INDIA in F1

Category: Formula E

  • Lucas di Grassi storms to another win: Formula E

    Lucas di Grassi storms to another win: Formula E

    Lucas Di Grassi walks to the podium after his win in Mexico City on Sunday. An FIA image

    Mexico City, 2 April 2017: Lucas di Grassi is the first driver to interrupt Renault e.Dams’ run of six consecutive wins – three at the end of season 2 and the first three of the current championship. At the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, the ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport driver took his first win in this championship at the end of a day that was really action-packed and exciting for him and the team.

    It would be hard for any motor racing series to provide a driver with such a mix of opposing feelings as experienced by the Brazilian driver today. After a poor qualifying which saw him line up on the third from last row of the starting grid, he had to pit immediately after the start to change the front wing, damaged in a collision with Sarrazin, so that no one would have bet on his winning. However, the German team did not lose heart, even though it had also seen its other driver Daniel Abt lose his pole position, having to start right from the back, because of a rule infringement relating to tyre pressures. It adopted a brave strategy, bringing Di Grassi in for the car change as early as lap 18. From then on Lucas was superb, driving in magisterial and effective fashion reaching the finish line with far less energy left than all his rivals bar one.

    That one other driver was Jerome d’Ambrosio who actually changed cars two laps before the Brazilian. Passed by the ABT driver when they were still battling at the back of the pack, D’Ambrosio found himself in second place when the leaders, with Lopez in front, ahead of Heidfeld and Vergne, came in for pit stops. The Faraday Future Dragon Racing driver repeated the display of defensive driving that he’d put on at this track last year and kept ahead of the pack almost to the very end, until he was overtaken by Vergne and then finished out of the points with barely a single kilowatt left in his car. The French Techeetah driver took a bitter-sweet second place, because everything seemed to be in place for his first win, but strenuous resistance from the Belgian meant he was unable to exploit his full potential, although he proved to be a rising force who could play a major role in this championship.

    Sam Bird made it to the third step of the podium, having put in a gritty drive, always among the front runners. There was suspense for the Englishman right to the end because of an investigation for an unsafe release: however, the two second penalty handed out did not affect his final result. It was a good weekend for DS Virgin Racing, with Lopez coming home sixth: however, the Argentinian cannot be that pleased with the result given that he was leading for much of the time, dropping to third at the start of lap 35, after he spun at turn 1, which put him out of the running for the podium.

    The biggest loser on the day was undoubtedly Sebastien Buemi. The Swiss had only arrived in Mexico City the previous night, along with Lopez and Sarrazin, all three having taken part in the FIA WEC Championship prologue at Monza. He managed to score just a single point for putting in the race fastest lap. He started from sixth on the grid and it looked as though he would be able to haul himself up the order to a point where he could be in the fight for the win, but a spin just a few seconds after Lopez’s saw him drop to the back of the pack. For Renault, a fifth place for Nico Prost was not enough to make up for the disappointment of a day that didn’t live up to the team’s capabilities. Delight in the Jaguar camp, with Mitch Evans fourth and Adam Carroll eighth, while there were opposite emotions in the Mahindra squad, which looked to be heading for a good points haul until a close scrap in the closing stages prevented Heidfeld and Rosenqvist making it into the points. There was disappointment also for NEXTEV NIO, with Oliver Turvey sidelined with a technical problem when leading, while Nelson Piquet Jr. drove conservatively on his way to ninth place.

    The final point up for grabs went to the debutant, Esteban Gutierrez, who finished tenth. The local hero – over 36 thousand spectators turned out at the circuit named after the Rodriguez brothers – endured a difficult maiden qualifying, but then produced a calculated performance to fight his way into the points. After four races, Buemi now has just a five point lead (76 to 71) over Di Grassi in the Drivers’ championship, with Prost third on 46 and Vergne closing in on 40. In the teams classification, Renault e.Dams still has a solid lead on 122 points, even though the gap to ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport, now on 91, has come down by 20, with DS Virgin Racing third (43) and Techeetah fourth (41.)

    The next round of the championship takes place on 13th May, with the second Monaco ePrix being the first European race of the season.

    Quotes of the top three drivers

    Lucas di Grassi

    “What an incredible change of fate, but actually that’s what Formula E represents, there are such ups and downs. You can have a bad weekend or good weekend – the level of the drivers is so high. Somebody crashed into my back, broke the rear wing and there was a safety car. I managed to open a gap, keep on just using regen, just trying to be as energy efficient as possible, just focussing on my race as much as possible until the last corner and then just celebrated like crazy. For me it was one of the best races of my life, in terms of how I drove, how energy efficient I had to be, so I’m very pleased.”

    Jean-Eric Vergne

    “I have very mixed emotions, I think this race was ours – 100 per cent. What D’Ambrosio did was totally unacceptable, he just doesn’t know how to defend, he crashed too many times into me, forced me to go off the track – so I’m not a fan. He changed direction many times, so I’m very frustrated but on the other hand I’m happy that I’m here for the championship. We started very far away but I know I’m in the right team with the right car to win the championship. I think we’re coming back a little bit better and we’re getting stronger every race as a team.”

