I'm
fairly certain this isn't some elaborate April Fools: http://www.carpoint.com.au/news/2011/motorsport-big-push-for-electric-car-racing-24330
Electric cars drink battery life at high speed, so how far on one charge? Do we get short races or pitting to 'refuel' - which would be an exciting wait even with ultra-capacitors. And then there's the sound... my god, it will be a struggle to keep the crowds at bay.
Quote from: ChrillIt does not have to replace Formula 1 though. We have A1GP, which never got very popular, and some other series (what's the one with soccer teams?). This could just be a new series with no viewership, because Formula 1 won't turn to electric engines in 2013 for sure.
A series with no one watching... a sponsor's delight!
Is the
football team one still going? Been to Google, did some 'Googling', now back with important info.: It's the Superleague Formula, and its 4th season gets underway in Estoril at end of May - appears to visit just 6 tracks (2 races per weekend?) http://www.superleagueformula.com/races
Quote from: ChrillHuge names in the series as well, such as (and this is 2010) Narain Karthikeyan, Chris van der Drift (Brilliant name), Franck Montagny, Robert Doornbos and Sébastien Bourdais. Previous drivers include Enrique Bernoldi, Antonio Pizzonia and Ho-Pin Tung!
Wow. Star-studded. Perhaps get a few to double up with this all-electric extravaganza.
Look at you with your 1010 posts. At this rate you should surpass my tally no problem.
Quote from: ChrillI post 45% of this forum's posts, you post 45%, and everyone else combined makes up about 10%. How am I catching you? :P
Higher daily rate???
All I know is you're now approx. 100 behind - first time gap has been so small.
A few others posting would be welcome. Save Chrill from this dangerous habit of talking to me....
Quote from: ChrillI love you, Penfold. You are my electric dream
Quote from: Ljudhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9foZ7KVSng
Good grief, the FIA is actually pressing on with the wacky notion of electric racing: http://www.yallaf1.com/2012/08/28/formula-e-the-long-term-alternative-to-formula-1/
Presumably stems from the misplaced belief that electric-only cars have a useful role to play in mainstream transport, which with current battery technology they clearly don't. The most promising 'electric' cars in development have a small petrol/diesel motor to keep the wheels turning when you want to do more than 100 miles in a day.
Formula E presses on, organiser believes top F1 teams will eventually join in the fun: http://grandprix247.com/2013/07/12/formula-e-expected-to-attract-top-formula-1-teams/
Electric racing cars... sounds exciting to me.
Quote from: LjudWe'll always be together,
together in electric dreams!
Great, now that song is stuck in my head....
Quote from: ChrillWell, we had the first race of the series today. Did you watch it? I watched the first 5 laps. Dull track did not encourage overtaking or any sort of proper racing. Still, we had a nasty incident on the last lap. Nicholas Prost decided Nick Heidfeld should not overtake him and so decided to turn into him. Heidfeld crashed heavily but survived unscathed. It looked awful. Worst part is, Prost didn't even bother to check on Heidfeld. He just walked away like nothing happened.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8Bzmu1ZIVs
Quote from: Chundlahhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5z6hDs5YpA
We are together in electric dreams!! Whiny sounding electric cars racing around deserted street circuits are the future of car car racing, apparently. Commentators telling us that a driver has 33% battery left is what we have to look forward to... As for the race, it was mind numbingly dull until Nico Prost decided to switch his brain off and launch Quick Nick into the Beijing smog...
Two laps was enough for me....
Quote from: ChundlahAre we getting another race or has the series gone flat? Not that I want to watch it I should hasten to add, I'm just curious...
I came up with an idea to improve the series. Have all the teams sponsored by e-cigarette manufacturers, with drivers puffing on the e-cigs whenever they are out of the car. Redesign the cars to look like 1970's F1 cars with a simulated V12 engine noise and let them go at it. If one squints and turns ones head to the side whilst watching half-drunk it might, just might, make for a better spectacle. At the very least it would be a novelty for a short while...
