January 2021 edi�on #11 ALL GOOD STORIES COMETOAN END Allan McNish goes into detail about the reasonings for Audi’s departure.

+We catch up with NIO 333’S Christian Silk about their hopes for season seven.

WE PREVIEW THE 2021 DIRIYAH E-PRIX IF YOU ENJOY OUR CONTENT THEN FEELFREE TO SUPPORT US AT: https://www.patreon.com/join/formulaezone?

Formula E Zone January 2021 2 CONTENTS JANUARY 2021

SECTION 1 SECTION 2 4 EDITOR’S LETTER 20 NIO 333’S ROAD TO RECOVERY MOMENTS 10 Chris�an Silk 6 THE NEWS DESK Formula E’s best pictures 24 DIRIYAH 2021 PREVIEW 10 THE NEWS DESK All the latest news from the world of Formula E 12 ALL GOOD STORIES COME TOANEND

Allan Mcnish 12 ALL GOOD STORIES COME 18 STAT ATTACK TO AN END

20 NIO 333’S ROAD TO RECOVERY

Formula E Zone January 2021 3 Formula E Zone January 2021 4 WE WILL FINALLY GET THE SEASON UNDERWAY

Hello, and welcome to the January edi�on of the Formula E Zone Magazine. I hope you have had a great start to the new year. We should have already seen the first two races of the season in San�ago, but unfortunately the COVID-19 Pandemic has struck again and put Formula E's seventh season into disarray. Currently, we look set to be moving away from street circuits and move towards tradi�onal racing circuits for this season. This is the right move for Formula E at the moment as a temporary measure, but it will be interes�ng to see if this effects the EDITOR DNA of Formula E by racing on tradi�onal circuits in the future, rather than solely using city centre street tracks. JACK GIORDMAINA In other news, McLaren have come forward and signed an op�on to Jack co-founded Formula E Zone back enter the series for the first season of the Gen 3 era at the end of 2022. in 2014. He studied Sports Journalism This is the good news story which Formula E needs a�er the shock exits at the University of East London, and of Audi and BMW; both German manufactures will leave the series at the has worked in a variety of motorsport end of the 2021 season. However, for McLaren there are s�ll a few series such as Moto GP and Bri�sh obstacles in the way which might convince them not to take up their Speedway. op�on. At the present moment there is no space for the Bri�sh manufacturer to join the series due to Andre� and Abt holding the Contributors vacant spots le� by BMW and Audi. You would assume the Abt would step out of the way to allow McLaren in, but Hans Jürgen Abt has expressed interest in con�nuing in the series under the EDWARD HUNTER name. Sub-editor Therefore, it makes sense that we talk to the current Audi team principal in this edi�on of the Formula E Zone Magazine. We catch up When he isn’t edi�ng videos or with Audi's Allan McNish to discuss how the team has progressed since podcasts, Edward serves as the he took charge in season four and we look at the reasons why the magazine's news and features German manufacturer is leaving at the end of this season. We also catch editor. up with NIO 333 team principal Chris�an Silk. The Chinese team have become a bona fide manufacturer for season seven in a bid to change their fortunes a�er two difficult seasons at the back of the grid. Will they JACK PICKERING be able to become a points scoring force once more? Well, stranger Reporter miracles have happened in Formula E, so you never know. Jack “Picko” Pickering is a second year Sports Journalism student who has been an avid Motorsport I hope you enjoy our magazine, fan since he was three and has been working towards a career in Jack Giordmaina Journalism since the age of 12. JASMINE BUTLER Jasmine Butler is currently studying Sports Journalism at the University of East London. She has a passion for motorsports and has covered other sports such as Olympic Boxing qualifiers for the 2020 games

ABBEY CONROY Reporter

Abbey is currently in her final year of studying Sports Journalism at the University of East London. She has covered a wide range of sports and developed a passion for Formula E.

Formula E Zone January 2021 5

MOMENTS

A GREAT DAY

Alexander Sims started both Diriayh E-Prix’s from pole posi�on and went on to win the Sunday race.

Date: 23.11.19

Picture: FIA Formula E

MOMENTS

DEFENDING

Nyck De Vries in his Mercedes defending the inside line against who won the opening round of the championship in Diriyah in 2019.

