Formula E arrives in Europe and returns to the center of the Italian capital, Rome on April 10 and 11 where two races will be held. After the first two jousts in Diriyah at the end of February, Lucas di Grassi and René Rast now want to claim the first victories for their Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler team.
The circuit was redesigned for the third and fourth races of Formula E in Rome. It still runs through the center of the World’s Fair district (Esposizione Universale di Roma, or EUR for short) and along the spectacular “La Nuvola” convention center.
The new version includes three additional quick corners, a technically challenging section, and the traditional elevation changes of the previous version.
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In addition, other emblematic buildings of the district such as the “Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana” now complement the backdrop of the races. The new course is now 3,385 kilometers long, instead of 2,860 kilometers.
Foto: AUDI Mediacenter
“With an almost completely renovated circuit design in Rome, both FIA and Formula E have once again done an amazing job in making Formula E even more exciting,” said 2017 Formula E Champion, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler’s Lucas di Grassi. “The new layout is fantastic: it has longer and faster straights and offers more opportunities for overtaking. I’m sure the fans will love it; I can’t wait to race there.”
“The results so far do not reflect our true strength,” says Team Principal Allan McNish. In the first few races, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler scored a total of 19 points and René Rast narrowly missed the podium with fourth place.
“Nevertheless, all of the Audi e-tron FE07 cars were very quick at Diriyah. With this experience, some more testing and intensive preparation, all of this together has given our team and driver’s additional confidence and a spring in the step. Now we want to reward our hard work with trophies,” explain McNish.
For René Rast, the fact that two races will be held in Rome is good news. “This gives me the opportunity to look at the data after the first day and learn something for the second race,” says the German.
“Even though we will unfortunately have hardly any spectators, I am really looking forward to the weekend: I’ve been to Rome many times and find the city impressive. To now be racing on these streets is something very special for me,” concluded.
Written by I Jhonattan González
