354 replies to this topic

[Vielleicht]

Formula E arrives in Rome for the second time. An iconic city at the heart of European history in a country with a deep passion for motorsport. A circuit set within the EUR district plays host to the 2019 Rome ePrix. Join us for the spectacle that awaits...

 

The circuit is the same, though this time the action on track will be the Gen2 FE car and the I-Pace Jaguars

 
 

Race Day is Saturday 13th April

 

Catch up with the discussion!
FE Season 5 Thread: https://forums.autos...-thread/page-24
Sanya Race Thread: https://forums.autos...round-06-sanya/
 
Where is the race?
A circuit in the EUR district of Rome, Italy. It's the same as last year with some minor modifications to open up turns 15, 16 and 17 a little. It was a sold out crowd in 2018 and it should be the same again this year. It features both long sweeping corners with elevation changes and a tight technical section towards the end of the lap. Attack Mode activation zone will be at Turn 6.

 Last years track guide still gives a good impression of what to expect.


And here's the race highlights from last year.


What's happened so far?
We've had 6 different winners from 6 different races. Antonio Felix da Costa took the honors in round 1, followed by Jèrôme d'Ambrosio, Sam Bird, Lucas di Grassi, Edoardo Mortara and reigning champion Jean-Eric Vergne. As a result, The points standings are close as ever with only a few points separating the top of both the drivers and teams championships:

Drivers top 8

Teams Top 5

Full standings available here: https://www.fiaformu...tandings/driver

Sanya (Round 6) highlights
Missed the last race? Here's where you can get up to speed. All races of the season, both highlights and full races should be on YouTube if you want to join us mid season, which you are so very welcome to do...

 
Anything new this weekend?
Maxi Günther is back in for Dragon, subbing in for Nasr whilst he's away at Long Beach doing some IMSA thing. Alex Lynn is also back to take on his demons of Rome last year taking over from Nelson Piquet Jr, who has been dramatically dropped by Jaguar after Sanya!

 

One or two forumers and forumer's friends should be on the ground at the track, so we might have some first hand experiences of Gen2 racing to look forward to.
 
The championship within a championship, the Voestalpine European Races gets underway as well, with this stunning trophy: 

 
How can I watch?
Individual viewing options are available on the How to Watch section on the Formula E website (https://www.fiaformu...797303e40cb7ad6) though UK viewers can expect to be treated to the race on Saturday 13th April at 15:00 UK time on BBC Sport, Red Button, Quest, BT Sport or Eurosport.
 
Schedule is as follows   | Local Time (UK time -1 hour)
Formula E Free Practice 1 - 07:30
Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy Qualifying - 08:35
Formula E Free Practice 2 - 10:00
Formula E Qualifying - 11:45
Formula E Super Pole - 12:30
Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy Race (25' + 1 Lap) - 14:00
2019 Rome E-Prix (45' + 1 Lap) - 16:00
 
Updates to the OP may come through the week. Any questions feel free to ask, we're all more than happy to share our Formula E passion!

Edited by Vielleicht, 09 April 2019 - 16:34.

[f1paul]

 Any questions feel free to ask, we're all more than happy to share our Formula E passion!

 

Question - Is the Attack Mode on the outside or Inside of turn 6?

 

Here's the track with corner numbers...

 

[f1paul]

 

[Vielleicht]

Question - Is the Attack Mode on the outside or Inside of turn 6?

According to Sam Smith (Twitter @sniffermedia) it will be the inside of the track at the exit of T6, similar to Ad Diriyah, Mexico and Hong Kong.

Edited by Vielleicht, 09 April 2019 - 18:29.

[thegamer23]

AVE Vieilleicht, great OP!   

This is one of the top 2-3 tracks in Formula E at the moment, it has been widened in a few points (those tight chicanes at the end of the lap), so it could be even better this year!     
 

Very curious about the T9 jump tho.
It may cause some drama or broken suspensions, if it's still there. Last season it was pretty dramatic in quali, and it was only 200 kW!   
 

Red Flag protocol poised for change!

https://e-racing365....sed-for-change/

Edited by thegamer23, 09 April 2019 - 18:42.