Quote from: ChrillSecond race of the series is due 22nd November in Putraya, Malaysia. This is followed by a race in Uruguay on the 13th December, Buenos Aires (Argentina) 10 January. Then Miami in March. So they do have long pauses sometimes.
Quote from: ChundlahSam Bird won race 2, Prost got a grid penalty for his faux pas in the last race but still finished in the top six. I didn't watch it, no idea whether it was as dull as round one...
Almost certainly....
Eight manufacturers selected to supply powertrains from 2015/16 season: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/117790
Quote from: ChundlahAnyone watch the Monaco round today? It was on ITV4 here in Brit Land and was, well... okay. Bruno Senna went airborne right after the start, presumably these cars have front wheel guards in order to stop them launching skywards but they seem to keep doing it...
Sebastien Buemi won it, almost an ex-Minardi man having driven for Toro Rosso...
Quote from: ChrillI did see the start crash. That track looked quite narrow. Good practice for the workers since the big show is coming to town soon.
Quote from: MattThere are a ton of former STR drivers in Formula E.
IndyCars have rear wheel guards/pods as well, but from everything I've seen, I don't think they can truly stop a car from going airborne if they run into the car in front at a high enough speed. They break off and the car goes over the wheel anyway. They are a safety improvement since people hit them first, which could allow them to race closer together in typical conditions, but if the rear car collides at speed then they're still going airborne.
Quote from: ChundlahA fairly low-voltage series all in all, I saw bits and pieces of it, the final Battersea Park race was okay, Sam Bird won even though he finished second because Sarrasin ran out of battery power except his car was still moving. Ah... okay...
There probablu needs to be some fine-tuning going forward, but I think there has to be a place for an electric series given the way road cars are evolving...
Quote from: ChrillIf we consider this season a demo/prototype, then the series can surely be something in the future. They have all the names racing and all the funding necessary. It's a matter of attracting crowds and I think in time they can. I don't think this will be a new A1GP
Quote from: ChundlahI agree with you, I think there has to be a place for an electric racing series in these times. I, for one, am quite interested in getting an electric road car as a little city run around, for now their range does not merit anything more than that but I think we all need to get on board sooner or later and Formula E should help with acceptance...
As for the racing, there does need to be a few tweaks, although it is encouraging that so many famous names are involved...
Quote from: ChrillWell, take the Tesla cars. Their Model S have a very good range (265 miles/426 km) and that was launched way back in 2012. I'm wondering why none of the major car manufacturers have caught up because that's more than enough to get you to work and back home and then some.
Quote from: MattWhat's the range of the Chevy Volt?
I think FE was hampered by the tracks more than anything else. Even had they were able to race at 100%, it would have been difficult on tracks like that.
Quote from: Chrill"The 2013/14 model year Volt all-electric range is 38 mi (61 km)"
In other words, it's shit. Then again, the Volt isn't all-electric to begin with. It's a hybrid.
Quote from: MattJust watched the race from this weekend. Other than Buemi running away with the win, it was great throughout the pack. Allowing different powertrain manufacturers doesn't seem to have hurt competition, other than Renault apparently being way better than everyone else.
The coverage still needs some work. They lack camera angles so we weren't able to see any of the incidents. The radio transmission system doesn't work correctly. Occasionally they provided information about who was talking, but usually the announcers just had to guess. Many of the teams don't speak English on the radio either, which sucks, but I'm fine with it.
Jaguar to enter a team next season and it will be overseen by a little known outfit called Williams: http://www.grandprix247.com/2015/12/15/williams-to-run-jaguars-formula-e-team/
New seat belt system being trialled which could soon spell the end for minimum pit-stop times: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/121462
Formula E gets a new chassis supplier from 2018 season. More efficient aero, reduced weight courtesy of fancy materials, and a bulked-up battery will, it is hoped, allow cars to run for 45 minutes and so eliminate mid-race car swaps: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/128081
Quote from: ChrillSee! That's what I said back in 2015. The sport will only improve as technology improves.