Date: 23.11.19

Picture: FIA Formula E THE NEWS DESK

McLAREN SIGNS ‘OPTION TO ENTER’ FORMULA E FOR GEN3

McLaren Racing has signed an agreement with Formula "With some of the most famous names in motorsport E that gives the ou�it the op�on to join the championship already compe�ng in Formula E, we are thrilled that for the Gen3 era beginning in 2022. McLaren Racing has decided to examine a poten�al entry The deal does not guarantee absolutely that McLaren to Formula E." will race in the series, but it does formally assure the McLaren Racing CEO said last month that eight-�me Formula 1 constructors' champion of an entry the team was evalua�ng an entry into FE for the Gen3 on the grid. regula�ons, which will be headlined by a 120kg car weight This follows the December announcements that both reduc�on and a power boost up to 350kW - equivalent to Audi and BMW will exit FE at the end of the forthcoming 470bhp. 2021 season, freeing up two vacancies from the 12-team In recent years, the Woking-based team has increased field. its racing involvement beyond F1, including two The agreement also follows the precedent of Mercedes, Indianapolis 500 entries for before which secured an op�on to join FE in October 2016 ahead partnering Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports for a full- of the 2018-19 campaign - although the HWA Racelab �me programme that commenced in 2020. concern that contested FE for one season did act as a It is also interested in the World Endurance precursor to the manufacturer's full-�me a�ack. Championship and IMSA SportCar's nascent LMDh FE CEO Jamie Reigle said : "It's a vote of confidence in category. the championship. Brown said: "We've been closely observing Formula E "They're going to do some work and evalua�on on that for some �me and monitoring the series' progress and over the coming months and then make a decision. future direc�on. "If we can go from the op�on stage to full confirma�on, "The opportunity to take an op�on on an entry and the I think that would be very exci�ng. comple�on of the McLaren Applied supplier contract with FE co-founder and chairman Alejandro Agag said: the FIA at the end of Gen2, gives us the necessary �me to "McLaren Racing securing an op�on to join the Formula E decide if Formula E is right for McLaren as a future grid from Gen3 is testament to the ongoing impact of our compe��on pla�orm." sport.

Formula E Zone January 2021 10 SANTIAGO SET TO RETURN ON JUNE 5TH

Formula E is set to reinstate the San�ago E-Prix for early June, according to a le�er sent out by the president of the Chilean motorsport federa�on. In December, the races in the Chilean capital city were postponed from the revised 16-17 January slot, owing to the travel restric�ons enforced by the na�onal government following the detec�on of the rapidly spreading variant of COVID detected in the UK. A statement from FE said that the championship was "working with the city to finalise dates on which to stage the races later in Q1 of 2021." However, it now appears that a two-race event in San�ago will be reinstated for 5-6 June. This follows a le�er sent out by Mauricio Melo Avaria, the president and director of the Chilean federa�on for motorsport, who stated the race would take place on the first weekend of June.

MANUFACTURERS LOSE TESTING DAYS IN GEN 3 Formula E will significantly �ghten its private tes�ng rules for manufacturers when the Gen3 technical era begins next year. Just 10 days of running are now available for teams to prepare with their all-new cars and new tyre supplier Hankook for the 2022/23 campaign, down from 13 at present. This move has been mooted since early 2020 and was finally confirmed when further details of the Gen3 spor�ng and technical regula�ons emerged this week. In the current rules manufacturers are granted six extra days if they supply a customer with a powertrain. The new registra�on procedures now detail an extra eight days of tes�ng capability for manufacturers who do deals with customers for 2022 and beyond. However the condi�ons have been changed to ensure half of that �me (four days) is given over to the customer team, rather than the manufacturer being able to use all the alloca�on as it pleases. This means that manufacturers will get a maximum total of five fewer days of tes�ng in Gen3 than they presently do with the Gen2 cars.

FORMULA E LAUNCHES NEW A ESPORTS COMPETITION Formula E has reveleaved a brand new esports series that will run un�l the start of the new season called Formula E Accelerate. Like in the Race at Home Challenge, Formula E will once again dive into the virtual world in rFactor2. This �me, the digital racers will face new challenging features by having to master energy management and ATTACK MODE for the first �me, bringing the online compe�tors even closer to trials faced by their real-world Formula E counterparts. Formula E: Accelerate is a six-race compe��on that kicks off at the end of January and concludes in March at the Grand Final with double points on offer for the sim racing stars. The virtual races will take place at inch-perfect digital recrea�ons of tracks from real world loca�ons like Berlin's Tempelhof Airport, Hong Kong Harbourfront and Red Hook City in New York City, among others.