[f1paul]

According to Sam Smith (Twitter @sniffermedia) it will be the inside of the track at the exit of T6, similar to Ad Diriyah, Mexico and Hong Kong.

 

Its better to have the zone on the outside of a corner than on the inside IMO.

 

We'll see how it plays out this time round.

Edited by f1paul, 09 April 2019 - 18:48.

[Ben1445]

I had to put in a vote for Alex Lynn fighting off Roman ghosts. Just because it's an image that made me giggle. 

[thegamer23]

[thegamer23]

Still in Italy, but it's a Mercedes EQ testing in Varano

 

Edited by thegamer23, 10 April 2019 - 09:35.

[Vielleicht]

I had to put in a vote for Alex Lynn fighting off Roman ghosts. Just because it's an image that made me giggle. 

Well I'm glad! I was trying to find a video of his practice nightmare last year to put in the OP and was sure one existed but I was unsuccessful.

[TheJammin]

I'm hoping to see Sam Bird take flight at turn 9, perform a perfect backflip and landing then carry on happily. Ideally this will be the first instance of overtaking someone vertically.

 

But yeah, excited for this race, I really enjoyed it last year. Is it this one where they seemed to spend forever going from the starting blocks to the grid?

[thegamer23]

I'm hoping to see Sam Bird take flight at turn 9, perform a perfect backflip and landing then carry on happily. Ideally this will be the first instance of overtaking someone vertically.

 

But yeah, excited for this race, I really enjoyed it last year. Is it this one where they seemed to spend forever going from the starting blocks to the grid?

 

Yeah, they did cut across the track from the finish line position to the start line, wich is on the opposite side. 
I took like 2 minutes. 

[TheJammin]

Thought it was, I put the race on when my friend came round for food and I sat him down with it on saying "it's starting now" and he just watched them trundling around like "what are they doing?"

 

I failed to find a suitable answer for him other than it's just Formula E.

[maximilian]

Thought it was, I put the race on when my friend came round for food and I sat him down with it on saying "it's starting now" and he just watched them trundling around like "what are they doing?"

 

I failed to find a suitable answer for him other than it's just Formula E.

 

Wonder if anybody turned off the race at that point, because "Formula E cars are SO SLOW" 

[Vielleicht]

Rome is a bit soggy today

 

(image from Tobi Bluhm @TobiTweetings)

[thegamer23]

Oh dear
Two months of sun & high temperatures in Italy, comes FE, raining cat & dogs.
Shiet

 

 

Edited by thegamer23, 11 April 2019 - 07:12.

[RSRally]

Don't worry, it'll dry up for the race.

[thegamer23]

There are worse locations for an e-Prix!   
 

Edited by thegamer23, 11 April 2019 - 08:58.

[Vielleicht]

That's the hypothetical image I was hoping to use in the OP but couldn't find!!

 

Is it too late to edit?

[thegamer23]

Football match today between Formula E drivers & AS Roma legends.

 

Live here at 17.00   

And Francesco Totti should drive a Gen 2 car on the track on saturday! 
 

 

Edited by thegamer23, 11 April 2019 - 12:15.

[BRG]

Oh dear
Two months of sun & high temperatures in Italy, comes FE, raining cat & dogs

That's climate change for you....

[thegamer23]

I'll take that 

Rome Thursday Notebook

https://e-racing365....rsday-notebook/

 

[sportyskells]

At least that forecast was posted on a Thursday nearer the time and not on a Monday. Hopefully no delays and will we get our 4th red flag in a row after Mexico, Hong Kong and China?

[thegamer23]

It's not going to be torrential rain, more like light drizzle, so no problems.

But it could be around for most of the day!

A shame, as the weather is perfect today

 

 

SHAKEDOWN AT 14.50 UK TIME

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by thegamer23, 12 April 2019 - 09:10.

[Ben1445]

Press Conference LIVE is on 

 

[thegamer23]

Shakedown in 45 mins!
 

