Nissan’s Norman Nato led the second and final practice session before qualifying for the inaugural ABB Formula E World Championship race at Portland International Raceway. The Frenchman set a time of 1m09.101s, fractionally slower than the top lap …
Nissan’s Norman Nato led the second and final practice session before qualifying for the inaugural ABB Formula E World Championship race at Portland International Raceway. The Frenchman set a time of 1m09.101s, fractionally slower than the top lap set by FP1 pace-setter Rene Rast — driving for customer Nissan powertrain team NEOM McLaren — in the opening session on the Oregon road course.
Maserati MSG Racing’s Maximilian Guenther finished FP2 in second, the young German driver aiming to replicate his victory last time out in Jakarta. Jaguar TCS Racing’s Sam Bird had a late start to the session, but ended up third when the checkered flag was waved.
Rast would eventfully finish the 30-minute session in fourth, with the DS Penske of Jean-Eric Vergne rounding up the top five.
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Vergne had an unusual off at Turn 1 during the session, as he bailed on the corner and instead decided to venture down the escape road. He later did the same, kicking up dust when finding the limits of the two-mile course. The two-time champ also had an off-track moment in first practice yesterday evening when he missed the corner at Turn 11. He wasn’t alone — the NIO 333 of Dan Ticktum had an identical incident and went on the grass, with Robin Frijns also taking to the grass in his ABT CUPRA.
— ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) June 24, 2023
Championship contender Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti) had to take evasive action to avoid hitting the NIO of Sergio Sette Camara who sat on the racing line at Turn 11 with a few minutes left to go. He was given a black and white flag for impeding Dennis.
At the end of the session, three of the championship contenders sat in the bottom four with Dennis in 19th, Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy in 20th and Jaguar’s Mitch Evans in 21st out of 22 drivers.
NEOM McLaren’s Rene Rast topped the first practice session of the Southwire Portland E-Prix fastest, as the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship broke several series records on the Portland International Raceway circuit. Rast, who has not been in …
NEOM McLaren’s Rene Rast topped the first practice session of the Southwire Portland E-Prix fastest, as the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship broke several series records on the Portland International Raceway circuit.
Rast, who has not been in the top five in any practice session this season, set a time of 1m09.054s which put him quickest of the field of 22 drivers. The DS Penske of Jean-Eric Vergne was just 0.172s behind him to finish second, with the NIO 333 of Dan Ticktum completing the top three.
Jaguar TCS Racing’s Sam Bird lined up in fourth, and the winner last time out in Jakarta, Maserati MSG Racing’s Maximilian Guenther finished in fifth.
As the grid got to grips with the two-mile natural terrain road course, the times tumbled with seconds being taken off each lap, and just minutes into the session the McLaren of Rast became the first driver to break Sacha Fenestraz’s all-time Formula E average speed record. Maserati MSG Racing’s Edoardo Mortara then recorded the first 100mph average lap in Formula E history.
Several drivers found the limits and exceeded them in this first practice session of the weekend, with the likes of Vergne and Ticktum each taking a journey off the circuit over the 30-minute session, although this didn’t stop them finishing top three.
Mahindra Racing’s Lucas di Grassi has had a rollercoaster season so far. The Season 3 champion started the season with pole position and third place in Mexico City but hasn’t achieved a single championship point since then. However, he will be pleased with his and the team’s pace in FP1, as he topped the timesheets for most of the session and finished in 10th.
The Jaguar TCS Racing of Mitch Evans hit a 171.9mph top speed on his final flying lap of the session, an impressive stat to accompany Jaguar’s Sam Bird who also became the first driver to break a speed of 275km/h (171mph) for the first time Formula E history.
The inaugural Southwire Portland E-Prix at fast and flowing Portland International Raceway will provide a new set of challenges for the Formula E teams and their Gen3 electric race cars from the street courses that the series regularly race on. …
The inaugural Southwire Portland E-Prix at fast and flowing Portland International Raceway will provide a new set of challenges for the Formula E teams and their Gen3 electric race cars from the street courses that the series regularly race on. Energy management will be crucial, as drivers won’t have the usual assortment of 90-degree corners found on street circuits to regenerate and harvest energy for their cars, which have 350KW of power, are capable of 200mph and can regen a staggering 600KWh of energy. The circuit also offers atypical operating conditions for the series’ spec Hankook tires.
