DOUBLE HEADER IN RIYADH!
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FORMULA E NIGHT RACES ON FRIDAY & SATURDAY!
مرحبا بكم في سباق الرياض
FORMULA E SEASON 8 OFFICIAL THREAD
Here we are!
The fastest, most competitive & exciting season of Electric Formula Racing is about to start in the dusty streets of Ryadh.
One final season with the Gen 2 package, but pushed to the limits: more power in the races, more efficiency needed and a brand new qualifying format that will provide us a proper Championship Fight!
Also, new faces in the Paddock, with the arrival of new high caliber drivers: the Italian Jesus himself, Antonio Giovinazzi, the rising U.S.A star Oliver Askew & the sheer unpredictability of Daniel Ticktum!
We'll discuss it all here in the Race Thread.
Fasten your seatbelts, adjust your kW output: it's going to be quite a ride this season.
The Swan's Song of the Generation 2, this is Formula E!
استمتع
LAST TIME AROUND IN RIYADH
Monumental crashes & Missle threats!
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Last time in Riyadh was quite a ride!
The First ever Night race in Formula E was won in a dominant fashion by Nyck De Vries of Mercedes, who also grabbed pole position.
The talented dutch controlled the race from lap 1 to the chequered, defending well against Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche) & Renè Rast (Audi).
It was one hell of a performance from De Vries & Mercedes, who also dominated Free Practice.
A clear sign to the competition, for a driver that delivered most of the weekends, taking his first World Championship in Berlin.
Race 2, however, was bonkers!
Drama started as soon as FP1, with Edoardo Mortara (Venturi) losing the brakes in Turn 1 due to an electrical glitch on his Mercedes Power Unit's Brake by Wire system.
Mortara couldn't stop the car, and slammed hard into the escape route, hurting his knees.
After that incident, the Mercedes powertrain was put under investigation by the FIA stewards, and they were forced to change some faulty parameters that led to Mortara's shunt.
The operation required time, so all the Mercedes powered cars were forced to sit out of quali!
The Race itself was even more dramatic!
Sam Bird & Robin Frijns were battling hard for the lead of the race, behind plenty of crashes required the intervention of the Safety Car.
Buemi was in the wall, rookie Jake Dennis was taken out by Pascal Wehrlein, many contacts in Turn 1.
But the scariest crash was not showed on TV: Alex Lynn (Mahindra) tried a late dive on the inside while fighting Mitch Evans (Jaguar).
The Kiwi closed the door, and Lynn went on for a Rollercoster ride in full Mark Webber fashion.
The Mahindra slid across the escape road in Turn 1, and smashed hard into the Tec Pro barriers.
Luckily, Lynn was totally unhurt!
But the Drama didn't end there: some missles were intercepted above Riyadh
"Multiple explosions were heard and the night skies above Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, lit up with bright flashes on Saturday as a Saudi-led military coalition announced the thwarting of a missile attack that it blamed on Yemen’s Houthi rebels.”
Talking about dodging a bullet!
Let's hope for a more relaxed setting this time around!
THE AD-DIRIYAH FORMULA E CIRCUIT
ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT TRACKS!
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Introduced during Season 5 of Formula E, the Ad Diriyah Street Circuit has become one of Formula E's iconic tracks.
This track offers some unique features: the road follows the natural profile of the dunes around the old city of Diriyah, so you'll see plenty of elevation changes during the lap!
The track is located around the Old City of Ad-Diriyah: lights are placed on the old monuments during the Night Race, creating beautiful visual choerographies.
The trademark section of Riyadh is the spectacular Up-Down Sector 2, with fast & blind kinks where you have to throw the car in at high speeds!
Best overtaking spot is for sure Turn 18, a medium speed chicane that always provided most of the track's action
Circuit had some minor tweaks last season, including a straighter Turn 9-10 section.
This year, the track has been totally resurfaced.
We'll see how this will affect the grip & the lap times.
TRACK RECORD:
1'07''294 - Robin Frijns [Envision Virgin]
But we know, best way to learn a track is to watch some onboards!
And here they are!
THE NEW QUALIFYING FORMAT
A GAME CHANGER!
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A vocal request by drivers & team principal after a chaotic random Season 7 was to change the quali format towards a more Fair System.
So, here it is!
MORE RACE POWER!
MORE FUN!
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Another major tweak compared to last season is the Race Power output levels!
This year we're going up by 20 kW: race pace is now 220 kW and the Attack Modes will push the cars to 250 kW.
This means, we'll often see the cars on track lapping on Qualification Pace: this will lead to more drama, cars more on the limit, drivers really pushing in some parts of the race.
In other stages of the races tho, more lift & coast will be required in order to complete the 45 minutes of racing.
We could see quite different race strategies & approaches, this should make the races even more lively!
NEW "EXTRA TIME" RULE!
MORE RACING!
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Yet another welcomed change!
No more energy detraction! (see the Valencia fiasco)
This Porsche Taycan Turbo S will replace the Mini Electric.
THE 2022 FORMULA E LINEUP
NEW FACES, BIG CHANGES!
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With the departure of Audi, 22 cars remains on the Formula E Grid!
More than enough to put on a great show, isn't it? 
This year, three new faces joins the Electric Paddock.
Three different stories, three different prospects:
Antonio Giovinazzi enters FE with Dragon Racing.
The Italian star hopes to prove his talent once again on a more leveled field: having said that, the limited amount of testing and the inconsistent performance of the Penske package could translate into a steep learning curve for the Italian Jesus.
Oliver Askew joins Avalanche Andretti (supplied with BMW engines).
The Young American's talent is crystal clear: winner of the IndyLights in 2019, Askew looked like the best rookie in terms of pace in the Valencia Pre-Season testing.
Will Askew confirm the early promises and deliver a Rookie of The Season campaign?
Daniel Ticktum joins NIO 333!
Quite a last minute signing: Ticktum made his debut in the Valencia Pre-Season Testing with NIO: some technical problems ruined his first day of testing, but the englishman managed to put in a decent amount of running in the last few days.
We know the kid has talent, and thrives on street circuits: you don't win Macau twice if you're talentless.
Now the big question is:
Will Ticktum get Redemption or go Full Villain ?
But there's more!!
Major shakeups happened in the Mahindra, Nissan & Venturi lineups!
Oliver Rowland left Nissan to Join Mahindra, alongside Alexander Sims.
Max Gunther joined Nissan, leaving BMW Andretti. He's going to drive alongside Seb Buemi.
Lucas Di Grassi jumped from the sinking Audi boat towards Venturi!
Also, AUDI left FE as a Factory team, but it's still present as the Engine Supplier for Envision Virgin Racing!
Here it is the 2022 LINEUP, enjoy this Spotter Guide!
FULL TIMETABLE
DON'T MISS A MOMENT OF THIS UPCOMING DOUBLE HEADER!
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RACE 1: 17.00
*In France all the races will be streamed in "L'Equipe".
*In UK, all races will be shown on Channel 4, also available on YT
Edited by thegamer23, 25 January 2022 - 08:18.