    Sam Bird

    “It was a good race for TV and for Formula E – a race like this was fantastic; all the drama, lots of things going on, ups and downs, you don’t know what’s going to happen next. I think it’s really good for the championship. I was happy with the move I pulled on Jerome. I watched the battle between Jerome and JEV and I was in the mix as well. The team have done a good job, we struggled in FP2, to come back with a third place is pretty strong.”

    eom/FIA press release

  • Wheel-to-wheel in the Vegas erace

    Wheel-to-wheel in the Vegas erace

    Las Vegas, 8 Jan 2017: In a bid to tap the growing influence of gaming and technology on the world of sports, the FIA Formula

    Jean Todt, FIA president, (left) at the Las Vegas erace on Sunday. An FIA image

    E Championship Saturday pitted motorsports’ leading racers against Sim—or simulated—racing competitors who have honed their skills behind steering wheels connected to sophisticated computers.

    The competition took place not on a track, but in a Las Vegas convention hall hosting the 50thannual CES, the world’s largest consumer electronics and consumer technology tradeshow. The $1 million total purse awarded in the VISA Formula E Vegas eRace made it the richest in esports racing history.

    An enthusiastic gathering of media, exhibitors, industry analysts and the FIA President Jean Todt watched history in the making as the drivers and sim racers went wheel-to-wheel on the famous Las Vegas Strip.

    Bono Huis, the Faraday Future Dragon Racing sim racer, clinched victory in the inaugural Visa Vegas eRace and with it the biggest prize in eSports racing history – walking away with $200,000 and securing an additional $25,000 for pole position.

    Huis, who topped every session throughout the event, made a clean getaway from the line and held on to his lead throughout the first stint. Following the first round of pitstops, the Dutch driver dropped to second place behind Olli Pahkala (Mahindra Racing). Huis eventually inherited success from Pahkala who was handed a 12-second penalty following a post-race investigation for having gained an unfair performance advantage caused by a software issue. Pahkala took the lead mid-way through the race, but was later found to have suffered a technical glitch with a sustained power delivery of FanBoost over and above the limit for five laps during his second stint. Pahkala was demoted to third place following the application of the time penalty and rounded out the podium finishers.

    Despite entering unknown territory, the Formula E drivers demonstrated that driving ability is comparable across both a real and virtual world. Felix Rosenqvist (Mahindra Racing) showed his natural ability for sim racing and versatility putting in a strong performance to finish second as the best-placed Formula E driver.

    Jose Maria Lopez (DS Virgin Racing), Sam Bird (DS Virgin Racing), Daniel Abt (ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport) and Nelson Piquet Jr. (NextEV NIO) finished in the top-10, again highlighting the close competition between the drivers and sim racers. David Greco (Renault e.dams) crossed the line in 15th place, but picked up fastest lap and $10,000 in the process.

    Just as it pioneered electric car racing on city streets around the world, Formula E created the groundbreaking CES event, which attracted and retained a large crowd during the four-hour qualifying round and race and the 20-lap final contest. The format largely mirrored a traditional Formula E race.

    Formula E incorporated iconic elements of the Las Vegas Strip into the specially designed virtual e-course, which drivers were not able to experience until practice sessions that began Friday. Drivers sat in individual simulated cockpits in Playseat gaming setups running rFactor 2 software. The software offered strikingly realistic views of the course on both the competitors’ individual consoles and on the massive screens on which the throngs of fans watched inside the convention hall.

    Unlike the commercially popular arcade racing games, professional sim racing software simulates the real-world considerations professional drivers must master, including energy usage, damage, tire wear and suspension. It ensures that sim racers understand the challenges of real-world racing.

    Earlier in the day at a CES panel that was part of CES’ Sports Business Innovation Summit, FIA President Jean Todt and Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag gave a nod to the importance sim racing may play in expanding the motorsports fan base. “Clearly, this new technology, this new way of allowing people to access motor sports, is a new opening,” Todt said.

    After the panel, Todt visited CES’ Eureka Park, home to more than 500 start-ups companies looking to launch new products, services or ideas. While there, he spent time surveying the booths of French start-ups.

    Todt also visited CES’ Self-Driving Technology Marketplace, which showcases technology advancing autonomous-automated driving (including parking assistance), collision avoidance and emergency braking. The marketplace touts the statistic that advanced vehicle technology could eliminate more than 90 percent of U.S. road traffic deaths. While in the marketplace, Todt experimented with a driver-less BMW.

     eom/FIA press release

  • Formula E to race in New York city

    Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty will form a dramatic backdrop to the inaugural New York City ePrix, which the FIA Formula E Championship, the world’s first fully-electric racing series, today confirmed will take place in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

    The 1.947km (1.21mile) track was revealed in front of a gathering of assorted media, city and state authorities, local dignitaries, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Alicia Glen, ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport driver Lucas di Grassi, and FIA President Jean Todt at a press conference on the shores of New York Harbour at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.

    The New York City ePrix double-header in mid-July will be the first FIA-sanctioned open-wheel race to take place within the five boroughs of New York City in modern history. The circuit, which remains subject to FIA track homologation, features 13 turns and will wind its way around Pier 11 and the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.

    Speaking at today’s press conference in New York, Alejandro Agag, CEO of Formula E, said: “To race in New York City is a historic moment – not only for Formula E, but for motorsport in general – and again highlights the philosophy of Formula E to bring fully-electric racing to the world’s greatest cities. When we originally started the project we could only dream of bringing Formula E to a place like New York, with arguably the most recognisable skyline of any city in the world. I’d like to thank everyone involved in helping bring Formula E to New York for many years to come.”

