate a person, and the bigwigs preferred to name Singhania, ahead of Vicky Chandhok, who was the Deputy Titular earlier and who did enormous work in bringing F1 to India, even if it stayed here only for three years. Keeping such a stalwart out may be due to the bad times, but Singhania, the MD of  Raymond Group, is no stranger to Motorsports either.

    Singhania is reported to be `very passionate about fast cars, fast boats, and fast planes’. He has driven a Formula One single-seater, said to be in France and we received many a release regarding his exploits in racing cars. He took part in the 2014 Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli – Coppa Shell, held at Silverstone in Sept 2014 as an official Indian entry endorsed by the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI). The Coppa Shell is a series for “amateur gentleman drivers” in the one-make racing series organised by Ferrari, and Singhania competed in a Ferrari 458. He also won on debut, the amateur category in the All Stars European Drifting Championship in Malta earlier in September 2012 and the next year he unveiled India’s first purpose-built drifting car. There are many similarities between him and Mallya…

    The Super Car Club that he co-founded is promoting drifting as an auto sport in a big way in the country, and Singhania also holds the lap record at the Buddh International Circuit in a non-open wheel car.

    But how he would become an adept administrator from being a racer, needs to be noticed. All the best to him.

    Then the current president of FMSCI, Akbar Ebrahim, who brought in a series of changes to cleanse the Federation and the clubs running various national championships, will be Singhania’s deputy titular. Akku, as he is popularly known in the circuit, is a no-nonsense man. He calls a spade a spade. But he too is facing a gigantic challenge in dealing with the veterans in the sport, the grapevine alleges. That is enough material for a separate story.

    Akku will also be a member of the Electric and New Energy Championships Commission. Apart from the top two, we have stalwarts Chandhoks, who can just walk into any commission. But Vicky Chandhok continues to be in the Truck Racing Commission while Karun Chandhok, one of the only two Formula One drivers from India, who thrills millions of motorsports fans with his amazing knowledge of F1 and motorsports during his commentary stints on TV, will continue to be on the Drivers’ Commission. The other two important Commissions saw J Anand and Farhan Vohra get elected. Anand, a former speed master and current chief of JA Motorsport which builds the single seater cars in India will be in the Single Seater Commission. I always believed that J Anand and Arjun Balu, both based in Coimbatore, are two of the greatest drivers India ever produced who also ended up as greatest underachievers, never realising the potential their raw speed and immense talent deserved. Unsung heroes, who I still respect for their deeds behind the wheel! Anand went on to become a great entrepreneur and is coming up with a big venture for Tatas. Arjun Balu too is nominated by the Federation but unfortunately, he could not make it this time and he has to wait. The way he won the Asia Zone Cup in China in 2002 defeating his much-acclaimed teammate Naren Kumar, is still fresh in my mind. In MRF team, he was always a second fiddle, for reasons unknown, even if one is made to believe that there were no team orders.

    Vohra was in control during the three years, India hosted the Formula One world championship at Buddh International Circuit. As the Indian Race Director and Assistant CoC and he will be on the Circuits Commission.

    Then we have the multi-faceted, 7-time National champion and amazing rallyist, racer, tuner, N Leelakrishnan. He will be the member of the Touring Car Commission. Farooq Ahmed, the brain behind the Motorsports Club of Chikmagalur and the one who brought the Asia Pacific Rally Championship to India will adorn the FIA Rally Commission and rightly so. What with the enormous success of the APRC in the Coffee Estates of Coffee Day Global for the last two years, where the King of Indian Motorsports Gaurav Gill ruled the roost winning not only the Chikmagalur leg but also the APRC titles. Gill is also the lone winner at the Gala FIA prize-giving, a day after 17 Indians walked into the FIA panels.

    Farooq was a former National Champion himself and was the co-driver for Leelakrishnan among other drivers. Under his stewardship, the Coffee Day Rally, and the club itself raised standards to a higher notch, not only to become a permanent fixture in the INRC, the Indian National Rally Championship but also to set the game to a professional level that only a few can achieve.

    When MSCC shines, can KMSC, the Karnataka governing body, be far behind. Balakrishna Jayasimha, the biker turned rallyist, is the current secretary of Karnataka Motorsports Club for the last seven years. With Bharat, leaving all of us, after his untimely death, BK, as he is fondly known in the circles, and Shivu Shivappa, the President are pulling on the reigns. But it is BK, who makes his debut in the FIA commissions. He will be part of the Off-road stuff. The RallyCross and AutoCross. He has a story to tell about the sport taking off in India in one division. It has made a quick start with a GP published in the other, but that I will keep for another story.

    And then we have Zayn Khan, the former FMSCI president. The Hyderabadi will be replacing Prabha Shankar of Chennai in the Volunteers and Officials Commission. Nawaz Sandhu, nee Batheena will again sit in the `Women In Sport’ Commision. As CoC, she was impeccable driving the deserts in her vehicle to run the Jaipur rally when PSP and IMG ran it. A former rallyist and married to `madman driver’ Sandhu, who with his mad speed, used to scare the daylights out of his navigator, another former champion, and our very own Bengalurean, Jaidas Menon. I still remember the joke about the day when a train passed through the unmanned gates of those many tricky crossings K-1000 had. Jai stopped making the calls and started shouting…..STOP, STOP, STOP. But the cool-as-as-a-cucumber Sandhu was not mad enough to heed the caution. He crossed the track in a jiffy, seconds before `the Train’ crossed the same spot. And then it was his turn to shout… “RELAX, RELAX, RELAX. It’s all over”. The narration is an exaggeration, I agree, but the incident was a real-life experience. Ask Jaidas or even the `silent’ Sandhu. Now they will laugh about it.

