After the announcement made by Formula E about London E-Prix course, season seven’s final race, various teams and drivers have questioned how the event will be held, and are demanding adjustments they consider to be fundamental.
According to simulations made by teams, after the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) provided the layout details, it appears that a conventional race in the electric category requires drivers to recover between 30% and 35% of energy to reach finish line, but in this case it could drop up to 5%.
Due to scenario characteristics, several team representatives consider that with no lift and slide, as it is, the lack of different strategies will create stagnation and a very flat, processional race.
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A survey carried out by Autosport with the protagonists points this out, who also note that if drivers do not need to save energy before an overtake, they predict a crash-filled event.
Rules and track details
“Clearly, as a general rule, this is a championship where we work on energy management. We can never have enough,” stated Audi director Allan McNish.
He compared the scenario to 2018-19 season, before an amendment to rules, which meant that no energy was deducted after a safety car intervention. That gave drivers time to build up an energy buffer during their neutralized period, this then created a sprint to the finish.
“In season five, when we didn’t have the reductions after a safety car and it became a sprint to the finish, there was a plateau. It wasn’t really that interesting. We should learn lessons from that,” McNish explained.
Mercedes driver Stoffel Vandoorne noted about it, “It’s something Formula E needs to look at because a flying lap and an energy-saving lap are basically the same thing”.
“If that’s going to be the case, these cars are not made for that. Without brakes, they may be overheating, the race is not going to be good because there’s no economy. There’s going to be collisions when people try to overtake. It’s going to be quite complicated if nothing changes,” he warned. Vandoorne proposes that “the easiest solution is to do an energy reduction to make sure everyone has to save.”
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Finally, James Barclay, Jaguar Racing team principal, assured that the changes to be made are vital for the spectacle: “Yes, we have to adjust it, I’m sure we’ll work together to find the best compromise to make a great race”.
London returns to Formula E’s calendar for the first time since the 2015-16 season finale at Battersea Park, for a double-header at the all-new ExCeL Center in Docklands.
Written by I Jhonattan González