“The race in Portland is held at a permanent racetrack for a change. With this in mind, we are expecting far less dirt than we have seen at some other races this season. That will allow the Hankook iON Race to exploit its high level of grip even better, and above all faster, and to offer the drivers optimal support out on the track,” said Hankook Motorsport Director Manfred Sandbichler. “The temperature is expected to be lower than at the doubleheader in Jakarta, which means the teams will need a different setup for the Gen3 cars, in order to get the tires into their optimal working range.”
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Nico Müller of the ABT CUPRA team feels the characteristics of the Portland track will help demonstrate the versatility of the series’ all-weather tires — a specification aimed at furthering Formula E’s sustainability goals.
“The Hankook iON Race is a very efficient tire. You can immediately feel that the roll resistance is very low, which is really important in Formula E, in order to save energy during the race,” the Swiss driver noted. “Furthermore, the tire works very well in any condition, which I find extremely impressive.
“In Formula E, there is just one tire for all situations. Whether the track is dry, wet, damp, or dirty, the Hankook iON Race always performs impressively. We do almost all the sessions on a weekend with the same set of tires, and the wear is still very low. That is particularly good for the environment.
“I find the all-around capabilities of the tire really pleasing,” Müller continued. “We cope very well with the tire at every race weekend, as we showed with a one-two in the rainy qualifying in Berlin.”
Extracting the most performance with the least rolling resistance is a part of the Formula E game that Nico Muller feels his ABT CUPRA team excels at. Gareth Harford/Motorsport Images
Phil Charles, technical manager for Jaguar TCS Racing which fields drivers Mitch Evans and Sam Bird, is particularly looking forward to seeing what kind of show the Formula E cars can put on at Portland.
“It promises to be a super high-speed track. It features two of the longest straights we’ve had on this season’s calendar, which will require our drivers to hit that breaking point correctly,” he said. “Turns 4-6 offer corner-to-corner action, so that will be a really exciting part of the lap. Compared to the normal street surfaces we’re used to, Portland International Raceway provides a good, flat surface to race on. Expect to see lots of overtakes, lots of slipstreams, and a really tactical race.”
Portland’s 12th round of the 2023 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is set for 5:00pm local time on Saturday, June 24. The race airs live on CBS Sports Network with coverage starting at 7:30pm ET.
After eight previous races in the United States, including stints on the streets of Long Beach, Calif., Miami, Fla., and the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., Formula E is trying a different tack – a traditional road course – for this year’s …
After eight previous races in the United States, including stints on the streets of Long Beach, Calif., Miami, Fla., and the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., Formula E is trying a different tack — a traditional road course — for this year’s American round of the all-electric open-wheel series. For the first time, the series will race at Portland International Raceway, making the move to Oregon for the inaugural Southwire Portland E-Prix after five prior trips to Brooklyn. Heading to eco-friendly Portland in the Pacific Northwest, the championship aims to introduce a whole new set of potential fans to its electric racing and its drive for clean, sustainable EV tech.
The Portland race comes just as Maserati MSG Racing and Maximilian Guenther are hitting their stride. The German driver clicked instantly with the new circuit last time out in Jakarta, Indonesia and dominated the timed sessions on the way to his first pole in Formula E a third place finish in Round 10. He doubled up with a second pole in as many days and converted an historic race win on Sunday, becoming the only driver to win from pole in the past 14 races to seal the first victory for Maserati in a world championship single-seater race since the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio won at the Nurburgring way back in 1957.
Portland International Raceway is one of the longest circuits Formula E will have raced on at 1.98 miles/3.19km, and teams are predicting slipstreaming will play a big part on the 12-turn, fast and flowing course, as it did in Jakarta.
“It has a high number of fast, sweeping corners, but very few braking zones, which will likely make for a highly strategic race with a reliance on slipstreaming,” noted Maserati MSG team principal James Rossiter. A good omen for the Porsche- and Stellantis-powered cars? We’ll see.