    Coming back to Navaz, she will continue to be the Indian representative of the `Women in Sport’ Commission. We also have Balamurugan in the Drag Commission for another term and another Coimbatore-based official Sajeev Mathew entering the Karting Commission this year. Automobile journalist and expert voice, Hormazd Sorabjee continues in the Land Speed Records Commission. That will leave us with Satish Kumar in Homologation Commission, Manjeev Balla, famous for the Raid de Himalaya gets one more term in the Hill Climb Commission, and Shyam Kumar enters Safety Commission, which is turning out to be one of the most important Commissions.

    1. Akbar Ebrahim, Electric and New Energy Championships Commission;
    2. Vicky Chandhok, Truck Racing Commission;
    3. Karun Chandhok, Drivers’ Commission;
    4. J Anand (Single Seater Commission;
    5. Farhan Vohra, Circuits;
    6. Zayn Khan, Volunteers, and Officials;
    7. Manjeev Balla, Hill Climb Commission;
    8. Sajeev Mathew, Karting Commission;
    9. J Balamurugan, Drag Racing Commission;
    10. N. Leelakrishnan, Touring Cars Commission;
    11. Jayesh Desai, Cross Country Commission;
    12. Balakrishna Jayasimha, Off-Road commission for Auto-cross and Rally cross;
    13. Shyam Kumar, Safety Commission;
    14. Navaz Batheena Sandhu, Women in Motorsports;
    15. Farooq Ahmed, Rally Commission;
    16. Satish Kumar, Homologation Commission;
    17. Hormazd Sorabjee, Land Speed Records Commission;

    eom/david/inputs from FMSCI nomination list

    edited kind of motorsports to…king of motorsports on 12 Dec 2017 at 8pm.

     

     

  • Felix Rosenqvist brings Mahindra’s win after Abt was disqualified: Formula E in Hong Kong

    Felix Rosenqvist brings Mahindra’s win after Abt was disqualified: Formula E in Hong Kong

    Felix Rosenqvist has provisionally won the second round of the 2017 FIA Formula E Championship in Hong Kong after on-track winner Daniel Abt was disqualified after the race for a technical infringement.

    It was found that the FIA security stickers (barcodes) on the inverter and MGU units did not correspond with those declared on the Technical Passport provided by the competitor Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler for the event. The race results remain provisional subject to an appeal to the FIA International Court of Appeal by Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler against the Stewards´ Decision.

    It was a thrilling climax to the E-Prix as race-long leader and rookie driver Edoardo Mortara spun out with just three laps to go as he was trying to set the fastest lap in the Venturi Formula E Team machine.

    Mortara took the lead after pole-sitter Rosenqvist spun in his Mahindra Formula E Team car at the first corner on the opening lap. The race had started under safety car conditions because of fault with the start lights, but the mistake meant that Rosenqvist had to spend the 45 laps fighting his way through the pack.

    Mortara, famed for his prowess on the fierce street circuit in Macau where two weeks ago he won the FIA GT World Cup, looked at home in his first ever Formula E weekend, and steadily opened out a gap to the chasing Abt.

    Behind the Audi driver, Mitch Evans and Alex Lynn were pushing each in fourth and fifth in the opening laps, but while Evans maintained fourth place to the flag, Lynn dropped down to ultimately finish ninth.

    Evan’s post-race promotion hands Panasonic Jaguar Racing its first podium in the FIA Formula E Championship.

    Yesterday’s runner-up Jean-Eric Vergne fought his way from eighth on the grid to finish fourth ahead of yesterday’s winner Sam Bird. It was a hard charge for the DS Virgin Racing driver to come through from 14th on the grid to finish fifth.

    Oliver Turvey, Maro Engel and Nico Prost finished in close quarters in sixth, seventh and eighth for NIO Formula E Team, Venturi and Renault e.dams respectively, with Prost’s team-mate Sebastien Buemi rounding out the top ten behind Lynn.

    From facing backwards in the first corner, Rosenqvist ended up taking maximum points from the round having taken pole position, the win and the fastest lap.

    Round three of the 2017/18 FIA Formula E Championship takes place in Marrakesh on 13 January.

    Felix Rosenqvist, Mahindra Racing, said: “There’s been a lot of ups-and-downs all weekend, but I’m happy with taking away 29 points – for pole, winning the race and fastest lap – it’s a lot of points! But I feel sorry for Daniel as well, he won the race on track, but I don’t know the reason. It’s not the way you want to win and I don’t feel like I’ve won the race. But I’m happy with the points. Sometimes you’re happy and then you’re sad, like yesterday we were in P15 and turned it around – getting fastest lap but it got taken away, so there’s been a lot like that but I’ll take maximum points and third in the championship.”

    Edoardo Mortara, Venturi Formula E, said: “It’s difficult to find the words actually after a race like that. It’s tough to swallow. We had the pace and managed the race from the beginning to the end. I was checking my energy consumption and the gap to Daniel the entire race and I guess at some point I wanted too much. Sometimes you need to admit it – you were too confident and I should have focussed on bringing home the win. We showed the others today we had the pace, and I’ll improve myself at the next races.”

