873 replies to this topic

[thegamer23]

Official Website: http://www.fiaformulae.com/en
e365 News: http://e-racing365.com

 

 

THE CALENDAR  ------------------------------------------------

Season 4 calendar is the most compact & vary yet.
With 11 nations & 3 double headers (Hong Kong, New York, Montreal), the new Formula E season will average a 2 race/month rythm, compared to the huge gaps of Season 3 calendar, this is a massive step forward. 
From December to July, from Hong Kong to Montreal, with the introduction of Santiago (Chile), Sao Paolo (Brasil), Rome (Italy), Zurich (Swiss), this is going to be a season to remember!
 

 

TRACK MAPS (click on the link to show circuit's details)

Hong Kong 
Marrakesh 
Santiago
Mexico City
Sao Paolo (TBA)
Rome
Paris
Berlin
Zurich (TBA)

New York 
Montreal

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE LINE-UP  ------------------------------------------------

 

 

Season 4 silly season has been one to remember. With the debut of 5 rookies ®, Formula E field is getting stronger & stronger. Porsche's superstar Neel Jani debuts with Dragon Racing, while another WEC top tier driver, Andrè Lotterer, gets his chance with team Techeetah alongisde Jean Eric Vergne. 
NexTEV Nio loses Nelson Piquet JR, a big mover to Jaguar, hiring Indy Car's Luca Filippi. 
Italy will be well represented this season, with one of the most talented DTM Champions, Edoardo Mortara, a Macau Specialist that is going to raise the bar in Formula E street circuits. 

A big question mark is still open in the Andretti seat. Max Verstappen & Esteban Ocon's rival, Tom Blomqvist, is the major candidate to debut alongside Antonio Felix Da Costa. But Alexander Sims is still an option. 

Regarding the title fight, this is set to be one of the tighest championships ever, as the current Spark Car technology is reaching its maximum phase of development. Di Grassi, Buemi, Rosenqvist, Vergne, Lotterer, Bird, Jani, so many talents, just one crown.
 

 

TECH & REGULATION CHANGES  ------------------------------------------------


Season 4 will be a kind of a "transition" season for Formula E in terms of tech development, waiting for S5's revolution.
BUT, there will still be tech improvements: while quali power will remain set at 200 kW, race power mode will raise up to 180 kW (+10 kW). 

That means: 

- Improvement in powertrain efficency.

- Faster pace in races.
- Even more difficult energy management

 

In Season 5, quali pace will take a massive step forward to 250 kW (+ 70 cv), while race pace is set to reach 200 kW. 

 

 

 

THE BROADCAST  ------------------------------------------------

 

 

FE coverage gets a massive step forward in Season 4. A brand new HD on-screen graphic will debut, more detailed than ever.
At the same time, plenty more onboard cameras will be mounted on the veichles & positioned in the key points of the track, giving the spectactor a unique feeling of involvement in the e-Prix.
 

The TV coverage also gets a big boost, with Eurosport set to show Formula E live in 54 European countries. (expect for UK & Italy, where the rights are exclusive to Channel 5/Spike & Mediaset in Italy)

--------------------------------

Where to wach: http://www.fiaformul...ip/tv-schedule/

UK broadcasters: http://www.fiaformul...ip/tv-schedule/

-------------------------------

 

[PiperPa42]

This will be Heidfelds year! I stil feel robbed:)
I hope Rosenqvist will continue his good form from the end of last season, and Hong Kong can't come soon enough.

[Anja]

I'm just hoping we'll see some other serious championship contenders instead of the usual Buemi v di Grassi. 

[thegamer23]

- We could see the top 5 drivers in the standings to quali in the same group. This rule is currently being discussed and could be introduced this season.


- Techeetah to become a works team in S5

https://www.motorspo...on-five-973293/

Edited by thegamer23, 01 November 2017 - 14:30.

