192 replies to this topic

[thegamer23]

 

 

WHEN: This Saturday, March 25th! 
WHERE: In the streets of São Paulo, Brazil, using sections of the famous Indycar layout!

WHY: Championship fight wide open, great battles on track, drama all around. Gen 3 is delivering! 

 

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BONKERS RACING IN THE SAMBODROMO! 

 

 

Formula E is ready to electrify BRAZIL!
After years of rumors, the full electric championship makes its debut in one of Motorsport's most legendary lands: home of legendary drivers such as Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet, Emerson Fittipaldi, and most recently, Felipe Massa.

São Paulo, one of the biggest cities in the planet, is ready to host an historic round of Formula E.

Gen 3 is going to bring a Carnival of Motorsport in the City's  Sambódromo, a location that has also been used in the past by Indycar Series!

 

Different surfaces, bumps, chicanes, fast straights, the Gen 3 cars are going to slide & dance a Samba this Saturday!

E-Racing is back in South America: São Paulo is ready to deliver a classic! 

Let's dive right into it! 
 

 

 

 

 

THE NORISRING OF FORMULA E?

 

The resemblance is uncanny, this Sao Paulo street circuit really reminds of the german's classic Norisring, home of DTM!
This means: short, fast dash, with hairpins & chicanes between long straight sections. 

A 2.933 km fast, stop & go track, that will showcase Gen 3 cars potential of acceleration & speed, with top marks expected to be around 270/280 km/h at the end of the main straight.
There are multiple overtaking zones around there, the stop & go nature of the track should be good for racing.

 

 

Simulator lap with Lucas Di Grassi:  https://twitter.com/...109138348564480

 

 

 

 

 

Does the track looks familiar to you?

Well, than you might be an Indycar Fan!     
The track location is in fact the same of the 2013 Sao Paulo Indycar Race: the Formula E cars will run along the Sambadromo straight in the opposite way compared to what Indycars did, than they'll face a new combination of corners.

So, slightly different & shorter layout than from what Indy did back than, but same vibes!

 

 

 

 

Let's get into the Sao Paulo vibe: do you remember who won back in 2013 in Indycar?
Enjoy this extraordinary battle between James Hinchcliffe, the major of Hinch town & the japanese hero, Satoooooooo!!

 

 

 

 

 

THE BEST FORMULA E SEASON SO FAR?

 

 

 

 

Doubts about reliability & about the cars were huge before the Mexico City E-Prix in late January, but once it hit the track, the Gen 3 Era of Formula E racing has been DELIVERING!

Every race has better than the following one: Mexico, a solid, clean start of the new era with Jake Dennis of Andretti running away in the lead and a big scrap for third place between Hughes, Di Grassi, Wherlein & Lotterer.
Than we had Wehrlein's stellar weekend in Diriyah with a double win, and Jake Dennis's monster comeback from P13 to P2. 

Than Formula E raced in two new locations: Hyderabad, India, was a bonkers, chaotic race in pure Formula E style, with crashes, drama & a big battle for the lead till the chequered.

It was a Jean Eric Vergne's masterclass in defence, holding back Nick Cassidy despite having lower energy.

 

 

 

But the sesaon's best race so far was the last one: Cape Town.

A stunning location, the fastest Formula E track ever that produced a CLASSIC, with a final battle for the lead between two old teammates, Antonio Felix da Costa now at Porsche & Jean Eric Vergne, in DS.
Da Costa an amazing overtake at the penultimate lap on JEV, maybe the best overtake in Formula E ever, launching his Porsche inside a fast, sweeping corner, dancing on the verge of disaster, a few inches from the wall. 

 

 

 

 

With the early favourite, Championship leader Pascal Wehrlein crashing out at the first lap of the race, the championship battle now feels ALIVE. 
Less than a race distance separes Wehrlein from the rest of the pack, that is coming back strong.

Vergne, Da Costa, Dennis, Cassidy, Buemi, are all realistic championship contenders, and others will join the party as all the teams starts to discover the full potential of Gen 3.

In full Formula E style: It's WIDE OPEN!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FORMULA E's BRAZILIAN MOTORSPORT HERITAGE

 

Formula E has always featured lots of brazilian talent in its grid since inception.

Among them a few names stood out: Nelson Piquet Jr, the historical Season 1 champion of Formula E with NextEV China Racing.
Nelson Piquet Jr raced in Formula E for 5 seasons, before switching off to TV commentator duties: he's now in the commentary booth alongside Jack Nicholls. 

 

Bruno Senna, nephew of Ayrton, was one of the first drivers to believe in Formula E.
GP2 runner-up & former Lotus & Williams F1 race driver, Bruno raced for Mahindra in Seasons 1-2, scoring two podiums. 