Formula E Zone January 2021 11 Formula E Zone January 2021 12 ALL GOOD STORIES COME TO AN END Words: Abbey Conroy Pictures: Audi

Becoming a team principal of a Formula E team meant Allan McNish had to adapt how he views and approaches races, but something which clearly remained the same is his love and enthusiasm for racing. The Scotsman admits that becoming a team principal was not necessarily a route he was planning on taking. However, a�er being approached at the beginning of season three to a�end a test at to give his opinion on the series, this evolved into McNish following the team that season, eventually leading to the decision to enter with full manufacturer support from Audi for the following season and take on the role of team principal.

Formula E Zone January 2021 13 “They asked if I’d take over as team principal, which was not Before his arrival, Audi had a strong start in Formula E, winning really on my game plan very honestly; I hadn't considered that at the inaugural race in 2014 and going on to finish third in season all. But when I thought about it, actually it fits perfectly to so one’s teams’ standings. This was followed by back-to-back runner- many things you do as a driver and the way you have to deal with up posi�ons in the following two seasons. Taking over as team things and process them. Also, it’s just the different par�es you principal ahead of season four, McNish quickly con�nued the actually deal with as a driver. To some extent a team principal is a team's success by winning the teams �tle that year. similar sort of environment; the single biggest difference is that It ended up being season of two contras�ng halves. A you are not doing it for yourself and as a driver you clearly are frustra�ng start saw ’s car constantly plagued by very much doing it just for yourself. As team principal you are reliability issues, as the Brazilian was unable to score points in the obviously doing it with the cover of both of the cars and the team opening four races, alongside a re�rement and disqualifica�on as well, which some�mes takes some managing.” from a win in Hong Kong for teammate . Arriving in “Overall, it has been one thing that has given me that sort of Mexico, the team's luck and results started to change with both adrenaline rush, because you can never get anything be�er than drivers winning races, and scoring points in all but two of the being a racing driver. It's the best job in the world - infact, in all remaining rounds. honesty it's not a job: It's a luxury. This is something that sparks As he reminisced, three things stood out for the Scotsman that same sort of adrenaline and the same desire to push all the about that difficult, but ul�mately successful campaign. way to the end; that's something that I think all team principals “One was the head scratching moments of why it was only and everybody in the team has to a greater or lesser extent, but happening with Lucas’s car and not with anything on Daniel’s side this certainly for me was the closest I've been to actually of the garage.” strapping myself into a racing car.” “We had a consistent problem and it wasn't necessary just on Being able to call upon his own racing experiences is something one powertrain, because we had to change the powertrain, so it that has aided McNish in his management role. just happened to be iden�fied on that car. There was nothing that “You have got to try to look through the visor in a slightly we could focus on to say what was causing it.” different way. I say that because as a driver that's the only way “The second thing was the amount of effort that the you see: Through your visor. And certainly there are �mes when powertrain team did back in Neuburg; you probably will never you've got two cars which you try to make sure have got equal appreciate the number of late night WhatsApp messages opportuni�es; two cars, two drivers on the same piece of tarmac upda�ng on what we're doing and how we’re progressing.” and figh�ng at the same pace to try and win the race. “Then the final thing was once we got the reliability issues “There's an element there of managing that, which can sorted. I've been with Audi for a long �me, so I know when they some�mes get a li�le bit frac�ous to say the least, but I suppose focus on solving a problem that they will solve it. But once we got from my point of view I've been on both sides of the fence there. it sorted, the momentum we gained from that race in Mexico all I’ve been on the winning side and also the losing side of those on- the way through to the end of the season was absolutely track arguments, and you do understand it, but certainly incredible.” nego�a�ng your way through that is probably one of the areas that I've had to consider more and more as we've gone along.”