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The fight for the season’s world championship honors, meanwhile, is looking to be a five-horse race between three marques, five teams and as many drivers with TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein heading Jake Dennis in the Avalanche Andretti Porsche 99X Electric GEN3 by just a single point.
Longtime standings leader Wehrlein had lost top spot in the table in Monaco but stamped his authority on proceedings with a controlled Round 10 victory, leading home his closest rival Dennis. That was an important result for the young German. Since his previous win in Diriyah, he’d failed to make the podium while Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy hit a rich run of form, eventually overcoming Wehrlein in the standings with his win in Monaco.
Driving for the Andretti team ought to give Dennis a boost in America. The British driver and has been going about his business quietly and consistently this season, with four podiums to his credit, and is breathing right down Werhlein’s neck.
Cassidy finds himself third in the standings for Envision Racing, the customer Jaguar team driver ahead of factory Jaguar TCS Racing racer Mitch Evans. The former endured an all-but disastrous weekend in Indonesia after back-to-back wins in the Principality and Berlin just weeks before. He’s still only six points back but a seven-point haul with more than 50 on offer in Jakarta handed the advantage back to his rivals.
Two-time Formula E champion Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Penske) has kept himself in touch and sits fifth, 37 points from the top. The Frenchman was a winner in Hyderabad and will be looking to close the gap to the top as the season heads towards its climax, with only the doubleheader rounds in Rome July 15-16 and the London finale on July 29 remaining after Saturday’s race in Portland.
Action gets underway with Free Practice 1 on Friday from 8:00pm ET, with Free Practice 2 from 1:30pm ET on Saturday. Qualifying follows at 3:40pm ET and Round 12 itself starts at 8:00pm ET. The race airs live on CBS Sports Network, with coverage beginning at 7:30pm ET.
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will race on the streets of Tokyo for the first time next March as the series targets more world cities to host debut races in its 10th season. The race in Tokyo on Saturday, March 30 will be the first …
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will race on the streets of Tokyo for the first time next March as the series targets more world cities to host debut races in its 10th season.
The race in Tokyo on Saturday, March 30 will be the first FIA-sanctioned world championship motorsport event held in Tokyo. It will be contested on roads around the Tokyo Big Sight convention centre on the Tokyo Bay waterfront.
Formula E and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government have been working together to bring the race to the city to support the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) initiative, part of the Zero Emission Tokyo strategy. The city has a climate action plan that aims to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2050.
“I am delighted by the official decision that Tokyo will host a Formula E race in March 2024,” said city governor Yuriko Koike. “Centering on spreading the use of zero emission vehicles, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is accelerating actions in all realms to realize Zero Emission Tokyo, an environmentally advanced city that does not emit carbon dioxide. Formula E is held in major cities around the world as a road race for electric vehicles which do not emit exhaust gas or engine noise.
“This race will be held around Tokyo Big Sight in Tokyo’s bay area, where developments are underway to become a sustainable next generation city. Let’s all look forward to seeing up close the dynamism of this race to be held for the first time in Japan and cheer the racers on. The race will not only add momentum to the spread of zero emission vehicles but will also provide a wonderful opportunity to enhance Tokyo’s international presence by showing the attractions of our city to the world. Tokyo will join forces with the organisers and others related to the race to ensure its success.”
Season 10 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will begin in Mexico City on Saturday, January 13. Three rounds of the 17-race provisional calendar remain to be determined, while Formula E continues advanced discussions with a range of potential host cities that would see the championship create more showpiece race events in iconic global locations.
Formula E returns to the Unites States this weekend at Portland, Oregon, and will return next season when Portland will host the final international race before the championship concludes in London in late July. Formula E will also return to São Paulo after an inaugural race there this season.
Berlin will maintain its record as the only city to host an E-Prix in all 10 seasons of the championship, consolidating its reputation as a popular venue for drivers and fans who witnessed a record-breaking 190 overtakes and 23 lead changes in Round 7 this season.
Diriyah will again host the only night race doubleheader on the calendar while Monaco, Rome and Jakarta complete the calendar of named host cities.