    Jean Todt, President of the FIA, said: “Just being able to bring a motor race to the heart of a great city like New York is already an amazing achievement in itself. I am really pleased that this city is going to feature on the calendar of an FIA championship, especially Formula E, which provides the best possible combination of the two pillars that form the basis of the Federation, namely sport and mobility. Formula E brings motorsport to the heart of the most important and fascinating cities in the world – New York joins a list that includes, among others, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, Paris, Marrakesh and Montreal, proving just how vibrant and attractive this series has become, even though it is about to embark on what is only its third season.”

    “New York City is where technology, sustainability and commerce collide. We are thrilled to be the new home of the ePrix,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

    “Growing sustainable technology is core to New York City’s innovation economy and to Mayor de Blasio’s OneNYC plan,” said NYCEDC President Maria Torres-Springer. “This makes Formula E a perfect fit for New York, and we’re extremely excited to be welcoming this event – along with the economic investment it brings – to the Red Hook community.”

    Fred Dixon, NYC & Company’s President and CEO, said: “We are so pleased to welcome Formula E’s inaugural New York City ePrix to Brooklyn in 2017. This fully-electric racing series will not only showcase the best of what New York City has to offer, but will also reaffirm NYC’s position as one of the world’s best big event destinations.”

    “I’m really excited to be racing in New York City,” said Andretti Formula E team owner Michael Andretti. “To organise a race in this market is a huge accomplishment for Formula E and everyone involved. As an American team competing in the FIA Formula E Championship, it’s going to be great to showcase this sport and all that Formula E represents to our home country audience. It’s going to be incredible watching the MS Amlin Andretti race cars compete on this circuit with the New York skyline in the background.”

    Sebastien Buemi, Renault e.DAMS driver and reigning Formula E champion, said: “New York is one of the world’s great cities. I think it will be an amazing event, particularly with that backdrop! I can’t wait to race there – I expect it’s going to be one of the most spectacular tracks we have been to so far. Formula E is always pushing the boundaries with where we go and, along with Hong Kong, Paris and Berlin, we can genuinely say we have the most exciting calendar ever seen in motorsport.”

    Lucas di Grassi, ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport driver, said: “A race in New York is for me and my fellow drivers like a small dream. Congratulations to everyone at Formula E who has worked so hard for it, and have now let this dream be a reality. Just imagine seeing the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline from the pitlane! It will also be a sporting highlight as the track has a mix of fast sections, hairpin bends and a narrow infield directly on the waterfront.”

    To follow the latest news and information visit – www.fiaformulae.com,

     

    eom/FIA press release

  • Jaguar returns to racing: Formula E

    Jaguar returns to racing: Formula E

    Thursday 8 September 2016: Jaguar today takes the wraps off its new electric motorsport future, revealing its Formula E team’s official name, vision, title sponsor, driver line-up and electric racing livery.

    From this October, Panasonic Jaguar Racing will compete in the third FIA Formula E season with the first all-electric Jaguar racing car in history: the I-TYPE 1.

    At the launch event at the Jaguar Collections Centre, the new I-TYPE 1 made a dramatic debut driven by the team’s official reserve driver Ho-Pin Tung and outlining the brands commitment to ‘Race To Innovate’ – a mission to change the perception of electric vehicles,

    to develop new electric technology and to inspire future generations.

    In addition, Jaguar revealed an exciting race driver line-up with Adam Carroll and Mitch Evans confirmed to drive the I-TYPE 1 in the team’s inaugural season. This driver line up will spearhead Jaguar’s return to top-level racing.

    Jaguar detailed its partnership with Panasonic that will see the leading electronics and automotive technology company partner with the Jaguar Racing Formula E team to develop a future that promises to push the boundaries of electric technology in a performance environment. In addition, Jaguar was pleased to announce Lear Corporation will join the team as an Official Team Partner.

    Jaguar Land Rover employs 9,000 engineers and is Britain’s largest research and development investor across any business sector.

    The Panasonic Jaguar Racing team has successfully completed 21 days of testing, up to and including the last Formula E public test, which finished at Donington Park Circuit yesterday.

    eom/Jaguar Racing press release

    A Panasonic Jaguar Racing image
    A Panasonic Jaguar Racing image
  • Rosberg on pole; Hamilton to start from the back

    Rosberg on pole; Hamilton to start from the back

    Rosberg after taking pole at Spa on Saturday. An FIA image
    Rosberg after taking pole at Spa on Saturday. An FIA image

    Nico Rosberg took his sixth pole position of the 2016 Formula One season at Spa-Francorchamps ahead of Max Verstappen who became the youngest driver to claims a front-row start at a grand prix. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was third and will line up on the second row with team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

    With championship leader Lewis Hamilton set to start at the back of the grid due to penalties incurred following a host of power unit changes, Rosberg put himself in the perfect position to claw back some of the 19-point deficit that exists between him and his Mercedes team-mate.

    It wasn’t as straightforward as Rosberg might have liked, however. After easing through the first two sessions and having seen Hamilton eliminated in Q1 as the Briton made little effort to seal a grid position that would then be erased, Rosberg was pushed hard in Q3 by Verstappen.

    The Red Bull Racing teenager finished just 0.1s behind the Mercedes driver and afterwards Rosberg admitted that the session had not been as smooth as it might have appeared.