    Mitch Evans, Panasonic Jaguar Racing, said: “I’m proud to secure Panasonic Jaguar Racing’s first podium in Formula E. It’s bittersweet as Daniel is a good guy and a mate of mine. After a tough year in our first season, this is a great reward for the hard work of everyone in the team. Tonight we will celebrate this achievement together and then work hard to repeat it.”

    2017 HKT Hong Kong E-Prix (Rd 2) – Provisional Race Results

    1 – Felix Rosenqvist, Mahindra Racing, 50:05.084s (29)
    2 – Edoardo Mortara, Venturi Formula E Team, +7.031s (18)
    3 – Mitch Evans, Panasonic Jaguar Racing, +10.619s (15)
    4 – Jean-Eric Vergne, TECHEETAH, +12.593s (12)
    5 – Sam Bird, DS Virgin Racing, +12.879s (10)
    6 – Oliver Turvey, NIO Formula E Team, +14.199s (8)
    7 – Maro Engel, Venturi Formula E Team, 15.676s (6)
    8 – Nico Prost, Renault e.dams, +18.905s (4)
    9 – Alex Lynn, DS Virgin Racing, +19.025s (2)
    10 – Sebastien Buemi, Renault e.dams, +22.139s (1)
    11 – Antonio Felix da Costa, Andretti Formula E, +23.359s
    12 – Nelson Piquet Jr, Panasonic Jaguar Racing, +27.904s
    13 – Andre Lotterer, TECHEETAH, +28.591s
    14 – Lucas di Grassi, ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport, +39.137s15 – Jerome D’Ambrosio, DRAGON, +55.189s
    16 – Nick Heidfeld, Mahindra Racing, +1 Lap
    17 – Kamui Kobayashi, Andretti Formula E, +1 Lap
    18 – Neel Jani, DRAGON, +1 Lap

    DNF – Luca Filippi, NIO Formula E Team, 36 Laps
    DSQ – Daniel Abt, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, 45 Laps

    Driver standings

    Sam Bird, DS Virgin Racing – 35
    Jean-Eric Vergne, TECHEETAH – 33
    Felix Rosenqvist, Mahindra Racing – 29
    Edoardo Mortara, Venturi Formula E – 24
    Nick Heidfeld, Mahindra Racing – 15

    Team standings
    Mahindra Racing – 44
    DS Virgin Racing – 41
    TECHEETAH – 33
    Venturi Formula E Team – 30
    Panasonic Jaguar Racing – 27
    Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler – 11
    NIO Formula E Team – 9
    Andretti Formula E – 8
    Renault e.dams – 7
    DRAGON – 0

    *Subject to an appeal to the FIA International Court of Appeal by Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler against the Stewards´ Decision to disqualify Car no. 66

    eom/

    Mahindra’s Felix Rosenqvist takes a provisional win pending appeal in the second race of Formula E in Hong Kong on Sunday. An FIA image.

    FIA press release

  • Bird clinches Formula E season opener in Hongkong

    Bird clinches Formula E season opener in Hongkong

    Bird wins season opener in Hongkong on Sunday. Image by FIA

    The FIA Formula E Championship sparked into life for the start of the new season with a gripping opening contest in Hong Kong, where Sam Bird sealed a surprise victory despite picking up a penalty for not stopping in his allocated space during the mid-race car swap.

    Bird entered the pitlane eager to retain the advantage he’d built over TECHEETAH’s Jean-Eric Vergne, but attacked his marks too aggressively on the dusty surface and skated to a halt outside the front of his garage.

    He managed to jump out and into his second car without losing too much time. However, Bird didn’t make his mandatory car change in the box allocated to the driver – picking up a drive-through penalty in the process. But it wasn’t enough to stop him.

    There were several contenders in a hotly-contested battle as Bird faced his former team-mate Vergne for the majority of the opening stint. Vergne led the way from pole position, fending off the fast-starting Mahindra of Nick Heidfeld.

    As the cars filtered through the tight chicane of Turns 3 & 4, Formula E debutant Andre Lotterer collided with the wall – blocking a gaggle of cars behind. Lotterer was avoiding the bottleneck and pitched into the barriers on the outside, holding back Mitch Evans, Nico Prost, Edoardo Mortara and Neel Jani behind.

    The E-Prix came to an abrupt halt as the incident brought out the red flags and after a delay the race got back underway behind the Safety Car. Vergne looked immediately under pressure from Bird in his mirrors and couldn’t hold him back after a lunge up the inside of the Turn 6 hairpin.

    Despite serving his penalty, Bird emerged narrowly in front of the chasing pack. The British driver must have breathed a huge sigh of relief after a botched pitstop cost him a chance of fighting for the win in Hong Kong last year.

    Speaking about the shock result, Bird added: “That was a really crazy race, I’m still trying to process what happened really. It’s unreal for me winning after a driving-through penalty in Formula E. I’d like to thank the team, we knew it would be tough this year with lots of close competition. When I came out the pits there was a TECHEETAH in front of me and thought it was JEV, so I was pushing hard to catch him! It turned out I was in the lead and I never in a million years expected that.”