“We are excited to take Formula E to the streets of Tokyo next season,” said Alberto Longo, co-founder and Chief Championship Officer of Formula E. “It is an iconic world city providing the perfect backdrop to showcase the unique qualities of our sport and will capture global attention. The Season 10 calendar represents our ongoing mission to create a dynamic schedule of new cities hosting races for the first or second time like Tokyo, São Paulo and Portland alongside established hosts like Berlin, Rome, London, Monaco, Diriyah and now Jakarta.”
“Tokyo will be a highlight of our historic 10th season,” added series CEO Jeff Dodds. “We are also in advanced discussions with many more iconic world cities who are keen to host a Formula E race and create blockbuster world championship motorsport events with us. We expect this to be reflected in the updated calendar published later this year.”
Marek Nawarecki, Director of FIA Circuit Sport Department, said: “This calendar is an illustration of Formula E’s continuing growth and promises to treat fans to another season of superb racing with the new GEN3 car, which has already produced countless crowd-pleasing battles.
“The schedule offers an appealing blend of established Formula E favourites like Mexico City, Rome, Monaco, Berlin and London and popular recent additions such as São Paulo and Jakarta. We are also delighted that the championship will visit Japan for the first time. This will also increase the series presence and impact in Asia, which is important for many manufacturers.”
Maserati MSG Racing driver Maximilian Günther converted a second consecutive pole position into the race win in Jakarta, returning Maserati to the top step of the podium in single-seater motorsport for the first time since 1957. The second race of …
Maserati MSG Racing driver Maximilian Günther converted a second consecutive pole position into the race win in Jakarta, returning Maserati to the top step of the podium in single-seater motorsport for the first time since 1957.
The second race of the GulaVit Jakarta E-Prix doubleheader saw Germany’s Günther claim his fourth win in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship and his first in the iconic blue livery of legendary automaker Maserati. The last time the trident was seen on the top step of a single-seater championship was in 1957 when Juan Manuel Fangio won the German Grand Prix on his way to that year’s Formula 1 title.
Günther was followed home by Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti Formula E Team) who started and finished second in both races on Formula E’s return to Indonesia. The points haul moves Dennis to within just one point of standings leader, Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team).
Following a dramatic first race in which he was hit by his own teammate, leaving the Jaguar TCS Racing team pointless on the day, Mitch Evans recovered superbly to produce a classy defensive drive and round out the podium places in third.
Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy lost his championship lead to the previous day’s race winner Pascal Wehrlein — who finished sixth — after an ill-judged overtake led to contact and a point-less day. Cassidy now trails Dennis by five points with six points separating the top three drivers in a hugely tight tussle for the title.
With Günther starting pole for the second day, the young German was looking to turn a promising Saturday drive and podium into his fourth race victory and he looked assured from the off as he held position in the opening stages.
With a clear race strategy, he appeared happy to hold fire behind Dennis once the Brit had taken the lead through the first round of ATTACK MODE activations.
The telling switch came as Günther held off on his second jolt of ATTACK MODE when Dennis blinked first. The German was able to generate a gap enough to leapfrog the Avalanche Andretti driver by the time he made the dive for his final 50kW boost on lap 18.
HE HAD NO RIGHT TO COMPLETE THAT OVERTAKE 😮💨@maxg_official with a sensational move on Mitch Evans to move into P2!
— ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) June 4, 2023
The Maserati MSG Racing driver was able to stretch to a lead of 2.822 seconds on Dennis by the checkered flag and more than 18 seconds on Evans. Nobody had won by more than two seconds in the GEN3 era since Dennis’ season-opening victory in Mexico City and that margin was the largest in the last 10 rounds.
“Very proud moment — I am over the moon with this victory,” said Günther. “We have made such good progress over the past couple of races, it is fantastic, and to take my first win here in Jakarta is outstanding. I am just so happy.
“We felt really good from FP1 onwards, so the package is working here it was just about executing it and keep shooting in the right direction. We always took the right decisions this weekend. Yesterday we didn’t have enough, but today we did. It is just amazing.”
Drama struck the standings leader Cassidy who had only failed to score once this season, with 13th in Diriyah, but he made a costly slip in trying to pass title rival Wehrlein on lap 20. His car damaged, he was shuffled to the back of the pack and 19th position.