    “We had a difficult weekend up to now, especially this morning,” he said of the fight to seal his 28th career pole position. “We were seriously off the pace on one lap, so it really wasn’t so easy coming into qualifying. But we got the job done in the end. We really made quite a few changes on the car coming into qualifying and we found the right way. It all came together and it was feeling good, so I’m very pleased about that one.”

    Verstappen too had a tough time in the run-up to qualifying. A gearbox problem after just two installation laps saw him miss out on any meaningful running in final practice. But the Dutch driver put the setback behind him and after also breezing through the opening two sessions he pressed hard for his first pole position.

    He might have narrowly missed out but in finishing just behind Rosberg, Verstappen becomes the youngest driver to start from the front row of a grand prix grid. The Red Bull driver was sanguine about the achievement, however.

    “I’m just very happy to be on the front row in Spa in front of all my fans,” he said.  I mean, it’s great to break a record but I want to break other records.

    “I think to be so close to [Mercedes] on a track with some long straights, we can be very pleased with that,” he added. “The whole weekend has been very smooth, even though I had some little issues this morning. From there on the mechanics did a great job and in qualifying the car was working really well, as you could see in sector two. I’m just very pleased to be second here in front of my fans, it’s just a great motivation when you see them next to the track.”

    Ferrari enjoyed a good qualifying, with Raikkonen in third place, his best qualifying performance since the Russian Grand Prix in early May, and Vettel fourth.

    Neither Ferrari man was entirely pleased, however. Vettel was unhappy with his final lap, however, complaining of a lack of rear grip in the final corner, while Raikkonen said a shot at pole has been possible.

    “I lost a few tenths in the last chicane, so obviously the pole position was there, so it was a bit disappointing because obviously once we are close by there it would have been nice to get it,” said the Finn, a four-time Belgian Grand Prix winner. “But tomorrow is the race and I think if we compare it to the previous few races we have to be satisfied with where we are after qualifying.”

    Behind then Daniel Ricciardo qualified fifth. The Australian was one of just four drivers to set his fastest time of Q2 on soft tyres and thus he will join Rosberg and both Ferrari drivers in starting on that compound tomorrow.

    Behind Ricciardo, Sergio Perez was sixth for Force India, ahead of team-mate Nico Hulkenberg and Williams’ Valtteri Bottas the battle between the two teams for P4 in the Constructors’ Championship continues. Jenson Button was ninth for McLaren, ahead of the second Williams of Felipe Massa.

    Further back Hamilton will start from the rear of the grid thanks to the multiple penalties incurred, as will Fernando Alonso. The McLaren driver failed to set a time after he ground to halt at Eau Rouge on his Q1 out lap. The Spaniard suffered an engine change on Friday and will take another one ahead of the race which will incur further penalties.

    eom/FIA press release

  • Buemi wins title after controversial final: Formula E

    Sebastien Buemi is the new FIA Formula E champion after clinching the title courtesy of setting the Visa Fastest Lap during the season-ending Visa London ePrix.
    The final race of the 2015/16 season was a controversial affair, brought about by title rivals Buemi and Lucas di Grassi colliding on the opening lap of the race. Buemi made a slow start from pole, and was rear-ended by di Grassi under braking for Turn 3.

    The incident took the rear wing off Buemi’s Renault e.dams entry, while there was significant front end damage to the Abt Schaeffler car of di Grassi. Both drivers limped back to the pits so that they could switch to their second car.

    With two points on offer for the Visa Fastest Lap and both drivers tied on points, the championship now boiled down to a fight over who could be quickest over a flying lap. Both drivers – and Stephane Sarrazin – were awarded FanBoost, but the rules state that this power boost cannot be used to claim the bonus points.

    Waiting for a clear piece of track to emerge, the protagonists bided their time in the pits, waiting for the perfect time to get a clear lap. Di Grassi struck first, but Buemi’s response was emphatic. Di Grassi gave everything in his response, but fell short, leaving the Swiss racer to succeed Nelson Piquet Jr as Formula E champion. 

    “The most important thing is that we won both championships,” said Buemi. “I’m actually sad you know, to win it in that way, but also to see what Lucas did because I was very respectful of his driving, he’s been amazing. Like he’s said many times, his car is very bad and he is a very good driver, and if he was in my car he’d be at least half a second quicker! 

    “He’s a great driver, he did 24 hours in Le Mans, he never touched a car. He went between Nico and the wall, and I could tell you there was maybe five centimetres and once he braked, I just saw on the camera, he has two options – either go to the right or nail the back of my car and he nailed it perfectly. But a little bit too strong because we both went out.

    “I’m a bit sad to see this because I think that was his only opportunity. In the end we had the quickest car, we were the best team. If we could’ve come out of this corner in front of him, we would’ve been far quicker.”

    Alain Prost, Senior Team Manager at Renault e.dams, said: “It was fantastic, we have improved the car a little bit and made it a little bit better for Nico’s style in the last few races. Sebastien was stunning today, we wanted to be on Super Pole for the three points and we got it. We wanted to be champions, we could not expect much more because in these types of races, especially on a track like this, like here in London – it’s tricky, with the weather. You can have a really different situation. It was the target and goal to be champion at the beginning of the year and we did it. It’s not very often that you have a target and you achieve your objective.”

    With all the focus on the championship permutations, it was easy to ignore the stunning drive that Nico Prost put in to claim back-to-back wins around Battersea Park. His win ensured that Renault e.dams retained the teams’ championship and secured him third overall in the drivers’ points.