    Although, it’s a bittersweet result for Bird after being handed a 10-place grid penalty for tomorrow’s race for dangerous driving in the pitlane.

    Vergne defended his position stoutly throughout the race and admitted to struggling without regen and no communication to the team over radio – making it feel like a victory for the TECHEETAH team.

    He said: “This race was by far my most difficult race – I had no radio communication, I spoke to my engineer only twice in the race and I had no regen. So, if this morning somebody told me I’d have these issues, I wouldn’t even take the start of the race. To finish second off the back of this is almost like a victory to us. We’re hoping to fix things overnight and come back stronger tomorrow.”

    Heidfeld saw a lot of Vergne’s rear wing throughout the E-Prix – trying to pass the Frenchman in every direction, but second place still eludes him as the Mahindra driver settled for another third-place finish.

    “It’s probably one of the third places I’m least happy about,” said Heidfeld. “Hopefully this changes in the next couple of days. The team has done a good job and to finish on the podium is always a good result, and you have to focus on collecting the points for the season. JEV said he had a lot of problems – I tried hard to overtake him, but I’m not that happy as I thought it was too much.”

    Reigning Formula E champion Lucas di Grassi and main rival Sebastien Buemi both failed to score. Di Grassi was forced to pit early and switched to his second car after sustaining damage to his right-rear suspension, while Buemi stopped on track with a technical glitch.

    The teams and drivers don’t have long to rest, as the action gets underway again for the second helping of the Hong Kong E-Prix double-header tomorrow.

    2017 HKT Hong Kong E-Prix (Rd 1) – Race results

    1 – Sam Bird, DS Virgin Racing, 1:17.10.486s (25)
    2 – Jean-Eric Vergne, TECHEETAH, +11.575s (21)
    3 – Nick Heidfeld, Mahindra Racing, +12.465s (15)
    4 – Nelson Piquet Jr, Panasonic Jaguar Racing, +15.324s (12)
    5 – Daniel Abt, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, +17.205s (11)
    6 – Antonio Felix da Costa, Andretti Formula E, +18.083s (8)
    7 – Edoardo Mortara, Venturi Formula E Team, +19.797s (6)
    8 – Alex Lynn, DS Virgin Racing, +20.904s (4)
    9 – Nico Prost, Renault e.dams, +24.785s (2)
    10 – Luca Filippi, NIO Formula E Team, +25.500s (1)
    11 – Sebastien Buemi, Renault e.dams, +26.202s
    12 – Mitch Evans, Panasonic Jaguar Racing, +34.871s
    13 – Maro Engel, Venturi Formula E Team, +35.752s
    14 – Felix Rosenqvist, Mahindra Racing, +41.174s
    15 – Kamui Kobayashi, Andretti Formula E, +48.422s
    16 – Oliver Turvey, NIO Formula E Team, +1 Lap
    17 – Lucas di Grassi, ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport, +1 Lap
    18 – Neel Jani, DRAGON, +1 Lap

    DNF – Jerome D’Ambrosio, DRAGON, 34 Laps
    DSQ – Andre Lotterer, TECHEETAH, 43 Laps

    Driver standings

    Sam Bird, DS Virgin Racing – 25
    Jean-Eric Vergne, TECHEETAH – 21
    Nick Heidfeld, Mahindra Racing – 15
    Nelson Piquet Jr, Panasonic Jaguar Racing – 12
    Daniel Abt, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler – 11

    Team standings

    DS Virgin Racing – 29
    TECHEETAH – 21
    Mahindra Racing – 15
    Panasonic Jaguar Racing – 12
    Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler – 11
    Andretti Formula E – 8
    Venturi Formula E Team – 6
    Renault e.dams – 2
    NIO Formula E Team – 1
    DRAGON – 0

    eom/FIA press release

  • Hamilton tops FP2: Abu Dhabi GP

    Lewis Hamilton took top spot in second practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, edging out Sebastian Vettel by just under fifteen hundredths of a second. Daniel Ricciardo finished was third, separated from Vettel by almost the same margin.

    As with the early afternoon session at the Yas Marina Circuit, it was Mercedes driver Hamilton who set the early pace, holding P1 with a time 0.8s clear of Ricciardo.

    The session’s qualifying simulations came early on however, with Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas embarking on his performance run before the half hour mark and his time of 1:38.609s elevated him to the top of the timesheet.

    Vettel briefly took over before Hamilton became the only driver to break the 1m38s barrier with his P1 lap of 1:37.877. Vettel was only marginally off that pace, however, with his best effort yielding a time of 1:38.026.

    Behind the top three, Kimi Räikkönen finished the 90-minute session in fourth place 0.172s behind Ricciardo and almost two tenths clear of fifth-placed Bottas. Max Verstappen was fourth in the second Red Bull, the Dutchman having a much quieter session than his opening 90 minutes, in which he finished third, just 0.148s behind early afternoon pacesetter Vettel. In the late session Verstappen finished sixth and a full second adrift of Hamilton’s pace and seven tenths behind team-mate Ricciardo.

    The Dutchman was followed by the Force Indias of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon, who were separated by just 0.010s. Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and McLaren’s Fernando Alonso rounded out the top 10.