THE CHAMPIONSHIP LEADER SLIPS ALL THE WAY DOWN THE ORDER! 🤯
Has Nick Cassidy thrown the Championship lead away with this risky move!?
— ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) June 4, 2023
Dennis felt satisfied with second place, feeling he maximized his prospects
“I think we didn’t quite get the second ATTACK MODE right — ultimately the Maserati was so fast over one lap today, and when he pushed he created the gap, which basically did the overcut on me and got track position again,” said the Porsche driver. “It would have been difficult to keep him behind.”
The Nissan pair of Sacha Fenestraz and Norman Nato made late-race progress to seal fourth and fifth from seventh and 12th on the grid, respectively. Fenestraz’s move on reigning champion Stoffel Vandoorne (DS Penske) caught the Belgian unawares into the hairpin, with his teammate Nato able to follow.
That pass saw Vandoorne fall back to an eventual ninth as Wehrlein, António Félix da Costa (TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team) and Edoardo Mortara (Maserati MSG Racing) were able to ease past for sixth, seventh and eighth. Envision Racing’s disappointing afternoon saw only a point head their way, with Sebastien Buemi rounding out the top 10.
TAG Heuer Porsche lead the way in the teams’ standings with 212 pts, pulling further clear of Envision Racing who sit on 190 pts with Jaguar TCS Racing third on 171 pts.
Five races remain in the season, with the next stop on June 24 a return to the United States and fourth debut city for the series this season — the Southwire Portland E-Prix.
A cool and collected drive by Pascal Wehrlein delivered a win in the soaring heat of race one in the Gulavit Jakarta E-Prix double-header, propelling his TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team back to the top of the Teams’ championship. Wehrlein led home …
A cool and collected drive by Pascal Wehrlein delivered a win in the soaring heat of race one in the Gulavit Jakarta E-Prix double-header, propelling his TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team back to the top of the Teams’ championship.
Wehrlein led home Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti Formula E Team), who reacted strongly after the race claiming the Porsche driver made a “ridiculous” manoeuvre forcing Dennis to take evasive action.
“It feels awesome obviously. A very good race, qualifying was much better than in previous races,” said Wehrlein. “Thanks a lot to the team, the car was awesome today, I was leading almost the whole race. It was not so easy on energy for me, I knew that the guys behind had a little bit more, and also driving in the slipstream helps. But I think we defended well and happy to be back on top. The team definitely deserves it and now we are looking forward to tomorrow.
“The last couple of races we were not where we wanted to be, hadn’t scored the points we wanted and qualifying was an issue for us. Today with P3 we qualified in the best position so far this season. A big turnaround for us in the last couple of weeks, and like I said thanks a lot to the team for all their hard work. Still a long way to go.”
Maserati MSG Racing driver Maximilian Günther stayed in the leading pack throughout the race, finishing third. He started in Julius Bär Pole Position, the first Maserati pole in single-seater motorsport since 1958.
In the first race of the double-header in Jakarta, Wehrlein started third and traded places for the lead with polesitter Maximilian Günther over the opening third of the E-Prix, having first made his way by his compatriot on Lap 4.
From Lap 12 and the second Attack Mode activation, Wehrlein was able to manage things comfortably in the most trying conditions on a hot and humid afternoon where temperatures reached the mid-30s Celsius.
Dennis started second and finished second, with not quite enough in his Avalanche Andretti to overpower Wehrlein’s factory Porsche 99X Electric. His push for the front was compromised by a late-race push from Günther, who pressured the Brit for second, allowing Wehrlein some breathing room.
Ultimately, Günther could not find a way through. The DS PENSKE teammates Stoffel Vandoorne and Jean-Éric Vergne came home fourth and fifth respectively with Günther’s Maserati MSG Racing teammate Edoardo Mortara sixth.
Standings leader Nick Cassidy (Envision Racing) tried his best to outdo defensive maestro Vergne mid-way through the race. He had a lucky escape as he made a move from a long way back on an unsighted Vergne on Lap 20, narrowly avoiding damage to both front corners of his car, finishing seventh.
Season 6 champion António Félix da Costa (TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team) finished eighth, some 15 seconds behind Cassidy. Robin Frijns doubled-down on an impressive qualifying performance by securing ABT CUPRA Formula E Team’s first points of the season with a ninth place finish.