[maximilian]

- We could see the top 5 drivers in the standings to quali in the same group. This rule is currently being discussed and could be introduced this season.
 

 

That would make a lot of sense, but then they also might as well group them in championship order altogether.  Why randomize the rest of the field?

 

I also hope that someone else can challenge the Buemi vs. diGrassi thing.  Hopefully more teams will have closed the gap... Jaguar?  DS?  - and looking forward to Mahindra really mixing up the title challenge this season, too.

[Vielleicht]

I think if they went all the way and just had reversed championship position qualifying order grouping it could work quite well. Would be a good way of maintaining some unpredictability but in a way that isn't just completely random pot luck.

 

Mahindra could be the story to watch for me. They have a solid line up that's proven to work for a second year running, a race win and a 3rd place in the teams championship. Team morale must be pretty good and it's hard to imagine the Mahindra board being anything other than satisfied with project as this point. Dilbagh Gill must be a happy man.

 

More than anything else, I would just like this season to have close, exciting racing and a tight championship. Would be a great way to send off the SRT01E chassis and set up the next phase of Formula E's history.

Edited by Vielleicht, 01 November 2017 - 19:05.

[thegamer23]

Official S4 entry list:

Tom Blomqvist to race for Andretti.

 

 

Robin Frinjs working for a S5 comeback according to his twitter

Edited by thegamer23, 03 November 2017 - 20:32.

[Vettelari]

When BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche enter, which teams will they be replacing? Will the grid be expanding as well? It seems like I recall that Andretti would become BMW and Dragon will be Porsche. Is Venturi due to become Mercedes?

Do I have things right or is it still TBA?

[Rob29]

Still no female drivers?

[thegamer23]

When BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche enter, which teams will they be replacing? Will the grid be expanding as well? It seems like I recall that Andretti would become BMW and Dragon will be Porsche. Is Venturi due to become Mercedes?

Do I have things right or is it still TBA?

 

At the moment the grid should remain capped at 20 veichles. 

 

Renault --> Nissan (S5)
Andretti --> BMW (S5)
Venturi ---> Mercedes (S6) 
Dragon ---> Porsche (S6)


Regarding female drivers, FE level is rising up big time.
No offence to female drivers, but the only one who could have made it was Simona De Silvestro, but Andretti decided to not confirm her previous season. 

We also had Michela Cerruti & Katherine Legge, both being outpaced massively by their team-mates. 

 

 

Less than a month, let's rewatch the 2016 Hong Kong's e-Prix
 

Edited by thegamer23, 04 November 2017 - 10:17.

[maximilian]

So anybody think Felipe Massa may yet squeeze out one of the already announced drivers?     My bet would be on Filippi...

 

Poll says Rosenqvist will win it.  I'd be all for that.  His code is still FRO - when they asked him, he didn't even know WHY it was FRO, and not ROS.  Surely Rosberg isn't a factor in this at all?  Even VER is being used by Vergne and Verstappen at the same time, so who FRO? 

[Anja]

I'm not sure we'll see Massa in HK but I wouldn't be surprised if he'll replace someone during the season. Filippi is a good guess.

[thegamer23]

Poor Filippi.    I think he's a pretty underrated driver & will do just fine. 

Can't see Massa to join this season, but next year's Jaguar seat may be a good chance for him.

Edited by thegamer23, 04 November 2017 - 15:58.

[Disgrace]

Yeah, the guy hasn't turned a wheel yet.

[maximilian]

Poor Filippi.    I think he's a pretty underrated driver & will do just fine. 

Can't see Massa to join this season, but next year's Jaguar seat may be a good chance for him.

 

Haha... yeah sorry thegamer23, didn't mean to pick on your compatriot... just seemed like the most plausible candidate to be dropped, given everybody else's probably stronger positions... also given his track record of not-getting-rides in the past.  He sure didn't turn a lot of heads in IndyCar when he had the chance, though.

Edited by maximilian, 04 November 2017 - 16:03.