    2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Mercedes 39 1:37.877
    2 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 37 1:38.026 0.149
    3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 34 1:38.180 0.303
    4 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 35 1:38.352 0.475
    5 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 33 1:38.537 0.660
    6 Max Verstappen Red Bull 34 1:38.894 1.017
    7 Sergio Perez Force India 33 1:39.323 1.446
    8 Esteban Ocon Force India 36 1:39.333 1.456
    9 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 41 1:39.529 1.652
    10 Fernando Alonso McLaren 28 1:39.559 1.682
    11 Felipe Massa Williams 36 1:39.635 1.758
    12 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 31 1:39.671 1.794
    13 Carlos Sainz Jr. Renault 38 1:40.201 2.324
    14 Lance Stroll Williams 30 1:40.329 2.452
    15 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 39 1:40.694 2.817
    16 Kevin Magnussen Haas 31 1:41.128 3.251
    17 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber 43 1:41.270 3.393
    18 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 40 1:41.302 3.425
    19 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 39 1:41.496 3.619
    20 Romain Grosjean Haas 12 1:41.560 3.683.

    eom/FIA release

  • Formula E championship pre-season testing concludes in Valencia

    NIO Formula E Team driver Oliver Turvey rounded off the week of official FIA Formula E Championship pre-season testing in Valencia by finishing top of the timesheet for two of the three days. The opener is in Hong Kong in December.

    Following his performance on day one, Turvey posted a time of 1m21.822s, followed by Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler’s Daniel Abt with 1m21.946s, while Dragon Racing driver Jerome D’Ambrosio enjoyed some time at the top for the first time this week. Both DS Virgin Racing drivers Alex Lynn and Sam Bird had a strong morning, leading the way together before Turvey took the top spot.

    The morning session ended with a total of two red flags for both Venturi Formula E Team driver Edoardo Mortara, who stopped on track, and TECHEETAH’s Jean-Eric Vergne after making contact with a barrier. Late in the afternoon, TECHEETAH’s Andre Lotterer raised another red flag after a spin at Turn 5.

    The teams and drivers will undoubtedly spend the coming weeks analysing the data gathered over this busy Valencia testing week before they hit the track in earnest in Hong Kong for the double-header season-opener on 2-3 December.

    Combined classification – Day 4 – Valencia Pre-Season Test

    1    16 Oliver Turvey NIO Formula E Team 1:21.822
    2    66 Daniel Abt Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 1:21.946
    3    25 Jean-Eric Vergne TECHEETAH 1:22.078
    4    19 Felix Rosenqvist Mahindra Racing 1:22.120
    5    9 Sebastien Buemi Renault e.Dams 1:22.247
    6    7 Jerome D’Ambrosio Dragon Racing 1:22.252
    7    36 Alex Lynn DS Virgin Racing 1:22.267
    8    1 Lucas Di Grassi Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 1:22.328
    9    8 Nicolas Prost Renault e.Dams 1:22.383
    10  20 Mitch Evans Panasonic Jaguar Racing 1:22.432
    11  2 Sam Bird DS Virgin Racing 1:22.457
    12  68 Luca Filippi NIO Formula E Team 1:22.487
    13  3 Nelson Piquet Jr. Panasonic Jaguar Racing 1:22.645
    14  28 Antonio Felix Da Costa Andretti Formula E 1:22.979
    15  6 Neel Jani Dragon Racing 1:23.102
    16  23 Daniel Juncadella Mahindra Racing 1:23.564
    17  4 Edoardo Mortara Venturi Formula E Team 1:23.619
    18  27 Tom Blomqvist Andretti Formula E 1:23.692
    19  5 Maro Engel Venturi Formula E Team 1:24.100
    20  18 Andre Lotterer TECHEETAH 1:24.172.

    eom/FIA press release

  • Formula E season to begin in Hong Kong on Dec 2 with a double-header

    The FIA on September 1, confirmed the team entry list for Season 4 of the FIA Formula E Championship. Ten teams will compete over the 14 rounds of the 2017/18 campaign, which begins with a double-header of races on 2-3 December in Hong Kong.

    The team names are as follows:

    TEAM ENTRY LIST – FIA FORMULA E CHAMPIONSHIP 2017/18
    Andretti Formula E
    Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
    Dragon Racing
    DS Virgin Racing
    Mahindra Racing

    NIO Formula E Team
    Panasonic Jaguar Racing
    Renault e.dams
    TECHEETAH
    Venturi Formula E Team

     

    Updated Sporting Regulations, which were approved by the World Motor Sport Council on 19 June, were also published today. These include:

    • Any driver who is not classified in the top ten positions at the end of the race will not be eligible for the point awarded for fastest lap
    • Elimination of a non-qualifying session when two races take place during the same event
    • Increase in the number of promotional days from 3 to 6 days per team with a maximum of 3 days on circuit, to promote roadshows
    • Addition of a practice session day during the season and a practice session day reserved for rookies
    • Increase of power during the race from 170 kW to 180 kW

  • Hamilton takes 66th career pole ahead of Bottas

    Lewis Hamilton took his 66th career pole position to move within two of all-time record holder Michael Schumacher after he beat team-mate Valtteri Bottas to the front of the grid for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Kimi Räikkönen was third for Ferrari, while championship-leading team-mate Sebastian Vettel has to settle for fourth place.