Jake Hughes rounded out the top 10 for NEOM McLaren Formula E Team, earning him the ABB Driver of Progress Award for making up the most places in the race after starting back in 20th on the grid.
However, it was another frustrating outing for Jaguar TCS Racing as their cars came to blows again, as they did in Hyderabad, with Sam Bird sending Mitch Evans spinning out of eighth position and crucial points late on in the race.
Two victories and a second place on the first three races of Season 9 put Wehrlein to the top of the Drivers’ championship. However, since his last win in Round 3, Wehrlein failed to make the podium until today while Cassidy hit form and took the lead in the standings with his win in Monaco, the race before Jakarta.
Todays’ win means Wehrlein is just two points behind Cassidy who is on 128pts in the standings while TAG Heuer Porsche leapfrogged Envision Racing at the top of the Teams’ running with a nine point advantage on 198pts.
Extreme E founder and CEO Alejandro Agag has left the door open for the series to allow technical development from teams, but has reiterated his desire to focus on providing a platform for hydrogen technology in the future instead. Currently a spec …
Extreme E founder and CEO Alejandro Agag has left the door open for the series to allow technical development from teams, but has reiterated his desire to focus on providing a platform for hydrogen technology in the future instead.
Currently a spec series with cars built by Spark Racing Technologies and batteries provided by Williams Advanced Engineering, it has long been suggested that Extreme E could follow Formula E’s lead by allowing teams to develop their own powertrains. While the option is still on the table, Agag admits that technical development could widen the competitive order and make the series less attractive for those already involved.
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“Racing is all about winning and if you don’t ever win, it gets boring and you perhaps leave the sport. So I think creating championships where the possibility of winning is for everyone is very important,” he told select media including RACER at last weekend’s Hydro X Prix in Scotland. “But there are different schools of thought. What’s happening today in Formula 1, for example, with Red Bull – I think it’s even slowing down their cars just not to win by 20 seconds – I think it’s not good for the sport.
“You need the competition and here, it’s new teams on top but I think the teams that won last year are also incredibly competitive so we can see them come back. It’s great for the sport.”
Stretching back into last year, Extreme E has had six different winners in the last eight races, with every team – including the departed XITE Energy Racing and new-for-2023 Carl Cox Motorsport operation – appearing on the podium in that time. But aside from sporting considerations, costs are also a concern, with drivetrain development having the potential to multiply budgets several times over.
“We almost think that it’s not our direction because if you open technology here, and we’ve thought about it, everything needs an extra car to test different car to test the different powertrain,” Agag said. “The championship is probably not in a position to open up the technology because the costs would be so high.
“Off-road has less financial muscle than formula racing. In Formula E the teams are spending £30, 40, 50 million a year, here the teams are spending two, three (million), but if you want to develop a car that will compete, you will spend a minimum of 15, and where do you get that 15?”
Expanding, Agag drew comparisons with his time running the Addax GP2 team, explaining that setup can be enough of a differentiator in a single-make category.
“It’s all a question of money in the end,” he said. “Do you want to develop the technology together so you save money and everyone has the same car?
Andretti, McLaren, and Abt Cupra all compete in Formula E as well as Extreme E, where they run customer powertrains from Porsche, Nissan, and Mahindra respectively. Simon Galloway/Motorsport Images
“Setup plays a big role anyway, and your engineers, your mechanics, and your strategy.”
“I spent seven years in GP2, we all had the same machine, we all had the same engine, but sometimes my car was two seconds faster and sometimes my car was two seconds slower because of setup, because of working the car for the specific race.
“So for the future in Extreme E, we may open some stuff but it’s probably more going in the direction of hydrogen. That’s where we are looking.”
The introduction of hydrogen to Extreme E has been a constant talking point since the news went public last year, and while hydrogen has some disadvantages compared to battery electric – efficiency being one of them – providing a platform to showcase hydrogen on a wider scale has its own merits.
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“That is a question that we need to answer – do we do both battery and hydrogen, or do with one? I think being the only one has a lot of merit because there is an industry out there that is in need of a platform that they don’t have,” Agag explained. “So there is a big industry in hydrogen, many countries are betting big on green hydrogen production, many oil companies are betting on hydrogen and they cannot go into the battery championships – I mean, they go, Shell is with a couple of teams in Formula E, but there’s less connection.