 

 

 

Felipe Massa, was the big name of Season 5. Coming from Williams F1, a lot of people expected him to be fast from the get go, but it was much more difficult than expected!
Venturi wasn't the best package in the grid, but Massa still managed to score one podium in Monaco in Season 5, in one of the most tight & exciting FE races to date!

But the biggest brazilian icon of Formula E is without a doubt Lucas Di Grassi.

Di Grassi  believed in the project from the get go, and was involved in the promotion of the series since 2013. 

Season 3 champion, runner-up in multiple seasons, Di Grassi is one of the GOATS of the sport, without a doubt: he raced all the races, all the cars, even got a podium at debut with Mahindra Gen 3 in Mexico.

 

 

 

But when Di Grassi's reign will be over, in 150 years or so, another Brazilian talent is ready to step up.

His name is Sergio Sette Camara, driving for NIO333, and he's racing with Ayrton Senna's colours at the back of his helmet.
He showed great raw speed in qualifying, some very good races since his debut in Season 7 with an uncompetitive Dragon Penske. 

 

 

Now he's racing for NIO333, with much better chances of scoring big points, as they showed already also with Dan Ticktum.

Can this be his weekend on Home Soil?

 

Could Di Grassi or Sette Camara WIN in front of the home crowd?

Everything is possible in Formula E!
 

 

 

 

 

 

A DREAM COME TRUE!

“I can’t wait to race in Sao Paulo" says Lucas Di Grassi

 

"It's been a dream since the first Formula E race for me, back in 2013. It has been close a couple of times and hasn’t quite happened but after 10 years of hard work and persistence it’s finally happening in Season 9 and for the start of GEN3

Iit’s very emotional for me to be racing there.

I’m from Sao Paulo, I was born just a few minutes away and grew up there. It’s going to be amazing racing in front of my home fans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The circuit at the Sambadrome looks like it will be amazing and the thousands of people that like to join carnival and spend some time in Brazil will be able to stay for the race, Zero Summit and the Big music festival happening all on the same weekend.

 

I’m sure the passionate Brazilians will fill up the grandstands!" - says Di Grassi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SCHEDULE OF THE BRAZILIAN E-PRIX

 

 

Alright, let's see how the schedule looks ahead of this weekend's Brazilian e-Prix.

Worth mentioning that rain threat is pretty consistent all weekend long, with currently a 50-60% rain chance on Saturaday afternoon.

It's drizzle season in Brazil, so....everything can happen also under that regard!

FRIDAY

 

19.30 UTC || FREE PRACTICE 1   

SATURDAY

10.30 UTC || FREE PRACTICE 2

12.40 UTC || QUALIFYING
17.00 UTC || BRAZILIAN EPRIX
 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by thegamer23, 22 March 2023 - 13:54.

[highdownforce]

Nice OP.

* Sambódromo (PT-BR)

[noikeee]

Why "very good" in the thread title?

[thegamer23]

Nice OP.

* Sambódromo (PT-BR)

Corrected!

Peço desculpas!

[thegamer23]

Forgot to add.

 

Robin Frijns is back racing this weekend in Formula E after his Mexico's wrist injury 

Kevin Van Der Linde still on standby, ready to jump in if necessary.

Awesome to see the dutch back to racing! 

 

 

 

 

Also, curious historic fact.

Edited by thegamer23, 22 March 2023 - 16:58.

[Ben1445]

Said it in the broader Season 9 thread, but no harm repeating it. 

In addition to highest top speeds of the season, Lucas Di Grassi predicts qualifying lap times of 1:10 or 1:1, which with a 2.933 km lap puts the circuit at an average lap speed of around 150 km/h. 

Cape Town pole average speed was just shy of 155 km/h, so it could be a touch slower. 

 

Some context here is that that’s still quicker than Gen2 peak of 140 km/h, and a lot higher than a bulk of FE circuits to date which had average qualifying lap speeds between 110-130 km/h. 

 

I like that we're starting to see these faster venues, and very much hope it becomes more of a norm.

 

[thegamer23]

Indeed.

Yesterday i've red an article in portoguese motorsport.com, where Alberto Longo is talking about how they want to showcase the Gen 3 capabilities by designing faster tracks from now on.

 

[thegamer23]

 

 

[MattK9]

Nice OP, Im not sure i see many similarities between this circuit and the Norisring other than street circuit. Norisring only has 4 corners!

 

Anyway, interesting that the starting grid is quite close to Turn 1 which reduces the effectiveness of anyone who gets a great launch of the line, but also will mean less accidents at T1 on Lap 1.

 

Lets see if Porsche are still top dogs this weekend.