    “I think di Grassi wanted to visit London so he went straight, but Seb was in the way! It didn’t end well,” he observed. “The safety cars were the main challenge, but the first car especially was flying so I could pull away quite easily every time. Then it’s just a case of remaining focused and not making a mistake. The team gave me a fantastic car this weekend, they don’t get much better than this to be honest.”

    “Congratulations to Sébastien. He’s a strong racing driver and no doubt a deserving Formula E champion.” said Lucas di Grassi. “Still, we’re leaving London with our heads held high. We were able to battle for the championship up to the last race – every one of our mechanics, our engineers, our fans and our partners should be proud of this, because so am I.” The South American was on podium seven times in the ten races this season and clinched three victories. Di Grassi: “Obviously, we’re disappointed today. But we’ll start thinking about the next season tomorrow or day after tomorrow. We’re going to come back stronger than ever before.” 

    There were three Qualcomm Safety Car periods during a stop-start race, and the drama continued after the flag fell with third-placed man Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Virgin), Nick Heidfeld (Mahindra) and Antonio Felix da Costa (Team Aguri) all being hit with time penalties for exceeding the permitted energy limit.

    This promoted Jerome D’Ambrosio of Dragon Racing to third place, his team-mate Loic Duval into fourth and Stephane Sarrazin into fifth for Venturi. Bruno Senna claimed sixth for Mahindra ahead of team-mate Nick Heidfeld. Vergne’s additional penalty for an unsafe release dropped him to eighth and the two NEXTEV TCR drivers picked up the final points positions.

    The weekend was a great success with 42,000 fans piling into Battersea Park over the two races and enjoying a host of eSports action and live music acts, both presented by Visa.

    Now the teams turn their attentions to developing their season three packages to ensure they’re ready when the all-electric racing series sparks back into life on October 9 with the HKT Hong Kong ePrix.

    Following an appeal from Dragon Racing regarding the Stewards decision relating to two penalties applied to Jean-Eric Vergne, the result of the race remains subject to the findings of the International Court of Appeal.

    Click the link to download a selection of hi-res images from the Visa London ePrix (Rd 10) – https://we.tl/hj7qSeNcUO

    2016 Visa London ePrix (Rd 10) – Race results

    1. 1.           Nico Prost, Renault e.dams, 56:32.648s (25)
    2. 2.           Daniel Abt, Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport, +7.633s (18)
    3. 3.           Jerome D’Ambrosio, Dragon Racing, +22.524s (15)
    4. 4.           Loic Duval, Dragon Racing, +23.290s (12)
    5. 5.           Stephane Sarrazin, Venturi, +24.984s (10)
    6. 6.           Bruno Senna, Mahindra Racing, +27.174s (8)
    7. 7.           Nick Heidfeld, Mahindra Racing, +1:07.544s (6)
    8. 8.           Jean-Eric Vergne, DS Virgin Racing, +1:08.002s (4)
    9. 9.           Nelson Piquet Jr, NEXTEV TCR, +1:14.270s (2)
    10. 10.         Oliver Turvey, NEXTEV TCR, +1:22.216s (1)
    11. 11.         Antonio Felix da Costa, Team Aguri, +1:58.324s
    12. 12.         Ma Qing Hua, Team Aguri, +1 lap
    13. 13.         Mike Conway, Venturi, +1 lap
    14. 14.         Lucas di Grassi, Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport, DNF
    15. 15.         Sebastien Buemi, Renault e.dams, DNF (5)
    16. 16.      Robin Frijns, Andretti Formula E, DNF
    17. 17.      Simona de Silvestro, Andretti Formula E, DNF
    18. 18.      Sam Bird, DS Virgin Racing, DNF

    Driver standings

    Sebastien Buemi, Renault e.dams – 155

    Lucas di Grassi, Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport – 153

    Nico Prost, Renault e.dams – 115

    Sam Bird, DS Virgin Racing – 88

    Jerome D’Ambrosio, Dragon Racing – 83

    Stephane Sarrazin, Venturi – 70

    Team standings

    Renault e.dams – 270

    Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport – 221

    DS Virgin Racing – 144

    Dragon Racing – 143

    Mahindra Racing – 105

    Venturi – 77

    Andretti Formula E – 49

    Team Aguri – 32

    NEXTEV TCR – 19

    eom/FIA press release

  • Jaguar returns to racing; Prefers FIA Formula E to F1

    Jaguar returns to racing; Prefers FIA Formula E to F1

    LONDON, 15 Dec 2015:  Jaguar on Tuesday announced its return to global motorsport. In the autumn of 2016, Jaguar will enter the third season of the exciting FIA Formula E  Championship as a manufacturer with its own team.  FIA Formula E is the world’s first global single-seater championship for electric powered cars.

    FIA Formula E offers a unique opportunity for Jaguar Land Rover to further the development of future EV powertrain including motor and battery technology. Jaguar Land Rover employs over 8,000 engineers and is the UK’s largest investor in research and development across any business sector. Jaguar‘s Formula E team will be able to draw upon this industry leading resource with Jaguar Land Rover engineers working closely with the race operations team.

    Williams Advanced Engineering will be Technical Partner to the Jaguar Formula E Team and provide  extensive  motorsport knowledge, combined with high performance EV Systems experience and success. Jaguar Land Rover has a long term relationship with Williams, who partnered with Jaguar on the development of the Jaguar C-X75 plug-in hybrid concept car. The team entry has been granted by Formula E and approved by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).