“So there’s a whole ecosystem that lacks a platform, and if you have the only platform, that’s interesting from the business point of view and also the relevance point of view because what you develop here, you can use. And what I like about the hydrogen challenge is it hasn’t been done and there’s so many things we’re learning as we go, and that’s why we do motorsport, to learn.”
Agag also said that whatever form Extreme E’s hydrogen development will take, it will help develop technology for the wider world.
“We look for solutions and it’s very important that when you’re looking for solutions, to not listen much to the noise, because there is a lot of noise, and that noise is basically useless,” he insisted. “We just have to get on with it. We can develop know-how that can be used on a much wider scale.
“If we do a hydrogen car competition, we will develop know-how that will be used on a much wider scale.”
Extreme E’s hydrogen prototype remains on target for a July shakedown, with production of racing cars beginning before the end of the year.
“From October we will start production of the race cars, and we’re going to produce 10 race cars,” Agag confirmed. “That’s a fact. That’s happening.”
Nick Cassidy fired to the top of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship with a storming drive from ninth on the grid to win the race in an absorbing 2023 Monaco E-Prix. Cassidy led home Mitch Evans, having fended off his countryman until a …
Nick Cassidy fired to the top of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship with a storming drive from ninth on the grid to win the race in an absorbing 2023 Monaco E-Prix.
Cassidy led home Mitch Evans, having fended off his countryman until a late-race safety car made the win certain.
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The 150mph game of chess ebbed and flowed as leaders vied for control and to set the pace but Cassidy’s decisive early-race moves yielded the ultimate result. Once his engineer gave the green light for a six-lap sprint finish, Cassidy didn’t look back – despite the close attention of Evans’ factory Jaguar.
“It’s insane, I’ve got nothing against Berlin – but this feels amazing! This is so, so special. I’m lost for words,” said Cassidy. “It is going to take a bit to sink in, man we had such a tough day, I was 21st I think in both Free Practices which struck me a lot. I qualified 10th and I was really happy with that, so that was kind of how our day was going. Credit to our guys, both car crews and everyone in our garage helped out with the issues. I am so happy we got the reward after the work.
“There is a long way to go, this guy right here Mitch (Evans) he showed today how bloody strong he is. It is going to be a really cool fight, but for the moment let’s just enjoy the fact we won in Monaco.”
Evans had himself clambered from sixth on the grid to second at the chequered flag and was within touching distance of the Envision right up to the safety car three laps from the race finish. That New Zealand one-two made it four wins in succession, a new Formula E record for a single nation.
The Formula E field navigates the famous Grand Hotel Hairpin. Sam Bagnall/Motorsport Images)
Jake Dennis couldn’t quite live with the lead pair but he had torn through from 11th on the grid to make the final step on the podium.
Sacha Fenestraz , who thought he had sealed pole position only for a post-session penalty to hand that honour to Jake Hughes, steered home to fourth, unable to compete with the lead trio’s benchmark combination of speed and efficiency. Hughes followed him across the line, with Dan Ticktum hanging on for sixth position despite a couple of late-race scrapes and some damage to his car.
— ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) May 6, 2023
Long-time Drivers’ standings leader Pascal Wehrlein could only improve to 11th from starting 12th on the grid, which resulted in both the driver and his TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team losing their grip on their respective championships.
Fellow title contender Jean-Éric Vergne recovered to seventh from the very back of the grid after DS PENSKE’s tyre pressure infringements saw them disqualified from qualifying. The 15-position overtaking masterclass earned Vergne the inaugural ABB Driver of Progress race award, honouring intelligent, efficient driving resulting in the most places gained in a race.
Reigning world champion and DS PENSKE teammate Stoffel Vandoorne was also able to climb to the points with ninth place.
Cassidy’s 121 pts moves him ahead of Wehrlein on 100 pts in the Drivers’ table with Jake Dennis now third on 96 pts and Evans just behind on 94 pts. Vergne leaves Monaco fifth in the running.