[Ben1445]

Looks like the T15 apex has been moved back a bit 

[thegamer23]

Woah, the twisty sector looks much faster than last year, all the chicanes have been opened up slightly. 

And yep, T15 looks almost like a different corner!

Much better flow in that part    

Edited by thegamer23, 12 April 2019 - 14:01.

[Ben1445]

Comparison of Old T15 and T16/17/18

 

 

Edited by Ben1445, 12 April 2019 - 14:10.

[Vielleicht]

Comparison of Old T15 and T16/17/18

Nice. That's quite a diffrence.

 

I do beleive that this Rome venue has the capacity to expand to suit the cars over time. It was considwered for an F1 race about 10 years ago after all.

[Vielleicht]

T15 is a good example of what they should do with a good number of their kerbing 'solutions' at other tracks as well.

Edited by Vielleicht, 12 April 2019 - 14:45.

[BRG]

T15 is a good example of what they should do with a good number of their kerbing 'solutions' at other tracks as well.

Yes indeed.  But some welcome signs of sense filtering through to the FE track designers.

[Ben1445]

Looks like the T15 apex has been moved back a bit 

On second viewing, it also looks like they've moved the whole track over to the right of the frame. If you look for the patterns in the tarmac change you can see that what was the middle of the exit is now right at the inside barrier of the new turn. You can also see there's now space for a grandstand on the inner (left) hand side of the circuit. 

Edited by Ben1445, 12 April 2019 - 17:34.

[LucaP]

On a second look, they've actually moved the whole city

[thegamer23]

Sam Smith's Friday Notebook

https://e-racing365....day-notebook-2/

 

 

 

 

***Pascal Wehrlein said he felt a “real amazement” when his Mahindra was overtaken by Sebastien Buemi’s Nissan despite being on the 225kW attack mode while Buemi was shown to be on the regular 200kW power figure.

***Wehrlein told e-racing that “the Nissan was on another level and clearly they have something different. There is nothing you can do on the straights, it just goes and goes”

Edited by thegamer23, 12 April 2019 - 18:31.

[RSRally]

T15 is a good example of what they should do with a good number of their kerbing 'solutions' at other tracks as well.

110% this!

On the other hand the exit of the hairpin looked like it might have been tightened up a bit?

[Ben1445]

Mmm 6:30am on a Saturday for Formula E FP1.... yes please. 

[thegamer23]

Nice insight, with the track changes analysis

[Ben1445]

Quite an interesting Attack Mode then, it's more like the outside of T7 than immediately after the inside of T6. 

[NorwegianRudo]

Attack mode should be very powerful up the hill, it was one of the few places in FE history where Fanboost actually looked like a weapon.

[Imateria]

Sam Smith's Friday Notebook

https://e-racing365....day-notebook-2/

 

 

 

 

***Pascal Wehrlein said he felt a “real amazement” when his Mahindra was overtaken by Sebastien Buemi’s Nissan despite being on the 225kW attack mode while Buemi was shown to be on the regular 200kW power figure.

***Wehrlein told e-racing that “the Nissan was on another level and clearly they have something different. There is nothing you can do on the straights, it just goes and goes”

All this complaining about Nissan's twin motor set up is rather surprising given how slow their race pace is.

[RSRally]

I love the long sweeping corners of the Rome track. Makes a change from all the 90 degree corners, chicanes and hairpins of many FE tracks (although Rome has those too!)

[Ben1445]

All four wheels off the ground at 'the jump'! 

 

Just    

[Vielleicht]

Formula E days are good days

[Ben1445]

That T16-19 section reminds me of the old Spa bus stop now 

[Vielleicht]

Interesting that Franchiiti is here, didn't he miss this one last year because of Long Beach advisorship comitments for Ganassi?

[Vielleicht]

Jaguar Qualifying on their facebook page now

https://www.facebook...21807164890351/

[thegamer23]

 

 

 

Old record was 1'33''xxx. Circuit has changed slightly, so we still talk about 3s/lap improvement. 


FP2 in 30 minutes

[thegamer23]

Edited by thegamer23, 13 April 2019 - 08:03.

[Vielleicht]

That jump is a bit mental