[jonpollak]

Have they got mirrors on the Spark that drivers can see out of yet ?

Scandalous if you ask me, and a few others.
Jp

[MattK9]

 

 

Love the poster. The Gen2 Techeetah stuck in traffic is a nice touch.

Im sure the guys on the building are supposed to be Nato & Fenestraz, but all I can see is 2 Scott Dixons.

[Ben1445]

I think it’s meant to be their Ariya Single Seater concept rather than a Gen2 Techeetah

https://global.nissa...-seater-concept

[MattK9]

I think it’s meant to be their Ariya Single Seater concept rather than a Gen2 Techeetah

https://global.nissa...-seater-concept

 

oh! It was more fun to believe it was a techeetah

[thegamer23]

Everything's ready in Sao Paulo!

 

Today it's Practice day!
Live FP1 starting at 19.30 GMT, see you than!    

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy this 20 min long Pitlane Preview Show, to get in the mood

 

 

Edited by thegamer23, 24 March 2023 - 08:29.

[RSRally]

Will be interesting to see how the Hankooks cope if it rains. They will retain their tread depth so we shouldn’t get any aquaplaning but i’m not convinced the super hard compound is going to cope very well with all that power on a wet track. The previous Michelins weren’t very good in the wet despite a softer compound and a less powerful car.

[highdownforce]

Will be interesting to see how the Hankooks cope if it rains. They will retain their tread depth so we shouldn’t get any aquaplaning but i’m not convinced the super hard compound is going to cope very well with all that power on a wet track. The previous Michelins weren’t very good in the wet despite a softer compound and a less powerful car.

Max temperature of 31°C with 60% chance of raining.

[Ben1445]

I suppose the main thing should indeed be that these all-weather tyres are actually able to provide a reasonable and safe race in wet-weather conditions.

Frankly speaking, if the tyre manufacturers can’t get them to do that either because they are too soft, lose their tread and aquaplane or because there are too hard such that they simply can’t get enough grip out of them… you may be tempted to ask (with a decade or so of evidence to review) if the all-weather philosophy is making practical sense.

On paper I still think it’s an ingenious idea. It should provide us with some low grip racing action that fans like to see, cut down on tyre wastage/freight for the championship and it is of course very road relevant (I know some people hate that term but it’s one of the key ways motor racing is funded).

So yeah - let’s see what happens if and when we get a wet race. Though FE somehow managed to avoid having a truly wet race until sometime in Gen2, which is quite insane really, so who knows when that will be

Edited by Ben1445, 24 March 2023 - 10:38.

[Ben1445]

The Race's preview piece today wondering if the high speeds - possibly the highest top speeds in FE yet - is going to make things all slipstream-y.
https://the-race.com...s-brazil-debut/

A 22-car peloton scenario could mould a race that is only won on the final lap as drivers face their biggest energy-saving challenge of the Gen3 era yet.

That’s the verdict of several drivers and team engineering personnel as they prepare for the sixth race of the season in a round that offers up several unknowns, including the unpredictable local micro-climate in the midst of a mini-monsoon season in Sao Paulo.

The race is set to be slightly longer relative to previous races, which in combination with the long straights will produce much more lifting and coasting than has been seen in previous races so far this season.

Not sure about it being slightly longer though. There's a scheduled 31 laps, which amounts to a 93.5km race. That's the same distance Cape Town ended up being once a couple of added laps were taken into account. Hyderabad ended up running to 95.7km, Diriyah II was 101.7km, Diriyah I was 99.2km and Mexico City 107.7km. So even with a couple of added laps tomorrow this thing is going to be pretty much par for the course in terms of distance at something like 100km.

The circuit itself is faster than usual though, and that’s going to hit them right in the battery. So when you’re running the same kinds of race distances as usual without, yeah, that is going to make energy management more challenging.

Edited by Ben1445, 24 March 2023 - 13:58.

[highdownforce]

1-2 esses are a "parking lot chicane", so T4 and T7 will probably be the main regen points.

Specially T7 that is a decreasing radius turn.

[Nigel Beresford]

Agree the race length is pretty typical if you look at the planned lap count plus any zero lap. It’s not the case that this is an exceptiomally long race if it goes green all the way.

Hopefully no track limits hassles - the walls are the limits everywhere except for T2 and T4

People using the escape road from T4-6 don’t have to stop in practice or qualifying but will lose the lap time. In the race you must stop or else you’ll be reported to the stewards

[thegamer23]

No penalties for Mahindra after emergency suspension re-design

https://www.the-race...ension-changes/

 

DI Grassi's special helmet

 

 

 

- 2.5 hours to FP1 

 

Edited by thegamer23, 24 March 2023 - 18:00.