[Vielleicht]

At the moment the grid should remain capped at 20 veichles. 

 

Renault --> Nissan (S5)
Andretti --> BMW (S5)
Venturi ---> Mercedes (S6) 
Dragon ---> Porsche (S6)

There was talk for a while about having 12 team slots for season 5, is it definitely capped at 20 vehicles?

 

And last I heard regarding Mercedes/Venturi was HWA running to gain experience for Mercedes as a customer Venturi team, rather than taking over Venturi itself? 

[HistoryFan]

12 teams in season 5 onwards.

But not more.

[maximilian]

There BETTER be at least 12 teams in S5.  HATE this franchise crap.

Edited by maximilian, 05 November 2017 - 17:20.

[thegamer23]

Can't see that happen, at least not in the near future.
And honestly, 20-22 veichles on those tight street tracks are enough imho, it would turn into total chaos with 24-26 cars.

Edited by thegamer23, 05 November 2017 - 18:31.

[FLB]

Formula E has just cost Montreal mayor Denis Coderre his job. It was a central issue during the election. Out of 45,000 tickets, only half were sold. The rest were given. Television network TVA has estimated that only 5,000 were actually bought by spectators.

 

Formula E has become a symbol of political arrogance in Quebec. Public opinion is very much against another street race.

 

http://montrealgazet...-organizers-say

 

 

The newly-elected mayor Valérie Plante is a favour of the race, but only if it's held on Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve

Edited by FLB, 06 November 2017 - 12:10.

[maximilian]

Like I've been saying, stupid idea to build a track in the city, when you have one already sitting right there on the island.  Not surprised that most Montreal citizens felt the same way, and there certainly was some kind of corrupt BS going on here that channeled money in various directions.

[Muppetmad]

It's a pity, because it's such a good circuit. The racing was superb.

[thegamer23]

It's a pity, because it's such a good circuit. The racing was superb.

Indeed, the best FE circuit hands down.

Can't see how they can cut the Montreal F1 track to a shorter distance.

[maximilian]

Indeed, the best FE circuit hands down.

Can't see how they can cut the Montreal F1 track to a shorter distance.

 

We've been over this in 2015 already... 

 

[Vielleicht]

If Montreal was a Battersea Park kind of venue, I'm not sure many would be upset. Though I can understand why the FE race makes little sense to locals with they have Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on their doorstep. Just a shame Montreal has a great racing circuit AND can host a damn good street race downtown too. How very greedy of them!

 

I'm not sure how well FE at Gilles-Villeneuve would work, but I would imagine the only option at this point might be to find out... unless by some unlikely chance Agag has a card up his sleeve.

[thegamer23]

New Formula E Car already one second faster on same power output
http://e-racing365.c...n-existing-car/


"The second-generation Formula E car has already lapped quicker with the same maximum power allowance than its predecessor after just a handful of testing days

The testing, which is being conducted in secrecy, is believed to have been undertaken using just 200kW power so far, the same peak which is currently used in qualifying.
This has given a comparison to the current car and a time just under one-second faster in like-for-like technical conditions has already been achieved".
 

Fred Makoviecki was the test driver, here's his words:

"The car looks really exciting and different" 
What you will see is a stunning future look of Formula E. Already the car has gone faster than the original and it is a very early stage of development. This is obviously very encouraging.
The car feels stable and the work we carried out went well.
would say that we are at 90 percent completion on our aims to get the tire parameters completed for the product in Season Five.


"Ultimately, the car is set to run at a maximum 220kW in race spec (250 kW quali spec) with the 54kWh usable energy available to drivers from the new battery. This will guarantee a single car can complete an E-Prix.

------------------------------------------

My opinion. Quite impressive. Considering that.

- They ran with current power regulations  (200 kW max only, 50 kW less than S5 power output)
- It was the first outing
- Not pushed to the limit

The car looks like an improvement on chassis & brake efficency too, along with the battery improvement.

