#formulae2022

[meaningofmotorsport]

Rome ePrix Race 1 Review

After 2 months off, Formula E has returned, with many teams wanting to make up for a poor start to their year. For one team though, they were able to do that to perfection, whilst we saw plenty of battles behind them!

Jaguar so nearly won the title last year, only for it to fall through their fingers. This meant they were one of the favourites coming into the season, yet it began with some disastrous results, especially for Evans. Today though, that all was made up for, as Jaguar dominated the race, having been blocked throughout qualifying, which hid their pace. It makes sense now why they were so angry going into the race. Evans was smart during the race, holding back and conserving energy, he also used attack modes differently to those around him, which allowed him to get to the front and pull away to win. Bird too came though brilliantly, helped by his extra energy. 5th is even better considering he got damage on the first lap!

Every year we seem to underestimate Envision Racing, but it is clear now that their pace isn’t a one off, and Frijns can once again fight for the title if it goes well for him. He wasn’t able to take pole, yet his race pace and energy conservation was probably one of the best in the field, other than Jaguar. In the battle with Vandoorne and others, he was calm and considered, as we often see from him. Cassidy also fought through well, to give the team a few points including the fastest lap.

The most confusing team right now seems to be Mercedes in some ways, their one lap pace is undeniable, yet in the race it often falls apart. Vandoorne was able to bring it through this time, however there are clear weaknesses there too. Stoffel pulled off some great moves in the battle with Frijns. For De Vries however, it went much worse, as despite a good start, he all of a sudden started dropping back, and ended up retiring, another curious twist in the tale of their season!

DS Techeetah in the early stages of the race were right in the fight with the leaders, and looked like they could win too. Then as the attack modes played out, they couldn’t move forwards, and didn’t have the pace to overtake when it mattered, but 4th and 6th is another solid step for them, especially given they had some very on edge moments.

Venturi was anonymous for most of the day, apart from when Mortara hit Rowland, which caused the big lap 1 pile up. In the end though, Mortara found his way towards the front, and got another great haul of points on a weekend where they didn’t have the pace to win. Di Grassi was held up on Lap 1, which I am sure he will want to thank his teammate for, and bearing that in mind 11th is a huge recovery, although we didn’t really see any of it, as there was so much action going on up front.

Porsche was even more anonymous than Mortara, as they just seemingly sat on the edge of the points all race long. They shouldn’t be disappointed in the pace they had, as they are still getting to grips with the tracks, and the progress year on year is clear to see. Who knows what Rowland could have done if he hadn’t of been taken out, yet my gut feeling is he wouldn’t have been able to stick with the front runners?

This was a race to show us whether Andretti would have the car to fight for the title, as another poor performance here, might well seal their fate for the season. Qualifying from Dennis gave hope of a return to the front of the pack, but he couldn’t convert it to points in the end. The pace just wasn’t there, and a miscalculation of laps left, meant he had a colossal amount of energy saving to do, which cost him any chance of points. Askew is adapting well to the new scenery, and to be close to Jake is promising to see. The bottom three teams couldn’t make any impression on the race, and being caught up in the lap 1 crash ended Guenther’s day early.

With it all to do again tomorrow, Jaguar will not want to wait for the action to begin again, as they are surely the team to beat. That being said, the gaps will likely close in, as the slower teams will have more to gain than the faster teams. Bearing that in mind, if today’s race was thoroughly entertaining, I have no idea what Race 2 will be!

-M

[meaningofmotorsport]

Mexico City ePrix Preview

Formula E returns in the bustling capital of Mexico, after a year at another circuit in the country. This means we cannot look to last year as a form guide, given the vastly different track layouts and surfaces, but instead to two years ago, where we saw a rather dominant performance!

It was Mitch Evans of Jaguar who put on that particular 45 minutes of brilliance, as he gapped the field by a long way. Two years later, there is no reason to suggest it couldn’t happen again. The team looked like they had pace in Diriyah two weeks ago, they were just bogged down by poor qualifying efforts. It has not really been the last year that Bird hoped for, as despite the wins he has taken for his new team, the consistency has not been there, and was not normally his fault. Watch out for him this weekend!

On the other hand, the Mercedes powertrain was just in its infancy back when Formula E last raced here, and they will be out for revenge after a trying second race in Saudi Arabia. There still seems to be no clear reason why they lost so much efficiency overnight, it may just have been complacency after such as strong first race. With arguably the best driver line up and best powertrain on the grid though, it surely won’t take them long to get over the issues they had.

Venturi could be a thorn in their side though, as they showed last time out that they can be a match for the factory team when they get it all right. The team is basically operating with just as much strength as Mercedes, but without the pressure and expectation on them, which affords them the opportunity to take risks and gamble more.

Envision slipped under the radar coming into the season opener, at least in my eyes, and proved that they will be a force too in 2022. Going off the performance of the Audi team last year, I would expect them to be able to be consistently in the top 10 or so on pace, with the odd weekend where they are right at the front, fighting for the win. Could this weekend be one of those?

Dennis is really coming of age in Formula E, and bearing in mind he barely missed out on the title last year, if their car is equally as good now, Andretti might have a chance to bring it home this year. Askew too starred very well on debut, and if he continues to build on that, he could be on a similar trajectory to what Jake was on last year. Expect him to be fighting for lower points this weekend.

Mahindra also showed glimpses of speed at Diriyah, but sadly for them it was mostly in practice. Rowland’s ability to come to the team and outperform Sims straight away, emphasises the skill that he has, and means that podiums could be on the cards for him in the coming races.

Techeetah did not have the weekend that we would expect, for a team which has been right at the front for the past 4 years or so. There was not one clear issue with the car, and luck was not on their side either, however, I just don’t feel like they have the package they need to go for the title. Watch as this comment ages badly this weekend, if they have been able to find the fixes they need.

Porsche, conversely, did much better than we could have expected, especially in qualifying. Lotterer was able to get the car right up front on one lap pace, and whilst it didn’t work out for him in Race 1, the team learnt from their mistakes, and brought home the points on Saturday. Wehrlein needs to step up soon, as otherwise he could be the one under threat for his seat. This track was where he lost out in a classic photo finish, and you wouldn’t bet against them being up there this weekend.

Nissan are just nowhere right now; the car doesn’t have qualifying or race pace. It is going to be a trying year for them. Dragon Penske and NIO fell back into their usual positions before last year, as without the crazy qualifying formats we have seen in the past, they can’t get towards the front of the grid.

The Mexico track isn’t the greatest for racing, as it can be quite tight in places, but the front straight normally can give opportunities for faster drivers. Also, being Formula E drivers, they will find any place they can to overtake, especially with so many passionate fans egging them on!

-M