Formula E Zone January 2021 14 “Overall, it has been one thing that has given me that sort of adrenaline rush, because you can never get anything better than being a racing driver. It's the best job in the world - infact, in all honesty it's not a job: It's a luxury.”

Audi’s impressive run of performances in the season five, whereas in season four we managed to steal it away. It was a very strong second half of the season resulted in snatching ba�le and it was one that I think showed our consistency, because that is one of the areas the teams’ �tle from the team in a where we were strong. It was our consistency through the course of the year, not just closely contested final weekend in New York. over one singular race or over a par�cular season, but consistency to be able to score Amongst the celebra�ons, McNish knew how podiums and wins which allowed us to fight for �tles through the course of the seasons remarkable this achievement had turned out to that we've been involved in Formula E.” be when looking back at their prospects during A�er the success of seasons four and five, McNish believes the changes and disrup�on the opening races. caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic in season six played a factor in their “When we crossed the line we had won the performances and results, seeing the team finish the season sixth - their lowest ever �tle, but there were drivers behind us that had finish in the teams’ championship. not yet crossed the line and could have effected “If you look at the points in season six we dropped down quite a lot. I think there we the outcome and swung it if there had been a didn't have a very good run from the beginning very frankly. We had a quick car, but being change of posi�on further back, so as soon as able to consistently get that pace out at the right �me of the weekend and in qualifying our two cars had crossed the line there was a was probably our weak point in reality, and when you qualify a li�le bit further back then sort of holding back of celebra�on.” you definitely have your work cut out; there's no ques�on about it. You just need to look “There was also very honestly a li�le bit of at the stats - the number of Super Poles and grid posi�ons, finishing posi�ons - it's quite relief as well, because we were able to come clear from there.” back from something at the beginning of the “There was clearly an upset to the rhythm of the team through season six, with some year that honestly we didn't necessarily think of those changes that we didn't have in previous years. You need two cars to be we could at the �me, and I'm pre�y sure consistently scoring, and with all the changes through the season it's very difficult to nobody else in the pitlane thought we could achieve that.” come back from where we were when we le� San�ago back in January or February.” Addi�onally, winning the teams �tle gave McNish an apprecia�on of the scale of hard work and dedica�on which had been executed. Allan McNish celebra�ng Audi’s teams’ �tle success in New York in season “I stood on the podium there, and I had a four. massive apprecia�on that this was a trophy that wasn't just won by the small team in one side of the garage, which you do as a driver with your engineer, your data, your performance engineers and your mechanics. “It was actually achieved by everybody that had done the hard slog through the nights back at base when we had the technical problems early in the season; the people that you never ever would see at the circuit or on TV, and it was a reflec�on of all them as well. There is a much bigger picture to it than you necessarily see at the race track, and that was something that sort of really came to the forefront of my mind when I was standing on the podium there.” Despite Audi securing five podium finishes in season five, including two victories from Di Grassi, they lost out to DS Techeetah by 19 points. However, McNish believes season five showcased the team's consistency, which he hails as one of their strongest areas. “We developed through the course of the year and were figh�ng going into the final day of the season with Techeetah for the team’s �tle again, and also against Jean Eric Vergne with Lucas Di Grassi to try and win the driver’s �tle, so in that respect I think we threw everything at them and they were able to stand up to it in

Formula E Zone January 2021 15 “However Rene Rast I think jumped in very well and was able to get a podium and appeared in Super Pole twice at the end of the “Lucas had the one shot to try to make that fantas�c overtake at year, showing his poten�al, and also the 29 points he scored helped the end of the race in season five in Mexico, and from that point of us quite considerably to finish sixth in the teams �tle at the end of view Rene had that one shot to be fastest in his category in the day. Very frankly, it wasn't a fluid season due to many factors qualifying in Berlin. So you've got to take the opportunity when it's that we were hoping for or that we had in previous years. Covid there, as opposed to focusing on it being your only shot.” didn't help, but that was the same for everybody. We're now Racing is set to return next month in Saudi Arabia, and Audi will looking forward as opposed to looking back regarding season six.” have to stay focussed and prepare for another season of Season seven will be Audi’s final season in the series, and unpredictable ac�on as they start their final campaign to take the although McNish and Audi are focussing to leave on a high, he does top motch prize. not believe pre-season tes�ng provided much of a sense of exactly who will be strongest this season. “I don’t think you can take anything from Valencia at all actually. If you look at the �mes, if you look at the race simula�ons, it was just so up in the air and round and about. I think in general the main runners and riders will be up there, and as a sugges�on I would have said the grid has generally closed up a li�le bit, partly now because it's into year three of the Gen 2 cycle, and therefore people are able to get on top of maybe some of the issues they had at the beginning.” When explaining his mindset and drawing upon previous scenarios, it is clear to see how Audi found further success with McNish in charge, as the Audi team prepares for its final season in Formula E for the foreseeable future. “We’re focussed very much on winning it in the one shot, as opposed to going “We only have one shot.” I think it depends on your mindset and also on your a�tude. I had one shot at winning the kar�ng world championship because of my age and birthdate and things like that - you've got to take the opportuni�es when they come.”

