The electric motors of Formula E were turned on this week with the beginning of the pre-season tests for the 8th season of the category, founded by the Spaniard Alejandro Agag.
The Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia welcomes the 11 teams and 22 drivers until Thursday, December 2, to get ready for the inaugural race in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, at the end of January.
The training days will be held in two sessions, a morning session from 9 to 12 a.m. and an afternoon session from 2 to 5 p.m. The meeting will be used by the teams to fine-tune their machines on the eve of a campaign that will come with many changes, such as engine power and the new qualifying format.
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In addition, among the competitors there will also be changes due to the defections of Audi and BMW, while Mercedes closes its cycle defending both drivers’ and constructors’ titles.
Grid of Drivers
There are also novelties in terms of drivers with the entry of Oliver Askew, one of the IndyCar promises, with Andretti and another outstanding signing as Antonio Giovinazzi who debuts in Dragon/Penske Autosport. Meanwhile, Dan Ticktum lands in the category with NIO 333 after failing to get a chance in Formula 1.
The winning lineup in 2021 with Mercedes remains a mystery. Champion Nyck de Vries and Stoffel Vandoorne are expected to continue, but both have mid-January tests at IndyCar. However, the two racers are aiming to be fully compliant with the competitions.
Faced with so many changes, the teams’ work will be more complex to prepare, so it is estimated that during testing in Valencia, they will be able to try things that so far have only been evaluated on simulators. The engineers have the opportunity to analyze certain aspects of the single-seaters that may open up new avenues of development. In fact, these days are almost the only opportunity to verify elements that can be present during the development of an E-Prix, where deadlines are tighter. Even if the layout is different from Formula E street circuits, the data extracted is very important.
While last season the Cheste track opened the Formula E calendar, Spain will not have any race of the category for the 2022 event. However, as was the case during seasons 6 and 7, the calendar is subject to change due to restrictions that may arise in the countries due to COVID-19.
Written by I Jhonattan González