I've watched a few races (not avidly, but they've been on the TV whilst I've been in the room) and I don't have an issue with the car-swapping so a non-stop race won't by default be an improvement; what I'd rather they focussed on is making the cars quicker. So yes for the new aero and weight shaving, and yes for beefier batteries, but for me these gains should be seen as a means of increasing the agility and speed of the cars rather than increasing their range just for the sake of it.
Ferrari keen to have some level of involvement in Formula E: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2017/03/30/ferrari-need-involved-formula-e/
Apparently the 2016/17 season continues with a race this Saturday. I say season, but the scheduling is so random, with such huge gaps between races, that it feels more like a collection of individual races than a single campaign. Half a dozen more races or run the season over six months instead of nine to bunch them together.
The schedule is certainly confusing. I also always forget that the races are on Saturdays. I do actually like the series when I can watch it though. The other problem here is that it often gets thrown on FS2, a channel that almost no one gets.
Formula E doesn't air behind a pay wall in Sweden, which means I fail to catch it! It's on the more commonly available EuroSport. which I just don't have since they mostly air bicycle races and snooker :P
FS2 just isn't included in most cable packages. I have every channel, basically, offered by my cable provider. It just isn't in there.
But this week's race was on FS1 and it was quite a good race. The Mexico City track isn't very good though and it was impossible to pass. D'Ambrosio prevented a race for the lead by being a roadblock, all to just run out of energy in the end and DNF. The Mahindras were running well until Prost took out Heidfeld, who collected Rosenqvist. I thought Prost should have been penalized, but nothing happened.
Yes. I read a comment from Felix in a Swedish newspaper, he wasn't too pleased with Prost. He does seem to get along very well with Heidfeld though. At least that's the image they wish to promote.
Out of the handful of races I've seen, Prost does seem to have been involved in a disproportionately high no. of collisions.
See Prost v. Heidfeld:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG1VPss4LKI
Heidfeld clearly overtakes Prost, who then turns in. Oopsie.
Might see Kubica racing in FE later in the year: https://www.motorsport.com/formula-e/news/kubica-tests-formula-e-car-at-donington-park-901206/
Kubica is clearly flirting with single seaters again. BRING HIM BACK TO F1.
Unfortunately, I think that ship has sailed.
Monaco EPrix on Saturday, I shall certainly make an effort to watch it.
Mercedes will be dropping out of DTM and entering Formula E instead.
Also worth noting that, just under three months ago, Penfold was pretty sure Kubica had no chance of returning to F1. But now it's hidden on the first page so no one will ever see it
Is there any German marque not entering Formula E?
Audi is joining next season, followed by BMW in 2018-19 and also Mercedes in the 2019-20 season.
I am half expecting a Red Bull team before long.
One in, all in. Wonder if the grid will be upped from its current twenty cars?
Quote from: Matt on July 24, 2017, 02:18:31 PMAlso worth noting that, just under three months ago, Penfold was pretty sure Kubica had no chance of returning to F1. But now it's hidden on the first page so no one will ever see it
Then I'll reproduce it below:
Quote from: Penfold on May 03, 2017, 03:50:59 AMQuote from: Chrill on May 05, 2017, 12:35:09 AMQuote from: Penfold on May 05, 2017, 04:26:17 AM
Might see Kubica racing in FE later in the year: https://www.motorsport.com/formula-e/news/kubica-tests-formula-e-car-at-donington-park-901206/
Kubica is clearly flirting with single seaters again. BRING HIM BACK TO F1.
Unfortunately, I think that ship has sailed.
Which was not an unreasonable view at the time given the widespread belief that his damaged hand still couldn't cope with the rigours of F1. Then, about a month later, it was announced he'd have a demo run in a five-year-old Renault motor and happily this went so well that a return to the top flight was on.