Formula E Zone January 2021 16 Champion Formel E

ipment www.ck-modelcars.de Sh

Order online or by phone: e w id very good, 4.93/5.00 Formulaorldw E Zone January 2021 17 +49 6443 - 81284-28 rated by over2,000 customers Formula E Zone looks at some of the most interesting stats from STAT season six of the ABB Formula E ATTACK Championship.

16 100 points A total of 16 drivers Over the nine Formula E races in 2020, Antonio Felix Da Costa managed to top at least was the only driver to score over 100 points (155). 5 one session in Season six, There were five rookies in season which is the equal record six. They were, Se�e Camara, for a single Formula E Hartley, Muller, De Vries and season. Calado The only full season driver to not receive a penalty or fine in Season six was Sam 8 Bird In season six there were a total of winners acroos the seeason. They were Sims, Bird, Da Costa, Vergne, Vandoorne, Rowland, Gunther and Evans.

Formula E Zone January 2021 18 16

Only 16 drivers managed to top a Qualifying Group in Season six, the lowest total since Season two. In season six, Lucas di Grassi gained places from where he started in all 11 E-Prixs, the only driver to do so. 100 points Over the nine Formula E races in 2020, Antonio Felix Da Costa was the only driver to score over 100 points (155). 5 Over the course of season six their were 5 8 drivers who lead the drivers’ championship In season six there were a total of winners acroos over the course of the the seeason. They were Sims, Bird, Da Costa, season. Vergne, Vandoorne, Rowland, Gunther and Evans.

Formula E Zone January 2021 19 Formula E Zone January 2021 20 NIO 333’s ROAD TO RECOVERY

Words: Edward Hunter Pictures: NIO

�er a horrible year which was NIO 333’s Apoints-free season 6, you’d be forgiven for thinking that morale at Formula E’s tail end team would be at an all �me low. But team principal Chris�an Silk believes that there is cause for op�mism as the team has now had a full season under new ownership, a�er the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer NIO sold the team at the eleventh hour going into last season.

But who are the current Shanghai-based owners, Lisheng Racing?

"Lisheng Racing have a vast amount of experience in motorsport in China and as our team operators (Brilliance In Excellence UK Ltd are team owners) they have brought that knowledge into Formula E which has only been posi�ve for us.” Explains Silk. “We are s�ll closely linked with the NIO electric vehicle company as our Primary Partner, but Lisheng Racing (who also run the 333 Racing brand in China) have definitely helped us to grow across all areas of the NIO 333 FE Team.” For season seven, NIO 333 has manufactured their own state of the art, powertrain; this is in stark contrast to season seven, where the team opted to throw out NIO’s inefficient package and hurriedly put together their season six powertrain using many of the same suppliers as the Dragon/Penske team; they were s�ll a manufacturer, but their performance failed to reflect that.

