Season 3 Press Kit Contents
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Season 3 Press Kit Contents Introduction 03 Team Management 05 Technology 07 Our Drivers 11 Our History 13 A Guide to Formula E 26 Our Partners 34 01 Introduction Renault e.dams is the most successful team in the A world leader in electric mobility with its With drivers’ champion Sébastien Buemi and short history of the FIA Formula E Championship. ground-breaking Z.E. range, Renault has hard-charging Nicolas Prost at the wheel, With two teams’ championship titles, one driver embraced the innovative series’ potential and the team now enters the third season of the title and nine wins, it has set the benchmark since seized the opportunity to demonstrate its championship even more hungry for success. It the series inception in 2014. expertise on an international platform. Using has just one objective : to win. its motorsport engine hub at Viry-Châtillon, it Managed by four time Formula One World has developed one of the most powerful and Champion Alain Prost and iconic team DAMS technically advanced powertrains in the field. founder Jean-Paul Driot, the team has strong technical support from Renault Sport Racing, the hugely successful manufacturer-backed motorsport operation that encompasses racing disciplines from Formula One to endurance racing. The constant innovation we see on the road is reflected in the FIA Formula E Championship Over the past ten years Groupe Renault has put breaking championships we have encountered. more momentum going forward. It is in this vein a significant amount of investment into its zero You just have to look at the way they embrace that we enter Season 3: we know that things emission programme. In Europe, it is now the social media, online gaming, new venues, fan change very rapidly in motorsports, but nothing largest manufacturer of electric cars, with the engagement and genuine novelty such as the will ever take away Renault’s dominance of in flagship ZOE, and the group keeps expanding its new driverless Roborace providing an insight the first years of this championship. electric vehicle markets, notably with the iconic into a possible future of motorsport. Twizy’s global success. To this end, our efforts on the road are reflected The constant innovation we see on the road is in the sustained push from the Renault e.dams reflected in the FIA Formula E Championship. I team in the championship. Participating brings Cyril ABITEBOUL can genuinely say it is one of the most ground- enormous benefits, but winning gives us even Managing Director of Renault Sport Racing Team Management Jean-Paul Driot Senior Team Manager Twitter : @jpdriot Jean-Paul Driot has enjoyed significant Q&A have a good balance between the two sporting success for almost 30 years. characters. But both have strong points. Renault e.dams goes into Season 3 as Nico is very good in race conditions as he Leading DAMS since its formation, he the reigning double FIA Formula E teams’ makes very few errors in race trim and he is has steered it to a host of international champion. How does that feel? quick. Sébastien can be quicker over one lap, championships, most notably in Formula We can only be satisfied with our results although Nico has got a lot closer. Both drivers One’s official feeder category, the GP2 series, in Season 2 as we won the two titles - the have raised their overall level, and that of the and its forerunner, International F3000, as well teams’ and drivers’. Overall it was a very good team too, so I believe we have a very good as in Formula Renault 3.5. season, with several wins and pole positions. line-up. We know them very well, they know us Our only regret is the finale in London. It was well too and that is very important: we have But perhaps his greatest achievement has very disappointing in the way it unfolded, and a good osmosis between drivers, team and been uncovering and nurturing young talent. it was a great shame we could not win in the management. Driot has been instrumental in the career traditional manner or that Sébastien could development of several racing stars, placing show his true form. This year we are visiting several new his faith and the DAMS team’s support circuits. What are your initial impressions of behind talents like Romain Grosjean, Kevin However, we are happy with the season the calendar? Magnussen and Carlos Sainz Jr on their ascent overall: we learnt a lot and now we have to put It’s great to go to New York, particularly to F1. everything we learnt into practice to achieve alongside Paris. They are two great world what we want to do this year. I am happy cities – it’s a shame we don’t go to London When the time came to get involved with the team in general and we are looking this year to complete the trio, but we hope we with the ground-breaking FIA Formula E forward to getting going again in what looks will return one day. The addition of Montreal Championship, Driot immediately seized the to be a very strong series yet again. is also a very strong point – the Quebecois opportunity. A firm believer in the concept are extraordinary people in terms of welcome, of racing fully-electric single-seater cars, the After so much success, how do you keep the joie de vivre, and their love for sport, so we famed team owner joined forces with F1 team’s motivation high? are very happy to go there. We also have legend Alain Prost to launch e.dams, now The answer comes from the question. When several exciting cities, such as Hong Kong and competing as Renault e.dams in partnership you have won, you want to keep winning. Brussels, who are very keen to host events. with the French car maker. Motivation is higher than ever, and it is highest It shows the interest in the series and that when the competition is intense and the gaps it’s growing all the time. For teams as well As well as single-seater racing, Driot has also between competitors very tight. We need to it’s exciting to discover new tracks as we led the team in successful endurance racing keep on top of everything and keep pushing. can show how quickly and efficiently we can programmes at prestigious events such as react to different circuits and a new set of the Le Mans 24 Hours, and in the Porsche Have you changed anything in the team parameters. Supercup. between seasons? We have changed our technical structure a What are the team’s objectives this season? Additionally Jean-Paul is heavily involved little to make ourselves more agile. There are The same as usual – to win both with the French motor racing industry and many new software systems that are deeply championships, win races and to get the has held several notable positions, including sophisticated so we have reflected this in our maximum amount of points possible. President of the FFSA circuit commission in structure to be able to fully capitalise on the the late 90s and within the ACF (Automobile updates. Club de France). His contribution has seen him awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre National You have two very competitive drivers. du Mérite and Gold Medal from the French What do you see as their individual Ministry of Sports. strengths? One is much calmer than the other, so we Alain Prost Senior Team Manager Twitter : @prost_official Instagram: prost_official Alain Prost is one of motorsport’s genuine with 15 victories from 16 races. However, the team. It is a real credit to them that they legends. A four-time Formula One World a sensational rivalry was the headline act. work well together and with the engineers Champion with 51 victories to his name, his New team-mate Ayrton Senna won eight in the team to be the best they can and try racing duels have gone down in history as races and the title, but the on – and often to improve the whole package in terms of some of the most exciting ever. off-track – battles pushed each driver to new, performance and reliability. unprecedented heights of success. The two Alain Prost was born in 1955 near Saint continued McLaren’s domination throughout What do you think will be the biggest Chamond in the Loire region of central France. 1989, with Alain proving victorious that year. challenge this year? He threw himself into many sports and even The technical challenge is the same as last considered football as a professional career. In 1990 Alain signed for Ferrari and won five year, but it will be more complicated as there However a chance encounter with kart racing races. Again, the championship went down to is even greater competition. There are more on a family holiday grew into a passion and the wire, but it was Senna who took the win teams that are capable of winning. As a result in 1974 he left school to become a full-time this time. 1991 was a difficult year and Alain we need to be competitive on every weekend racer. His first title came the following year took a sabbatical in 1992, only to return in and in every race to not miss any opportunity in the French senior karting championship, 1993 with Williams. He would win seven more to score points. Any error in one or two races his prize for which was a season in Formula races - bringing his total to a then record 51 - will cost a lot, so the biggest challenge will be Renault.