Anyone catch the Montreal race yesterday? Probably the best track layout I've seen for FE and it helped produce an entertaining race - of course Buemi & Bird being out of position after quali didn't hurt. Then there was the post-race show with Buemi ranting at anyone in a race suit... fantastic stuff.
I watched both races this weekend and they were both good. But they usually are. Buemi completely fell apart this weekend, but it's worth remembering that Di Grassi only beat him because Buemi missed the two races in New York.
That's true. The Renault is still the car to beat what with Buemi winning six of the ten races he started - not even a podium for Nico Prost....
Anyway, Formula E bigwigs have come to their senses and not only added another couple of races for next season, but have given the calendar a good old squish with race one shunted back from early October to early December.
Round City Country Date
1 Hong Kong China December 2, 2017
2 Hong Kong China December 3, 2017
3 Marrakesh Morocco January 13, 2018
4 Santiago Chile February 3, 2018
5 Mexico City Mexico March 3, 2018
6 Sao Paulo* Brazil March 17, 2018
7 Rome Italy April 14, 2018
8 Paris France April 28, 2018
9 TBA** Germany May 19, 2018
10 TBA** TBA** June 9, 2018
11 New York City USA July 7, 2018***
12 New York City USA July 8, 2018***
13 Montreal Canada July 28, 2018
14 Montreal Canada July 29, 2018
* Subject to confirmation
** Venue to be announced
*** Date to be confirmed
Rosenqvist finished 3rd in his rookie season. For Mahindra, which isn't supposed to be a Formula E front runner. Here's hoping he can drive the Mercedes backed cars when they join the grid for the 2018/19 season. He is too good to be in Formula E though...
He's wanted basically everywhere other than F1, including IndyCar: http://motorsports.nbcsports.com/2017/07/31/as-formula-e-season-ends-rosenqvists-indycar-buzz-heats-up/
IndyCar is still seen as above Formula E, I think, but there's reportedly more money for drivers in Formula E. The WEC is totally up in the air right now with only one LMP1 manufacturer left (until Toyota drops out too,) so that's probably not an option. I'm sure any other series would love to have him, but I think Formula E would win out over anything else. IMSA is growing a lot right now, with Penske joining DPi with Acura and Joest taking over Mazda's efforts. It could be more attractive than WEC right now.
Formula E or IndyCar should be the way forward. With Mercedes ditching DTM for Formula E, and Rosenqvist formerly a Mercedes affiliated driver, he would make perfect sense for them to lead their charge.
I don't see why George Russel of GP3 is doing at Hungaroring today/tomorrow. Should be Felix driving that car!
With all of the LMP1 programs shutting down, there are going to be a lot of top drivers available though. And most of the announced Formula E entries are still another full season away.
I want him in IndyCar. He would be the perfect next piece for Ganassi with Dixon getting older.
I don't want him to be another Kenny Brack, though! He was too good not to race in F1. Poor bloke. Nice bloke too. Supposedly he is the one that made Longbow Finance buy Sauber. With Swedish backers.
I think he should be in F1, but that chance is probably gone.
Anyone up for a fantasy Formula E mini-season? We?d use essentially the same rules as MF1, with weekly picks by weekend instead of by race. We?d have to decide if we want the double races to count for half each or as a full race each. There are only 11 weekends. Draft order would be in reverse order of MF1 finishing position.
I'm up for a Formula E season. And Rosenqvist is my pick. So that's sorted then.
Count me in. I'd say full points for each of the races in a double-header.
Problem with that is that we'd have to do different picks for each race, otherwise certain picks would be worth double points.
I think the only fair way to do full season drivers is to make Renault and Abt the two teams for first drivers. It?s more complicated than F1 because I don?t think anyone would take Prost or Abt, but those two teams so clearly had the best packages last season. Then second drivers are from any other team. For weekly, we have a few options: (1) One pick per locale, locales with two races only get half points per race; (2) One pick per locale, races at the same place count for full points, meaning some picks will be worth double; or (3) picks for every individual race.