Formula E Zone January 2021 21 The team did consider the customer powertrain route “Current Formula 1 engines burning fossil fuels are about employed by teams like Virgin and Venturi, but ul�mately half as efficient as Formula E electric motors. When we are decided that direc�ng their own development path would all trying to protect the planet by reducing energy yield greater benefits in the long term. consump�on it is no surprise that so many scien�sts are “We thought long and hard about if we wanted to remain as poin�ng at electric mobility as the solu�on.” a manufacturer or become a customer team, and put a lot With BMW and Audi both announcing their departures at of resource into looking at all op�ons available to us.” the end of the season, it has bought into ques�on whether “One thing we have at the NIO 333 FE Team is strength in the Genera�on 3 regula�ons are ambi�ous enough to keep depth when it comes to experience in high level manufacturers on board. Silk however, is unequivocally motorsport. We leveraged all this experience to come to the suppor�ve of the direc�on Gen 3 is heading in, believing it final decision. will be posi�ve for both the teams and the series itself. “By remaining a manufacturer we can work in “The Gen 3 regula�ons are amazing and I think are exactly collabora�on with leading suppliers in the industry to what is needed. All the key stakeholders have worked very produce the best possible hardware. The development path hard to arrive at these regula�ons, and I believe that when is in our hands and the Intellectual Property gained belongs the Gen 3 cars hit the track it will vindicate the decisions to the NIO 333 FE Team.” that have been made.” “Although the manufacturer route is more challenging, “We are hugely excited by Gen 3 and I fully expect NIO 333 we believe it gives us the best possible chance of success in FE Team to sign up in the near future." the long term. Looking at our results from tes�ng in A key element of the Gen 3 regula�ons is ba�ery Valencia, we believe that this decision has been totally development; so far Formula E has used spec ba�eries vindicated.” developed by McLaren Advanced Technologies and Williams So what exactly is a manufacturer in Formula E allowed to Advanced Engineering. However, despite this, Silk s�ll feels do to improve the efficiency of their powertrain? As you’d that Formula E will be able to pioneer the development of expect, Silk is unwilling to divulge the team’s technical the electric vehicle and set a clear example when it comes secrets and processes to Formula E Zone; however, he does to sustainability. give a clear illustra�on of just how efficient an electric “The ba�ery is hugely important and the changes in powertrain is compared the internal combus�on engine. regula�ons put in place for Gen 3 are definitely pushing “As a broad overview, the main items we develop are the ba�ery development to the limit, and that development will eMotor, Inverter and gearbox to give the best possible filter down to the road cars we will all be driving. However, powertrain efficiency. The numbers we are achieving are there is s�ll a long way to go both in terms of powertrain really quite amazing, and be�er than ever achieved with efficiency and energy deployment and harves�ng, and all the internal combus�on engine.” these areas are key to Gen 2 and Gen 3.”

Formula E Zone January 2021 22 Chris�an Silk talking at the Team Principal press conference in Valencia during pre-season tes�ng in prepara�on for season 7.

“As the FIA Formula E World Championship is the premier electric “ is a massive asset to the team; he is quick, he racing series bringing exci�ng racing to city centres around the globe, I understands the formula technically and strategically, and having think it is clear we will con�nue to pioneer for many years to come - worked so closely for so long there is a really good understanding not only from the point of view of our sport, but also from the point between Oliver and the engineers. I really believe that we are giving of view of sustainability, which is obviously hugely important. The him a car he can show his undoubted talents in this year.” series' announcement of being Net Zero since incep�on sends a “Judging from tes�ng in Valencia is going to push strong message that other sports will follow, for all our sakes.” him hard, so we are in a fortunate posi�on of having a really strong Pre-season tes�ng produced much more posi�ve headlines than driver pairing.” usual, with Oliver Turvey se�ng the 10th fastest �me of the test, and NIO 333 will be in ac�on at the season opener in Saudi Arabia on NIO 333 comple�ng the most laps of any team. Whilst being able to February 26th, where the team’s drivers, engineers and new avoid breakdowns is important, Silk stresses that the team is aiming to powertrain will be put to the test. improve its performance first and foremost. “I would say it was an extremely produc�ve pre-season tes�ng period for us. There has been quite a few comments about the number of kilometres completed in tes�ng, and obviously this bodes well for the reliability of the car, but maximum mileage was never really the target.” “More importantly, the good reliability has allowed the engineers and drivers to really focus on the performance of the car. Each lap completed is a lap’s worth of data and learning, and we are now pushing to learn as much from this data as possible.” Memorably, at the San�ago E-Prix last season, Oliver Turvey was able to qualify the recalcitrant NIO FE-005 in an impressive fi�h place in Superpole. It highlighted the Englishman’s quali�es which have o�en been hidden behind the team’s uncompe��ve machinery.

