2018-19 Formula E Season starts this weekend in KSA. The season sees multiple changes, from cars to teams and events. Let's take a brief look on every special moment awaiting in the 5th Season of Formula E and preview the first race of the season.
Next Generation is Now
The halfway into decade sees a big change in visual and technical appearances of the car. The new car is capable of producing 250 Kilowatts, almost 335 Horsepower. The cars now achieve a good speed of 280 km/h, though 100 km/h slower than Formula 1 cars. Acceleration is also improved, now Nought to 60 miles per hour/0-100 km/h in just 2.8 seconds. The cars also look quite sharp, introducing cutting-edge technology aimed to have increased downforce and grip. Not to forget, a Halo device is also added to ensure safety.
New Teams
BMW is one of the newest manufacturers to the sport, the German manufacturer, with the BMW Motorsport's Work Driver Alexander Sims and Antonio Felix da Costa joining the team, both working with MS&AD Andretti Formula E team as well as BMW GT Team in the past. Note that da Costa is older driver.
HWA is also entering Formula E, affiliated with Mercedes and partnering Venturi Formula E Team.
Nissan is another name to look for, the team joins Formula E as Renault quits to focus on Formula One program.
New Drivers and Notable Changes
Former Formula One driver and 2008 F1 World Championship runner up will be racing for Venturi Formula E team, replacing Tom Dillmann.
Alexander Sims and Antonio Felix da Costa will join BMW for 2018-2019 Season.
Felix Rosenqvist leaves Mahindra Racing to join IndyCar. He will still drive in Round 1. He will be replaced by DTM Champion and Former F1 driver Pascal Wehrlein alongside Jerome d'Ambrosio, who left Dragon Racing and joined Mahindra, replacing Nick Heidfield.
F2 Driver Maxmilian Gunther will join Dragon Racing, taking seat of d'Ambrosio.
Another F2 Driver, Alexander Albon was joining Nissan, only to leave for Formula 1 at the end. Oliver Rowland will replace him.
Robert Frijns returns to FE as Virgin Racing driver, replacing Alex Lynn.
Lastly, two important drivers, Gary Paffett, who is 2018 DTM Champion and Former McLaren Formula 1 driver Stoffel Vandoorne join HWA.
No Strategies
Goodbye Driver swappings and pitstops. Season 5 sees drop of driver swap. The cars will now have different modes, ranging from attack mode to defense and maintaining position.
The race is now based on time instead of laps, a 45 minutes and 1 lap. The driver has to maintain it's battery throughout the race. Fanboost stays as Stoffel Vandoorne has highest votes for now. A new attack mode will also see DRS like effect for FE, giving 25 kW of increased power.
Season Schedule
Ad Diriyah ePrix, Riyadh Street Circuit, 15th December 2018
Marrakesh ePrix, Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan, 12th January 2019
Santiago ePrix, Parque O'Higgins Circuit, 26th January 2019
Mexico City ePrix, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez,16th February 2019
Hong Kong ePrix, Hong Kong Circuit, 10th March 2019
Sanya ePrix, Sanya Street Circuit, 23rd March 2019
Rome ePrix, Circuito Cittadino, 13th April 2019
Paris ePrix, Circuit des Invalides, 27th April 2019
Monaco ePrix, Circuit de Monaco, 11th May 2019
Berlin ePrix,Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit, 25th May 2019
Bern ePrix, TBA, 22nd June 2019
New York ePrix Race 1, Brooklyn Street Circuit, 13th July 2019
New York ePrix Race 2, Brooklyn Street Circuit, 14th July 2019
Teams and Drivers
Virgin Racing - Sam Bird, Robin Frijns
Jaguar Racing - Nelson Piquet Jr., Mitch Evans
HWA Racelab - Stoffel Vandoorne, Gary Paffett
Geox Dragon - Maxmilian Gunther, Jose Maria Lopez
NIO Formula E - Tom Dillmann, Oliver Turvey
Audi Sport - Daniel Abt, Lucas di Grassi
Ventuei Formula E - Edoardo Mortara, Felipe Massa
Nissan - Oliver Rowland, Sebastien Buemi
Techeetah Formula E - Jean-Eric Vergne, Andre Lotterer
BMW i Andretti Autosport - Alexander Sims, Antonio Felix da Costa
Mahindra Racing - Pascal Wehrlein, Felix Rosenqvist
Ad Diriyah ePrix Preview
The race will be held at Riyadh Street Circuit in KSA. There are 21 corners around the 2.495 km track, with a very long straight after Turn 17. Title defender Jean-Eric Vergne would like to win the race while all the eyes are on Venturi and HWA teams. The event is highly appreciated by fans, calling it an innovation in sports. Enrique Iglesias and Jason Derulo will perform with many more pop singers. On the racing side, it's all about speed and consistency
Weekend Schedule
(All Events will take place on Saturday)
Free Practice 1 - 9:00 AM Pakistan Time
Free Practice 2 - 11:00 AM Pakistan Time
Qualifying - 12:50 PM Pakistan Time
Race - 5:00 PM Pakistan Time
Join our Facebook group for Live Thread. Full race report will be posted after the race.
Shahmir Khan
Editor-in-Chief WEC & WRC, Member news desk.
In his own words, “17-year-old guy who is avid motorsports gamer. Petrolhead, die-hard F1 and motorsports fan and loves to write about cars and motorsports.”
Shahmir can be easily reached by the following address:
Gmail: shahmirkhan9181@gmail.com
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