I'm with option 3 here. Any double header will count as two individual races in our picks. Therefore, for some weekends we do need two third drivers.
May as well just pick our first and second drivers. Buemi for first driver. Since I'll have last pick, (1) Rosenqvist, (2) Heidfeld, (3) Kobayashi as my second driver choices. Because the season is shorter than F1, we'll say five points for a driver change.
I'll have Di Grassi as my first, with second preferably Rosenqvist. If not Rosenqvist, then Bird. If not Bird, then Heidfeld.
Option 3.
I'll take Buemi for first driver with Bird as top choice for my no. 2, then Rosenqvist, and then Lynn.
So that makes the teams:
Chrill:
1) Di Grassi
2) Rosenqvist
Matt:
1) Buemi
2) Rosenqvist
Penfold:
1) Buemi
2) Bird
We'll be needing some picks for tomorrow's race. If we're using one guy across both races I'll take Di Grassi; if we're using one for each race I'll have Prost for the first round and Di Grassi for the second.
We?ll do one for each. Going for Heidfeld and then Abt.
I'm too late, I suppose.
You?re still fine for the second race.
Right. I'll have a look at Heidfeld then.
I didn?t see the race, but Abt got DQ?d for having the wrong numbers on parts of his car? That seems like something that should be a monetary fine, not a DQ.
Infringement as stated by the FIA: "The FIA security stickers (barcodes) on the inverter and MGU units did not correspond with those declared on the Technical Passport provided by the competitor Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler for the event."
So a fairly serious (and seriously stupid) mistake by the ABT guys. Got to feel for Abt after losing the win, and also for Montara after a late spin cost him what would've been a massively deserved maiden victory. All worked out sweetly for Rosenqvist - who did have a stellar drive except for his first corner cock-up - and so that might please somebody round here.
Well I missed one weekly and then picked the wrong lad for the second one. So I'm out of contention anyway.
My upcoming weeklies, then, so we'll have it all sorted:
Morocco, Chile, Mexico, Who knows where, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, USA 1, USA 2, Canada 1, Canada 2
Rosenqvist, Bird, Mortara, Evans, Di Grassi, Buemi, Prost, Abt, Vergne, Lotterer, Kobayashi, and finally Piquet.
Formula E is fairly unpredictable so I'll be amazed if we don't all pick up some terrible results during the season.
Well I picked Abt for the second race.
An unbeatable achievement.
Just to have my picks in one place.
Hong Kong 1 - Prost
Hong Kong 2 - Di Grassi
Morocco - Rosenqvist
Chile - Heidfeld
Mexico - Buemi
Uruguay - Vergne
Italy - Bird
France - Lotterer
Germany - Abt
Switzerland - Lynn
U.S. - Evans
U.S. - Mortara
Hey, Rosenqvist for Morocco paid off. Lovely. Leading the championship too.
... and a quality decision on my part to copy your pick.
The race after Mexico will be in Uruguay.
Quote from: Penfold on January 16, 2018, 01:41:29 AM
... and a quality decision on my part to copy your pick.
The race after Mexico will be in Uruguay.
U R GAY. hahahahahahahahahahahah.
I forgot about my own mini-championship. In such a short season, that probably kills my chances.
That and the Abt disaster.
First images of 2nd generation Formula E car - to be used from 2018-19 season:
(https://cdn-4.motorsport.com/images/mgl/2GmO3mr6/s8/formula-e-formula-e-2018-2019-car-presentation-2018-formula-e-2018-2019-car.jpg)
(https://cdn-4.motorsport.com/images/mgl/6gyqwpj2/s8/formula-e-formula-e-2018-2019-car-presentation-2018-formula-e-2018-2019-car.jpg)
(https://cdn-6.motorsport.com/images/mgl/0rQ78G76/s8/formula-e-formula-e-2018-2019-car-presentation-2018-formula-e-2018-2019-car.jpg)
I like it. More pics and a bit of blurb right here: https://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2018/01/30/formula-e-reveals-new-car-for-2018-19-season/
And what a looker it is. It's like our 90s sci-fi supercars coming to life.