      Jaguar Land Rover confirms its electric future with entry for Jaguar into the innovative FIA Formula E Championship

    ·        Formula E to provide a real world performance test bed for future Jaguar Land Rover technology

    ·        Jaguar Land Rover, the UK’s leading investor in research and development , strengthens its commitment to British engineering by extending development of electrification technology into the racing environment

    Jaguar image courtesy TVC group
    Jaguar image courtesy TVC group

    ·        Jaguar Land Rover engineers will work directly with Jaguar‘s race team to push the boundaries of electrification technology

    eom/press release

  • Rosberg pips Hamilton, tops in FP2: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the last race of the season

    Abu Dhabi, 27 Nov 2015: Nico Rosberg took over at the top of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend timesheet, running just over a tenth of a second quicker than team-mate Lewis Hamilton, the fastest man from the early afternoon opening session.

    Rosberg’s best time, set in the period of running on this weekend’s options supersoft tyres, was a

    Rosberg tops FP2 on Fri 27nov2015 Abu Dhabi FIA pic
    Rosberg tops FP2 on Fri 27nov2015 Abu Dhabi FIA pic

    1:41.983. Hamilton set off on his qualifying style run after the German but fell short by 0.138s.

    Sergio Perez took a surprise third place for Force India, though he best lap was six tenths down on Rosberg’s P1 time. Fourth place in the session went to Daniel Ricciardo with the Red Bull Racing drivers’ lap of 1:42.647 being just under a tenth of a second better than that of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

    Daniil Kvyat was sixth-quickest in the second Red Bull Racing car, the Russian finishing ahead of Ferraris Kimi Räikkönen and the second Force India of Nico Hulkenberg.

    Fernando Alonso managed to haul his McLaren-Honda into the top 10 with a lap of 1:42.955 that was inside a second of Rosberg. Tenth placein the session went to Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado.

    Unlike the mostly smooth running of first practice the evening session saw Carlos Sainz hit trouble. With half an hour remaining, the Spaniard was forced to stop his car on circuit with an apparent engine issue.

    The main incident of the session came with 30 minutes to go, when Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz was forced to stop his car due to an apparent engine problem.

    Perez’s good evening also came to an early end with the Mexican bowing out with brake issues with 15 minutes left on the clock.

    2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
    1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:41.983 39
    2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:42.121 +0.138 31
    3 Sergio Perez Force India 1:42.610 +0.627 23
    4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:42.647 +0.664 37
    5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:42.717 +0.734 35
    6 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull Racing 1:42.798 +0.815 34
    7 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:42.849 +0.866 36
    8 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:42.928 +0.945 35
    9 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:42.955 +0.972 31
    10 Pastor Maldonado Lotus F1 Team 1:43.431 +1.448 37
    11 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:43.441 +1.458 32
    12 Felipe Massa Williams 1:43.506 +1.523 33
    13 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1:43.662 +1.679 40
    14 Carlos Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso 1:43.854 +1.871 20
    15 Romain Grosjean Lotus F1 Team 1:43.929 +1.946 27
    16 Jenson Button McLaren 1:44.050 +2.067 32
    17 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1:44.116 +2.133 37
    18 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:45.245 +3.262 28
    19 Will Stevens Manor 1:46.450 +4.467 35
    20 Roberto Merhi Manor 1:47.022 +5.039 27

    eom/FIA press release

  • Rosberg takes pole on rain-delayed quali on Sunday; Hamilton looks to seal the championship from P2

    Hamilton (left) takes P2 but looks to seal the Drivers' championship here in Austin later today at the US GP. An FIA image
    Hamilton (left) takes P2 but looks to seal the Drivers’ championship here in Austin later today at the US GP. An FIA image

    Nico Rosberg edged Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton by a tenth of a second to claim pole position for this afternoon’s United States Grand Prix. The German took his fourth pole of the season with his Q2 time as heavy rain once again disrupted running and led to the final part of the session was cancelled.

    Row two of this grid at the Circuit of the Americas will be an all-Red Bull affair with Daniel Ricciardo qualifying fourth ahead of Daniil Kvyat.

    Q1 began with steady rain falling across the track and with a queue of drivers lining up at the pit exit – all keen to put a lap on the board in the treacherous conditions.

    Lotus’ Romain Grosjean was quickly on the radio to tell his team that the track was on the limit in terms of driveability and within minutes Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz exceeded those limits, the Spaniard spinning off into the barriers at Turn Four after losing control when he took too much of a slippery kerb. The crash caused heavy damage to the front of his car, leaving his team with a race against time to get it repaired in time for the race.

    The session was red flagged, with Hamilton at the top of the order with a lap of 1:59.393. He was followed by Daniel Ricciardo with a lap of 2:00.288 and his Red Bull Racing team-mate Daniil Kvyat was third, just under two seconds further back.

    The session restarted 10 minutes later and Hamilton continued to set the pace. He soon lowered the benchmark to 1:58.025, though Ricciardo clung onto the Mercedes’ driver coat-tails, taking his Red Bull to 0.16 of Hamilton’s time.

    Both were eclipsed by Rosberg, however, who with four minutes left chopped more than half a second off Hamilton’s best with a lap of 1:57.469. Ricciardo then bettered that with a 1:57.163.