I would not be surprised if the car will peak 3-4 seconds faster than this year's, with a proper setup, maximum power & official drivers on it. 

 

--------------------------------------------

 

 

Edited by thegamer23, 06 November 2017 - 19:19.

[Vielleicht]

A noticeable boost in performance is just what we need in S5, glad it looks promising

[NorwegianRudo]

Can't see that happen, at least not in the near future.
And honestly, 20-22 veichles on those tight street tracks are enough imho, it would turn into total chaos with 24-26 cars.

People aren't speculating about it, it's been officially confirmed that Porsche and Mercedes are expansion teams for season 6. There is speculation that Mercedes (I wouldn't rule out Porsche either) will join early as customer teams for season 5 to make sure they are up to speed for the proper factory team the next season. Joining in the second season of new regulations would be a massive disadvantage, just look at Honda in F1...

[maximilian]

 

My opinion. Quite impressive. Considering that.

- They ran with current power regulations  (200 kW max only, 50 kW less than S5 power output)
- It was the first outing
- Not pushed to the limit

 

Not to mention, Fred Makoviecki driving.  Sounds like a Deli & Dogs owner from Brooklyn! 

 

WE. WANT. PICTURES!!!!

 

Can't believe there still aren't any leaked spy shots anywhere?

[thegamer23]

Not to mention, Fred Makoviecki driving.  Sounds like a Deli & Dogs owner from Brooklyn! 

 

WE. WANT. PICTURES!!!!

 

Can't believe there still aren't any leaked spy shots anywhere?

 

Macko is actually a pretty good damn driver, currently driving Porsche GT in Wec. 

Would not be surprised to see him getting the Porsche drive in 2019

[thegamer23]

Montreal race could switch to F1 track. But no guarantuees as logistic problems may appear
https://www.autospor...tch-to-f1-track

[thegamer23]

Mahindra S4 livery, Sean bull won the competition.


Marrakech Rookie Test
The 6 hour rookie test (14th january after the e-prix) is rumored to feature:

Pietro Fittipaldi, Nyck De Vries, Jordan King, Kamui Kobayashi, Felipe Massa, Jolyon Palmer, Daniel Juncadella, Michael Benyahia, San Dejonghe

[Vielleicht]

Not entirely sure I like that Mahindra livery. I thought the season three version was really clean and modern, but this one feels more like seasons one and two which I felt rather indifferent to.

[haryantofan666]

Is this series worth watching?

 

I only watched the very first FE race a few years ago and found it awful:

 

-cars way too slow

-awful music to distract from awful noise (or lack of noise)

 

Has this improved? I probably can get over the fact that they're just slow if the racing is close, but that horrible music I could never get over

[NixxxoN]

Buemi, Di Grassi and Felix Rosenqvist should be the three big contenders, and probably Buemi will get it as I suppose he will once again have the best car

[Muppetmad]

Rosenqvist has a good shot if the car is competitive, I think. I'd like to see him break the Buemi/Di Grassi domination we've had the past few years.

[Vielleicht]

Is this series worth watching?

I only watched the very first FE race a few years ago and found it awful:

-cars way too slow
-awful music to distract from awful noise (or lack of noise)

Has this improved? I probably can get over the fact that they're just slow if the racing is close, but that horrible music I could never get over

I would say it has improved in that it feels much more established than it did in its early races. It feels less experimental and clumsy than it used to and I enjoy the racing more than the average Grand Prix I have to say.

I wouldn't rule out giving it another go. But keep in mind that the season after this will have faster, longer lasting cars and a new look, so even if this season doesn't quite take for you, the next one still might.

Edit: For a similar but better response read thegamer23's below

Edited by Vielleicht, 10 November 2017 - 10:33.

[thegamer23]

Is this series worth watching?