[Ben1445]

From Porsche's twitter account, shakedown session. 

 

Cars getting some airtime

 

Edited by Ben1445, 24 March 2023 - 17:56.

[thegamer23]

From Porsche's twitter account, shakedown session. 

 

Cars getting some airtime

 

 

 

Oh my! 

 

That's making Rome's bump look like a yoke.

 

And shakedown is power limited. I'm a bit worried by that 

Edited by thegamer23, 24 March 2023 - 18:05.

[Ben1445]

Live in 5 

 

Edited by Ben1445, 24 March 2023 - 18:50.

[thegamer23]

Sunny & hot, perfect weather so far! 

 

 

Video of Da Costa flying on the "bump"     

 

https://twitter.com/...336050127405069

Edited by thegamer23, 24 March 2023 - 19:01.

[Ben1445]

Still trying to work out where that bump is on the track. If that’s Attack Mode at the back, could be into T4?

Ah we’ll see soon enough

[thegamer23]

Ah ok so they're doing the Pitlane show before FP1, wich is gonna go green in 25 min or so.

 

Nice! 

Askew is back too.

Edited by thegamer23, 24 March 2023 - 19:07.

[Ben1445]

You can see bits of the old red-coloured track edge lines from the IndyCar layout here and there. Including in the pitlane, which is along the line of what was the section after the first chicane on the old Indy layout. 

[thegamer23]

Cool to see Nelson Piquet Jr. back on track, testing the Gen 3 in his home soil.

But now.

 

Green Flag for FP1! 

[RSRally]

Track and location looks great!

[Ben1445]

Yeah, track looks really good to me. Nice and wide, got its own character.

Hopefully they can make good use of that 5 year contract.

[thegamer23]

Looks pretty wide too!

This track really highlights the acceleration & improved top speed of the Gen 3's!

.

Edited by thegamer23, 24 March 2023 - 19:39.

[thegamer23]

Aaand Vandoorne is in the wall

[Ben1445]

Noticing a lot of flat kurbing here, and a conspicuous absence of those chunky concrete ones

[Disgrace]

Looks like a giant Battersea Park.

[Ben1445]

I still can’t believe they actually pulled off a race in Battersea Park

[Ben1445]

Pleased to hear that Mahindra have fixed their suspension issue and by doing so on safety grounds will face no penalty

[TomNokoe]

I missed South Africa so will be tuning in tomorrow

[Ben1445]

145.9 km/h for Buemi with 5 mins remaining

[thegamer23]

"Di Grassi managed to paint his helmet to make it looks exactly like Rowland's, thanks Lucas" 

Edited by thegamer23, 24 March 2023 - 19:57.

[Disgrace]

Still issues for Mahindra? Of the braking variety, that is.

[Disgrace]

Lots of drivers dawdling in the final sector again, not all of them making the line either. A slow round of applause.

[thegamer23]

 

 

Barrichello too!

 

 

Edited by thegamer23, 24 March 2023 - 20:23.

[RSRally]

Noticing a lot of flat kurbing here, and a conspicuous absence of those chunky concrete ones

Hopefully shape of things to come.. i always felt those chunky ones really ate into the track, especially on the more narrow circuits.

[thegamer23]

FP1 Results!

 

Track is pretty cool, much better than i expected it to be by looking at the layout when revealed some months ago!

Some good flow in the last few, technical corners too, the new tracks so far have been delivering to be honest and it's a good sign for things to come for Gen 3's future.

And more important, everybody saying it will produce great racing, with also slipstreaming tactics. 

 

Bring it on tomorrow!
 

40K people expected, big event!


 

Edited by thegamer23, 24 March 2023 - 20:29.

[MattK9]

I'm glad that we aren't going to have any track limit discussions this weekend. The barriers that go to the apex at T2 & T5 have put that discussion to bed.

Track mostly looks good. Particularly the last half of the circuit. T10 & 11 are nice fast sweeping corners

T4 chicane looks a little tricky with a kink just before the braking zone. Not many overtakes into that corner, but the overtakes that do happen there will be wild.

[ANF]

Looked like you can gain time if you miss T1/2 and go to the left of that tyre barrier, so there may be some discussions about that.

[thegamer23]

RACE DAY!

10.30 UTC || FREE PRACTICE 2

12.40 UTC || QUALIFYING  
17.00 UTC || BRAZILIAN EPRIX
 

 

 

360° view onboard lap of Sao Paulo

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by thegamer23, 25 March 2023 - 08:38.

[thegamer23]

FP2 | Live in 10 min

Last preparations before quali

 

[thegamer23]

The new mirrors are really popping out on that DS Penske!