    Tenth-placed Sebastian Vettel, though, was back in the pits. The German lost control of his Ferrari at Turn 10 and slapped a guardrail with the rear left of his car.

    In the drop zone as the clock counted the final minute were Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson in P16, his team-mate Felipe Nasr, the Manors of Alexander Rossi and Will Stevens, who were outside the 107% mark at this point, and the unfortunate Sainz.

    As the final times came in Vettel tumbled to 15th place in the order but with the Sauber’s lapping almost two seconds off the Ferrari’s driver’s pace, Vettel’s Q2 berth was never in real danger and the first-segment cut saw the Saubers, Manors and Sainz eliminated.

    At the top Ricciardo was quickest with a time of 1:56.495, just under two tenths ahead of Rosberg, who was two tenths clear of Hamilton. Kvyat was fourth ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, with Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg sixth in front of the Toro Rosso of Max Verstappen, the second Force India of Sergio Perez, William’s Valtteri Bottas and McLaren’s Fernando Alonso. Through from P11 to P15 were Lotus’ Romain Grosjean, McLaren’s Jenson Button, Pastor Maldonado in the second Lotus, Williams’ Felipe Massa and Vettel.

    With heavier rain expected in Q2, there was again a rush to get in a time at the start of the session and the Mercedes driver quickly staked their claim to a Q3 spot with Rosberg leading from Hamilton. Ricciardo was third ahead of Kvyat, Vettel and Perez.

    The conditions were proving extremely tricky however and a number of drivers suffered spins, including Hulkenberg, Raikkonen and Hamilton, though all three drivers managed to keep their cars our of the barriers and continued.

    With a couple of minutes left on the clock a number of drivers began to report that the track conditions were becoming untenable with Kvyat telling his pit wall that the track was “very dangerous” and Vettel telling Ferrari that it was “red flag conditions”.

    At the end of the segment Rosberg still led from Hamilton, Ricciardo, Kvyat and Vettel, while Perez, Hulkenberg, Raikkonen, Massa and Verstappen also booked a Q3 slot. Out at this stage went 11th-placed Alonso, who was just 0.066 off Verstappen’s P10 time, Bottas, Grosjean, Button and Maldonado.

    The concerns about the state of the track led race control to dispatch the safety car on an exploratory lap before Q3 and the start of the final segment was then delayed by seven minutes in the hope of clearer weather.

    That hope failed to materialise, however, and three minutes before the planned resumption, race control announced the Q3 would not take place. This Nico Rosberg will start this afternoon’s race from pole position, his fourth of the season. Hamilton will join his team-mate on the front row, while row two will be an all-Red Bull affair with Ricciardo ahead of Kvyat. Vettel qualified fifth but will take a 10-place penalty for a power unit change, while Perez was sixth ahead of team-mate Hulkenberg. Raikkonen, who will also a 10-place power unit penalty, qualified eighth ahead of Massa and Verstappen.

  • With very little track time, we had to guess a bit and it worked: Nico Rosberg

    DRIVERS
    1 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)
    2 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
    3 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Willams)

    TV UNILATERAL

    Nico, you were fastest in Q1 and Q3, fastest after the first run in Q3, on pole by a decent margin. Are you pleased with that?
    Nico ROSBERG: Yeah, for sure, I’m very happy. It’s been a difficult weekend actually, because of the little running that we got; we didn’t get much practice. Qualifying worked out really well; found a good balance on my car, thanks to my engineers as well. We had to guess a bit where is it going to be and it all worked out well. I felt comfortable, so got some really good laps in and I’m very happy with that.

    Very well done. Lewis, obviously you were trailing your team-mate after the first part of Q3 and then you didn’t go for the extra lap at the end. Why not? And I saw you looking around the Ferrari afterwards, did you learn anything from it? 
    Lewis HAMILTON: No. I did go for my second lap; I just didn’t finish it. I made a mistake at Turn 13 I think it is. Yeah, a difficult weekend I think for everyone. Nico did a great job on his lap. I wasn’t quite perfectly happy with the balance that I had. But overall really happy. I think it’s great for the team and yeah, as you say last year this is not such a bad race for P2.

    OK, thank you for that. Valtteri, you matched your result of last year, do you feel you have the measure of Ferrari this weekend?
    Valtteri BOTTAS: Well, it seems like it, at least today. We were quite competitive. It’s good to be third; it’s a good place to start here. Obviously it has been a tricky weekend for everyone but I really think we managed to use Practice 3, well, part of it, what we had, pretty well. I managed to get some good laps in qualifying, consistently, and I pleased with the laps and what we did as a team.