    It was Hamilton who made the running in Q1 with the Briton setting the pace thanks to a lap of 1:41.983. Behind him, Verstappen recovered from the hydraulic issues that sidelined him towards the end of FP3 and took second place in Q1 just over half a second behind the Mercedes man. Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen was third ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in the second Red Bull and Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat. Sebastian Vettel, who had also suffered a hydraulic issue in FP3, was sixth.

    At the other end of the spectrum, Fernando Alonso’s lap of 1:44.334 was the P15 target in the closing stages. Haas’ Romain Grosjean, in P16 and a tenth behind the McLaren man, looked the most likely to advance, but in the end the Frenchman couldn’t find the pace. It was team-mate Kevin Magnussen who made the most of the final runs and the Dane vaulted from P17 an eventual P15 to push Alonso out of the session ahead of Grosjean, Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson, Stoffel Vandoorne in the second McLaren and Renault’s Jolyon Palmer who did not take part in the session following a car fire in FP3. Both McLarens are set for heavy overnight grid penalties, however.

    Hamilton again set the pace in Q2, this time by quite a margin. After the opening runs Hamilton sat in P1 just ahead of Bottas and Räikkönen but with his second outing the Briton decimated the competition, setting a benchmark of 1:41.275. As the segment edged to a close only Verstappen seemed to be able to operate in the same timeframe as Hamilton and the Dutchman took P2 with a lap of 1:41.961. However in the final moments, Vettel, who had been low key to that point, vaulted to P2 six hundredths clear of Verstappen. Bottas got closer still to Hamilton to finish with a time of 1:41.502, 0.227 behind his team-mate.

    Eliminated in in P11 was Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat, with team-mate Carlos Sainz 0.161 behind the Russian. Kevin Magnussen was 13th for Haas ahead of Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and Sauber’s Pascal Wehrlein.

    The first runs in Q3 saw Bottas seize the early initiative as drivers went for two timed laps on their opening runs. The Finn set a benchmark of 1:41.274 with Hamilton, who made a small errors in P2, with a time of 1:41.428.

    The session was brought to a halt, however, when Ricciardo clipped the wall on the exit of Turn 5 and damaged his rear left wheel. He was left stranded on track after Turn 6 and the red flags came out.

    With 3m33s left on the clock it became clear that there would be time for another run but that drivers would only get one timed lap and it was Hamilton who made the most of it. The Briton powered through the 1m41s barrier, the only man to do that in the session, with a lap of 1:40.593. That was good enough to earn his 66thcareer pole position and move into second place in the list of all-time pole positions, one clear of his great hero Ayrton Senna.

    Bottas took P2 with a time of 1:41.027 with Räikkönen third with a lap of 1:41.693. Championship leader Sebastian Vettel had to settle for fourth place ahead of Max Verstappen, with Sergio Perez in sixth place, just in front of team-mate Esteban Ocon. Lance Stroll had a good session to qualify eighth for Williams, four hundredths ahead of team-mate Felipe Massa. Tenth place went to the unfortunate Ricciardo.

    eom/FIA press release

  • Buemi win Paris ePrix; Grassi crashes out

    Buemi win Paris ePrix; Grassi crashes out

    Sebastian Beumi wins at Paris ePrix as rival Grassi (not in picutre) crashes out on Saturday. An FIA image

    Swiss driver extends his points lead in the centre of Paris while title rival di Grassi crashes out

    Paris, 20 May 2017: 

    The FIA Formula E Championship returned to Paris for a second ePrix around the iconic streets of Les Invalides today, 20 May, and it was points-leader Sebastien Buemi who secured a fifth victory of the season for the Renault e.dams squad.

    Buemi had taken pole position earlier in the day, and fended off the challenge of Jean-Eric Vergne who drew alongside the pole-sitter on the run down to turn one. After this initial challenge, Vergne’s Techeetah car came under attack from DS Virgin Racing’s Jose Maria Lopez, giving Buemi just enough breathing space to manage the gap.

    The opening stages of the race were high-pressure and close-quarters, with the top 14 drivers within just ten seconds of each other after five tours of Les Invalides. Behind the top three, Mahindra’s Nick Heidfeld repeated the rapid start he made a week ago during the Monaco ePrix, making up ground and challenging the front-runners.

    Having qualified down in 14th place, ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport’s Lucas di Grassi had a lot work to do to try and score vital championship points. He didn’t make progress early on, however, and was battling for 15th with Andretti Formula E’s Antonio Felix da Costa. As the two were swapping places on the narrow city streets, contact was made at turn eight and both cars spun into the run-off area. While di Grassi was able to continue, it was the end of da Costa’s race, and as the marshals recovered his stricken car there was a Full Course Yellow period, prompting almost all the drivers to dive into the pits and make their mandatory stop and car change.

    Brazilian driver di Grassi was then hit with a drive through penalty for not respecting the minimum pit stop time, which dropped him to last place on the circuit.

    There was another disruption on lap 30 with a safety car deployment, as Vergne, who had been matching Buemi’s pace throughout the middle phase of the race, crashed into the barriers on the exit of turn 14 as he tried to close the gap.

    The Frenchman’s retirement promoted Mahindra Racing’s Heidfeld to a podium position, and he crossed the line in third for the second consecutive race. It was also a strong race for Heidfeld’s stablemate Felix Rosenqvist, whose fourth-placed finish brought the team its strongest points haul to date.

    Nico Prost was the highest-placed French driver in fifth, rounding out a strong showing for Renault e.dams who now lead the team standings by an impressive 75 points.