Formula E Zone January 2021 23 25 25 PREVIEWING THE 2021 DIRIYAH E-PRIX By AISHA DAULAY

The Diriyah E-Prix maintains it’s status as the season opener for the third �me in the all-electric racing series. Due to the cancella�on of Currently, BMW Andre� look the closest to challenging DS the San�ago E-Prix, the seventh season of Formula E will begin in Techeetah. The German manufacturer goes into their final season in Saudi Arabia. This year's doubleheader event will be held under lights Formula E this year, and the Bavarians would love to depart with a at night for the first �me. world championship. Maximilian Gunther was constantly at the top of the �mesheets in tes�ng, but the ques�on the team have is how Jake Under the glamorous lights, the teams will be raring to go a�er two Dennis will perform in his rookie campaign in the series. If it takes months of wai�ng since pre-season tes�ng closed in Valencia. It also Dennis a few too many races to get up to speed then they could be feels like a life�me ago that we were racing in Berlin in August. out of conten�on for the teams’ �tle race very quickly. Therefore, these first two races in Diriyah are set to be spectacular. Mercedes look like the other contender from pre-season tes�ng. One of the main ques�ons to be answered from pre-season tes�ng and proved that they are an is whether or not Jaguar will be compe��ve in season seven. The incredibly strong pairing with their one-two finish at the final race of Bri�sh manufacturer had a rough pre-season as they rarely featured the season in Berlin. The silver arrows were also flir�ng with the top in the top ten in the leaderboard during the three days of tes�ng. of the �mesheets in Valencia and with more experience, consistency Jaguar has signed serial winner Sam Bird to partner , and be�er qualifying performances, could be the team to knock DS which possibly creates one of the best driver lineups in the series. Techeetah off their perch in season seven. Therefore, there is a lot of pressure on Jaguar to produce a car that can allow both drivers to challenge at the front of the field. If Jaguar The Mercedes team were strong in their first races in the fail to this, then we would expect Bird and Evans to become quite championship in Diriyah last season. Vandoorne picked up two frustrated very quickly. podiums for the team. Therefore, we can assume that Mercedes are going to be in the mix for the double-header season opener in Diriyah Another key ques�on is the performance of levels of the NIO 333 in February. Team. The Chinese team has become a manufacturer again for season seven a�er spending two years at the back of the grid a�er The last team that will also be interes�ng to look out for in Diriyah mismanagement by NIO and a turbulent last-minute sale to the is Audi. Like BMW, they are going into their final season in the series Lisheng Racing firm. Their driver pairing of Oliver Turvey and Tom a�er having an involvement with the all-electric series since its Blomqvist is a solid line-up. If the squad can leapfrog infront of inaugural season in 2014. Audi have created their first in-house Dragon and join the fight with Venturi and Mahindra that would be a powertrain for the first �me, a�er working with Schaeffler to produce significant step forward for the team this season, although if Dragon their powertrains since they were Abt Sportline in season one. slipped back to last it would raise ques�ons about their con�nued The German squad will be looking to sign off their run in Formula E par�cipa�on in the series. with race victories, which they failed to achieve in season six, their Dragon were one of the front runners in the series a�er the first first winless campaign. Their driver paring of Lucas Di Grassi and Rene two seasons. However, since their abor�ve partnership with Farday Rast should prove to be capable of strong results. Since the Future failed to bare fruit, the team's performance has slipped announcement of Audi leaving the all-electric series, both drivers backwards quicker than a two-minute rollercoaster ride. Dragon are have stated that they want to con�nue, and will be ba�ling hard to the only independent team to create their own powertrain. If the put themselves in the shop window for a drive in season eight. American team become the sole back-markers in season seven, it will This season could be an absolute cracker based off the close results increase calls for a manufacturer to come in and help resurrect this of pre-season tes�ng, but as we o�en see, tes�ng can be decep�ve. team. We are now less than a month away from the start of the season, and The final ques�on from tes�ng is who is likely to challenge Ds a�er a trying and difficult winter, there are few Formula E fans that Techeetah for the �tle this season. The French team has dominated aren’t excited to see the championship get going again. the points table over the past three seasons, and Audi in season four were the only team that have managed to take a �tle off of them; since partnering up with Citroen/DS Automobiles for the Gen 2 era.

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