    Well done. Coming back to you Nico, obviously you’re going for the Constructors’ Championship tomorrow, trying to clinch it here for the second year in a row, but have you personally got a plan for worked out for Turn One. Lewis referenced it in

    Nico Rosberg flanked by Hamilton (P2) on his right and Valtteri Bottas (P3) on Saturday after taking the pole. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image
    Nico Rosberg flanked by Hamilton (P2) on his right and Valtteri Bottas (P3) on Saturday after taking the pole. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image

    his answer, after what happened here last year.
    NR: No, not yet. I haven’t thought about that yet. At the moment just enjoying being on pole and I’ll dig into that this evening or tomorrow morning to work out a plan for that. Of course the Constructors’ Championship is a really important target for us this weekend – it would be amazing to clinch it for the second time so early on in the season – so we’re out to do that, but at the same time, of course, I’m out here to try to reduce the gap to Lewis in terms of points.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Nico, you mentioned in your first answer about the lack of running this weekend, the really unusual situation. We had it in Japan but even worse here because of the curtailed Free Practice 3 after Carlos Sainz’s accident. So what have you been able to find out in terms of long runs with this much softer tyres than last year here in Russia and how much guesswork is going to be involved in strategy and race performance tomorrow?
    NR: Well, we tried to prepare as best we could. So this morning we did do some high fuel running, everybody did. So we do have an idea of how it’s going to be tomorrow, so it’s not completely just guessing. No, we’re quite comfortable that we know what to expect and strategy-wise we think we have got a good strategy, so it should be fine.

    Lewis, I wonder if you could give us your view on what happened this morning – the accident of Sainz and going under the barriers? Your thoughts on that speaking on behalf of the drivers?
    LH: To be honest I don’t know anything about it, so I couldn’t really comment. I’m just glad he’s OK.

    Q: OK, well I’ll throw a question maybe you can answer. You obviously mentioned the fact you are quite happy to start in second place, based on what happened here last year. So, obviously today didn’t work out for you in the single laps but fro the little that you’ve been able to learn from the high-fuel running, do you think you’ll be able to challenge for the win tomorrow.
    LH: I wasn’t saying I was happy, I mean I have no choice of being second right now, obviously Nico did a better job in qualifying but I feel there’s still all to play for, as you’ve seen in many other races where I’ve started second. I think it’s exciting. It makes the race ever more exciting and, as I’ve said, Turn One, it’s a long, long way down to Turn One. Probably one of the longest ones of the whole year so it should create opportunities. But there are other opportunities throughout the race as well.

    Q: Coming to you Valtteri, obviously both these gentlemen managed to get through Q1 without using a set of Supersoft tyres, just showing the performance that they have. A lot of your competitors struggled, it seemed, to get temperature into the tyres today as the temperatures actually came down during the course of the qualifying session. Is that something you struggled with – and can you articulate what it was like to use these tyres here today?
    VB: Yeah. We already saw last year it’s quite tricky to get tyres to work in the first timed lap, and that’s why you could saw many people doing many laps and longer running in qualifying than normal. What we did in the practice and in Q1 also, we just tried to learn more about the tyres so we’re sure we’re making the right decision what we’re going to do in Q3 in terms of tyre temperatures, pressures and how many laps we do. So I think everyone struggled with it today – but we got it right. We got the max out of the car and the tyres.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi, La Gazzetta dello Sport) Question for all of you about the accident of this morning, car that went through the barrier. Would like to know if you’re worried about it: the dynamic of the accident. The car was inside of the barrier.

    We’ve already asked Lewis that question so we’ll start with Nico.
    NR: I haven’t seen it so difficult to comment. Of course we always need to push to improve things. Apparently it’s not good, not ideal, so let’s see if we can make progress on that.

    Valterri?
    VB: I haven’t seen it either, so can’t really say that much. Like Nico, we always need to keep pushing on the safety.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globoesporte.com) Nico, in the last race you were very conservative at the start and maybe that was one of the reasons you lost the victory. How do you plan your start tomorrow?
    NR: On the one side I don’t agree with your opinion – but that’s OK. On the second, just work on it tonight and tomorrow. Work on the start, get everything right there, look at last year’s start, learn from that. That’s it.

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) To both of the Mercedes drivers: you were very aggressive – Hamilton was very aggressive – here last year and you were very aggressive also in Japan. I would like to continue on this matter, to know that if, as you have this goal tomorrow [the Constructors’ Championship] does it change you approach for the first corner?
    LH: You said I was aggressive here last year? Here? I don’t remember being aggressive. But whatever I did last year it worked so I plan to stay the same really.
    Q: I think the point of the question is that you have had a few starts where you have been quite close, not least the last one in Japan and as you’ve got the Constructors’ possibly tomorrow, is it going to change your thinking going into the first corner. For both of you.
    NR: No. Nothing changes anything. It’s one way and that’s it.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globoesporte.com) In Q1, only Lewis and Nico were on soft tyres, all the others were on supersoft tyres. Is this some kind of reference that we can expect in the race?
    NR: Looks like we were especially quick on the soft which is always a good thing of course in the race, because everybody has to use them once so that can only help us.

    Q: You’re expecting this to be a one-stop race tomorrow then?
    NR: I don’t know about the strategy yet. That’s look into that this evening.
    LH: Yeah, very strange coming into the weekend – people were making assumptions that we would have a repeat of Singapore. Obviously I had no idea what it’s going to be like and to think that now we have it the other way round it’s very, very strange. I don’t have answer for it but the car felt good otherwise on the tyres today. I don’t know how it will be for the race. I think from our short long run, the seven laps that we might have got, we have to take information from that, but it didn’t feel bad.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Valtteri you were a very consistent third in every session; was this your strongest qualifying hour of the season?
    VB: Well, I think compared to the number of laps I’ve got and everyone has yesterday and today it was not bad from my side. I felt very good. I could have been feeling very good in the car all weekend and managed to do multiple laps in a very consistent way without any mistakes. Yeah, I can be happy for the session but it’s difficult to say if it’s the best or one of the best.

    eom/FIA transcript of the Press Conference