    Andretti’s Robin Frijns enjoyed his best result of the season in sixth, while Nelson Piquet Jr was seventh having benefitted from last-lap heartache for Daniel Abt who was forced to retire with mechanical issues after having made up a lot of places from his starting position.

    Tom Dillman gave the French fans more to cheers about with an impressive Formula E debut in eighth, with Mitch Evans and Stephane Sarrazin rounding out the top ten.

    For the second year running, the ePrix ended behind the safety car, as an attempt at setting the fastest lap ended in the barriers for Lucas di Grassi, who after this weekend now has a 43-point deficit to Buemi.

    Sebastien Buemi said: “The most important thing for me was to pull away after the grid positon we got. You know when the brakes are cold, the first few corners are a bit of a guess for everyone and Jean-Eric Vergne was very aggressive and tried to pass me, so I tried to delay the braking as late as I could, just to stay ahead. I consumed maybe a little bit more energy than I was expecting to use, just to make up a little gap. I lost a bit of time in the Full Course Yellow and obviously in the restart when he [JEV] crashed I was having a nice time as he was putting me under pressure. Then we had the Safety Car and Jose [Maria Lopez] had a great race today, he was really, really quick and I had to push quite hard at the end of the race just to make sure I could build up a bit of a gap.”

    Jose Maria Lopez said: “You can see from the beginning of the year that we had a good car, but my experience was not enough to be competitive. But we worked hard in the race, it was a circuit I liked, the city and everything and I think that played a part as well.”

    Nick Heidfeld said: “The start in Monaco was about taking the outside line and just braking late, but here the car off the line was just fantastic – it was like a rocket! It was a lot closer here than in Monaco where I couldn’t keep up with the top two guys, but here I could. There were a couple of backmarkers who got between us as the restart and that meant unfortunately I could not get near them, but we had the same pace and more energy.”

    The FIA Formula E Championship will be racing again in three weeks’ time, with the double-header Berlin ePrix coming up on 10-11 June.

    eom/Fia press release

  • Formula E donates clean-charging infrastructure

    Formula E donates clean-charging infrastructure

    Paris, 18 May 2017: Following the second edition of the event around the architectural co

    Formula E class of 2016-17 line-up in Paris ahead of the GP. An FIA image

    mplex of Les Invalides, a short distance from the headquarters of the FIA, Formula E is donating a zero-emissions glycerine generator to boost charging infrastructure and leave a lasting legacy to the city of Paris.

    The Formula E concept was initiated by FIA President Jean Todt as a means to demonstrate the potential and drive the development of sustainable technologies, become a platform to increase global uptake of electric vehicles and contribute to the fight against climate change and inner-city air pollution.

    By welcoming the FIA Formula E Championship to the streets of Paris, Mayor Anne Hidalgo aims to increase public awareness of sustainable methods of transportation and promote car manufacturers’ continued investment in electric mobility and alternative energy solutions.

    This is in line with the vision of Alejandro Agag, Founder and CEO of Formula E, who wants to make the switch to electric cars make sense for consumers – more efficient and more affordable.

    Formula E and event organisers have decided to donate a zero-emissions glycerine generator to Paris after the chequered flag falls on Saturday.

    The generators are based on standard production diesel engines that have been adapted with Aquafuel’s patented technology to run on glycerine. The fuel itself is a by-product of the bio-diesel production process, and it’s so clean you can drink it.

    The unit can be used as a fixed generator to provide electricity and heating to existing buildings – or as a mobile generator to provide power at events, or to power electric vehicle charging stations.

    The generator will be entirely automated and can be synchronised to the French grid to feedback any energy production surplus. It will be tailor-made for the needs of Paris, and will be delivered in August 2017.

    Anne Hidalgo would like to express her thanks to the FIA Formula E Championship for this generous donation, and reinforce the push that Paris is making in the transition to clean energy and the fight against climate change.

    eom/FIA press release

  • Title fight comes to Paris for back-to-back races; Mahindra 3rd in standings: Formula E

    Paris will host its second FIA Formula E Championship ePrix this weekend as the title fight comes to the streets around Invalides

    Paris, 17 May 2017: For the first time in its history, there will be back-to-back races in the FIA Formula E Championship, with the Paris ePrix coming this Saturday, 20 May, just seven days after a thrilling showdown in Monaco.

    The race on the famous city streets on the Côte d’Azur was in many ways analogous to the story of the title fight so far in this third season of Formula E. Renault e.dams driver Sebastien Buemi was in control throughout practice and qualifying, setting the fastest times across the board and ensuring he would be on pole once again in Monaco, having achieved the same feat the first time the championship visited two years before.

    In the race a thrilling battle developed between Buemi and the ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport driver Lucas di Grassi who is his closest rival in the chase for championship honours. Buemi had pulled a strong gap in the opening stint, but as the race entered its final phase di Grassi closed right in on the reigning champion.

    With Buemi managing to keep just enough of a gap, he extended his points lead coming into the Paris event to 15 points. Behind the two front-runners, Nico Prost who sits third in the standings scored just two points in Monaco, however his two closest chasers – Jean-Eric Vergne and Sam Bird, who are fourth and fifth respectively – did not finish, meaning that the points gaps remained stable.