 

I only watched the very first FE race a few years ago and found it awful:

 

-cars way too slow

-awful music to distract from awful noise (or lack of noise)

 

Has this improved? I probably can get over the fact that they're just slow if the racing is close, but that horrible music I could never get over

 

Well, it's improved in every aspect since the very first race. In general, it feels more like a proper Grand Prix.

The music, i didn't notice it anymore after the first few races, maybe they've tuned it down. 

Both the race pace & quali pace is improved by around 2-3 seconds since S1, and this year's race mode is most powerful ever (180 kW, nearly matching the 200 kW quali pace). 

So, even in race mode, cars will look quicker.

But if you want to wait another season, a big improvement in terms of speed & efficency is expected next year with the arrival of the new generation of car & batteries. They will be seconds faster and will manage to complete the race without a car change. 

 

Circuits are improving too, even if some of them are still way too tight (New York)

Edited by thegamer23, 10 November 2017 - 10:27.

[RSRally]

I felt that really Buemi deserved the season three title, having had to miss two races.

This year I expect DiGrassi to be able to fight and possibly beat Buemi on merit as I expect a big step up in performance from his team now it’s the official Audi outfit, and Renault have started to focus attention more on season five (for Nissan)

[Disgrace]

He deserved it, up until the point he blew the final weekend with his practice crash.

[maximilian]

Hmm that Mahinda livery looks like last year's... or at least it's somehow so similar that I wouldn't have recognized it as being significantly new or different.  Just goes to show you once more that the most important aspect of winning a livery contest is to have the best shiniest 3D model to show it off... much more important than actually having a good interesting cool design, because anything rendered in shiny 3D will always fool the judges.  He could have covered the car in shiny bacon texture, and still won.  Age old problem with livery contests.  That said, this fellow has done quite a bit of good livery work in general.

 

Well, I think overall it's good that diGrassi won the title, given that he lost the first two seasons by a hair, and more or less due to some fairly hapless DQs - I still begrudge what he did in the S2 Season Finale, and something like that is hard to forget and forgive, but overall the guy has devoted his life to FE from very early on, and a title for him is deserved.  Also better for the series to have different champions, the more, the merrier.

 

Some very interesting name on the rumored rookie test list! 

Edited by maximilian, 10 November 2017 - 14:56.

[NorwegianRudo]

Buemi, Di Grassi and Felix Rosenqvist should be the three big contenders, and probably Buemi will get it as I suppose he will once again have the best car

Techeetah has a shot. They were just as fast as Renault towards the end of last season, and Vergne really stepped up his race pace. Unfortunately they're likely to start slow again as they're way behind on testing being a customer team.

[RSRally]

Hugo Boss leaving F1 for FE: https://www.autospor...ormula-e-switch

[maximilian]

Techeetah has a shot. They were just as fast as Renault towards the end of last season, and Vergne really stepped up his race pace. Unfortunately they're likely to start slow again as they're way behind on testing being a customer team.

 

... which is one of the truly stupid rules of FE.  Makes no sense at all.  I hope Techeetah kick some serious butt... great driver line-up!   

[thegamer23]

Sideline news, but still interesting.

Jack Nicholls: "THINK we now have 6 detectors per track this season. Maybe 4, can’t remember."

F1-esque live gaps in the race, no more 1 update/lap 
 

Edited by thegamer23, 12 November 2017 - 18:54.

[LeClerc]

Are they still swapping cars in the middle of the race?

[Disgrace]

Are they still swapping cars in the middle of the race?

 

For one last season. Come back this time next year. 

[thegamer23]

Are they still swapping cars in the middle of the race?

This will be the last season with the current generation of cars that requires a mid race swap.
From next season, more powerful cars without swap.

Edited by thegamer23, 12 November 2017 - 19:02.

[LeClerc]

For one last season. Come back this time next year. 

 

<sets alarm>

[thegamer23]

I hear that Channel 5 will have a delayed broadcast, at least for Hong Kong. (the race is set to start at very early morning)

Live on Eurosport & YouTube tho.