Envision Racing now leap to the top of the Teams’ standings on 182 points, 14 points ahead of TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team on 168 points, while Jaguar TCS Racing sits third on 157 points.
Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy won the second half of the SABIC Berlin E-Prix doubleheader on Sunday, delivering an energy management masterclass in a race featuring 172 overtakes. Jake Dennis placed second while Jean-Eric Verge completed the …
Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy won the second half of the SABIC Berlin E-Prix doubleheader on Sunday, delivering an energy management masterclass in a race featuring 172 overtakes.
Jake Dennis placed second while Jean-Eric Verge completed the podium, and moved up into third in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship drivers’ standings
Starting eighth, Cassidy drove superbly to stay there both by setting the pace and mastering Formula E’s tightrope of ultimate pace, racecraft and energy management, the latter again proving crucial on the slipstream-heavy Tempelhof Airport circuit. For Cassidy, the win was confirmation of the form he’d felt building throughout the season.
Nick Cassidy and Jake Dennis celebrate in Berlin. Simon Galloway/Motorsport Images
“I knew I was in the fight. I’ve been in the fight the last five races,” said Cassidy. “Yesterday, we had a great opportunity as well and I made a mistake and I really put my hand up for that. But today we made it count. So, thanks so much to my guys. I’ve had an opportunity to win nearly every weekend and as a driver that’s a dream.
“I’ve had some really good luck and I’m sure some bad luck and bad weekends are coming our way, but until then I’m enjoying the ride — it’s been amazing.”
Dennis (Avalanche Andretti) who is now within four points of the championship’s leader, Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team), was in striking distance to Cassidy, just half a second behind as they crossed the finish line. The frustration was tempered by putting an end to a string of DNFs for the Andretti driver.
“To not see a checkered flag since Saudi is mind-blowing,” admitted Dennis. “We’re still fourth in the championship. Obviously more energy than Nick but the targets were so high at the end, and it was too much of a risk and honestly, I was just happy with the 18 points and bringing it home.”
Vergne (DS Penske) admitted he didn’t have the pace to challenge the Jaguar-powered Envision that ultimately raced to the top step, despite also intermittently leading the race. Nevertheless, he wase pleased to have scored strongly, with an eye on the long game as the season passes its halfway stage.
“It was really chaotic. I’m very glad the race is over,” declared Vergne. “I’ve never really experienced this kind of racing where no one really wants to be leading at the beginning and creating a lot of chaos at the back. I was just trying to manage to stay in the top 4 or 5, every time I was sixth I was pushing to come back because otherwise you’re glued to the back and then you can’t come back. So it’s a bit of a strategy game, but it’s mental — it was a very difficult race so I’m very happy to finish on the podium in third. It could have been very easy to do otherwise today, so I’m going to take those points gladly and move on.”
Buemi has dropped all the way down the order following contact with Dennis, dislodging his front wing ⬇️
— ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) April 23, 2023
Wehrlein started sixth, in a stronger position than recent races, having complained of poor one-lap pace in qualifying, but found himself shuffled to seventh at the race’s end.
Saturday Berlin winner Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) made up a spot from his grid position to finish fourth, making it a superb weekend’s work for the New Zealander and Jaguar TCS Racing. Despite teammate Sam Bird getting into contact and being forced out of contention, the Jaguar powertrains have driven to victory in three consecutive races for the first time in Formula E history, albeit in the hands of customers Envision Racing this time.
A day after securing the team’s first podium in Round 7, the standout drive was arguably Maserati MSG Racing’s Max Guenther, who climbed 15 positions from 21st position to sixth. Polesitter Robin Frijns of the ABT Cupra team struggled to maintain pace and dropped to 17th at the end, with teammate and fellow front-row starter Nico Mueller faring better with ninth on home soil to score the team’s first points in the GEN3 era.
That left Wehrlein on top of the pile but by a narrow four-point margin to Cassidy, with Vergne third. TAG Heuer Porsche’s advantage in the teams’ table also continues to fade away, with the Jaguar-powered Envision Racing squad now just 15 points back in second.
A capacity crowd estimated at 34,000 took in the weekend’s two races, which featured a total of 362 overtakes.
Next up for the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is the Monaco E-Prix on Saturday, May 6.