    Mahindra Racing had a strong showing in Monaco, with Nick Heidfeld making a return to the podium in third, while Felix Rosenqvist bounced back from a crash in practice to cross the line in sixth. Heidfeld has jumped up the order as a result of his rostrum finish, he’s now just ahead of his team-mate in sixth.

    Venturi’s Maro Engel enjoyed his best ePrix to date in Monaco. Having failed to finish a race since the opening round of the season in Hong Kong, the German driver enjoyed an impressive return to form at his team’s home race. He secured the second best time overall in the qualifying group stages, progressing to SuperPole for the second event in succession. He held on to his fifth-placed grid slot for the duration of the contest, bringing himself and Venturi ten points and closing the gap back up to Jaguar in the standings.

    Engel is, however, one of two drivers who will be substituted in Paris, the other being Loic Duval for Faraday Future Dragon Racing. They will be replaced by Tom Dillman and Mike Conway respectively.

    So close to the headquarters of the FIA, the Paris ePrix is a special race for the Federation, and there will plenty going on away from the track action. In particular, there will be a special FIA Smart Cities session featuring FIA President Jean Todt and the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo. The concept of Smart Cities has become one of the most rapidly growing frameworks applied in all sectors of urban development, including transport and mobility systems, and this talk will focus on the critical area of road safety in urban environments.

    Paris is not only home to the FIA, but marks a home race for championship leaders Renault e.dams, while DS Virgin Racing can claim it as a home race thanks to French DS brand. No fewer than four drivers – Prost, Vergne, Dillman and Stephane Sarrazin will undoubtedly be spurred on by their home supporters on Saturday.

    Event Timetable

    SATURDAY, MAY 20

    08:00 – 08:45: PRACTICE 1

    10:00: Qualifying group lottery, Podium / Allianz eVillage

    10:30 – 11:00: PRACTICE 2

    12:00 – 12:06: QUALIFYING GROUP 1
    12:10 – 12:16: QUALIFYING GROUP 2
    12:20 – 12:26: QUALIFYING GROUP 3
    12:30 – 12:36: QUALIFYING GROUP 4
    12:45 – 13:00: SUPER POLE

    13:45 – 14:00: eRace, Gaming Zone / Allianz eVillage

    14:00 – 14:30: Autograph session, Gaming Zone / Allianz eVillage

    15:00 – 15:10: Driver parade

    16:00: Paris ePRIX (51 laps)

    17:05: Podium ceremony, Podium

    Championship standings

    Drivers’ Championship Teams’ Championship
    Driver Points Team Points
    1 Sebastien Buemi 104 Renault e.dams 152
    2 Lucas di Grassi 89 ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport 115
    3 Nicolas Prost 48 Mahindra Racing 60
    4 Jean-Eric Vergne 40 Techeetah 45
    5 Sam Bird 34 DS Virgin Racing 44
    6 Nick Heidfeld 32 NEXTEV NIO 42
    7 Felix Rosenqvist 28 Faraday Future Dragon Racing 19
    8 Nelson Piquet Jr. 27 Andretti Formula E 18
    9 Daniel Abt 26 Panasonic Jaguar Racing 17
    10 Oliver Turvey 15 Venturi Formula E 13

    Entry List

     N° TEAM CAR DRIVER
    2 DS Virgin Racing (GBR) DS Virgin DSV-02 Sam Bird (GBR)
    3 NEXTEV NIO (GBR) NextEV TCR Formula 002 Nelson Piquet Jr. (BRA)
    4 Venturi Formula E Team (MCO) Venturi VM200-FE-02 Stéphane Sarrazin (FRA)
    5 Venturi Formula E Team (MCO) Venturi VM200-FE-02 Tom Dillmann (FRA)
    6 Faraday Future Dragon Racing (USA) Penske 701-EV Mike Conway (GBR)
    7 Faraday Future Dragon Racing (USA) Penske 701-EV Jérôme d’Ambrosio (BEL)
    8 Renault e.dams (FRA) Renault Z.E. 16 Nicolas Prost (FRA)
    9 Renault e.dams (FRA) Renault Z.E. 16 Sébastien Buemi (CHE)
    11 ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport (DEU) ABT Schaeffler FE02 Lucas di Grassi (BRA)
    19 Mahindra Racing (IND) Mahindra M3Electro Felix Rosenqvist (SWE)
    20 Panasonic Jaguar Racing (GBR) Jaguar I-Type 1 Mitch Evans (NZL)
    23 Mahindra Racing (IND) Mahindra M3Electro Nick Heidfeld (DEU)
    25 TECHEETAH (CHN) Renault Z.E. 16 Jean-Eric Vergne (FRA)
    27 Andretti Formula E (USA) Andretti ATEC-02 Robin Frijns (NED)
    28 Andretti Formula E (USA) Andretti ATEC-02 Antonio Felix da Costa (PRT)
    33 TECHEETAH (CHN) Renault Z.E. 16 Esteban Gutierrez (MEX)
    37 DS Virgin Racing (GBR) DS Virgin DSV-02 José Maria Lopez (ARG)
    47 Panasonic Jaguar Racing (GBR) Jaguar I-Type 1 Adam Carroll (GBR)
    66 ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport (DEU) ABT Schaeffler FE02 Daniel Abt (DEU)
    88 NEXTEV NIO (GBR) NextEV TCR Formula 002 Oliver Turvey (GBR).