Yep, it is rather tasty. Wonder when we'll get pics of the real deal rather than just renders? Sometime after this FE season is finished, one assumes.
Lucas di Grassi speculating on potential top speed of new car (over 300km/h) and highlighting need to redesign tracks to utilise said speed boost: https://www.autosport.com/fe/news/134156/new-fe-car-capable-of-more-than-300kmh
Quite. These narrow small street circuits could not hold an F1 car but there is definitely a need, as FE develops, to move more toward larger street circuits with wider tracks. Not to mention improve grip, those cars look stupid with street tyres. I wish FE would go for proper slicks.
I'm sure it's an efficiency thing. Mind you, most of the tyre is covered in the new cars anyway.
Yes, but that does not affect grip much. It makes the cars more durable, perhaps, which helps since they frequently crash.
Think we're talking at cross purposes... I just meant that you can't really see much of the tread on the next-gen cars so 'looking stupid with street tyres' not such an issue - and I just think slicks (or a grippier compound) would be too much of an efficiency killer for FE right now. Perhaps slicks will be okay for the generation of machines that come after this next lot.
Looking at the FE calendar and noticed the Canada double-header has gone walkabouts, a quick search shows it was cancelled at end of last year: https://www.autosport.com/fe/news/133599/montreal-cancels-planned-fe-season-finale
Yes, political and financial problems. This will continue to be an issue as long as Formula E stays committed to street courses.
Well, there are calls for a Swedish ePrix next season. We do sponsor the sport, ABB Formula E, and so a race here is only logical. Replace Montreal with Stockholm!
And Rosenqvist would be a big draw, assuming he is still in Formula E next season.
Indeed. Rumours place Joel Eriksson there too for next season, since practically every German car manufacturer is entering Formula E. BMW, his team, is one of them. Two Swedes on the grid is sexy. Also, let's assume Marcus Ericsson fails to remain in F1 for 2019, Formula E would be a decent place for him to go. There are a couple Swedes who could land a seat in FE in the coming seasons.
Tom Blomqvist is racing in FE too, and he's half-Swedish courtesy of his dad being Rally World Champion Stig Blomqvist.
Nissan showing off how its 2018 FE machine might look:
(https://s13.postimg.org/osv13tcdj/FE2018_-_Nissan_02.jpg)
The new cars just look clunky to me. They don't look like they're futuristic, they look like they're supposed to look futuristic. And Nissan's livery is just boring as hell.
Grey/silver is just a depressing choice for a racing car, and with Merc entering FE next season that's at least two teams with Ron Dennis colouring. I know where you're coming from with the "they look like they're supposed to look futuristic" comment but I'm still liking the styling, although I'm not a huge fan of the front wheel covers which are kind of clunky - plus I prefer my wheels naked....
Races in next season to be shortened to approx. 40 minutes from current 50 - 60 min. duration: https://www.racefans.net/2018/03/09/formula-e-races-shortened-2018-19-season/
So current batteries are doing 25 - 30 minutes, the new super-duper ones will manage 40. Still think they should've stuck with the car swapping just to allow for higher speeds, not having to cut the race duration is now reason no. 2.
Entertaining race in Uruguay. Particularly enjoyed the Vergne/di Grassi scrap, it reminded me just how much I miss the multi-lap battles in F1 of yore - thanks over-complicated aero for killing close racing, and congrats to DRS for removing all the tension!
It was a pretty good race, but not a lot of passing opportunities. Didn?t stop Rosenqvist from going P12 to P5.
45 minutes races is awful for live fans. There is not much else going on, there are not support series. I think they are adding a GT series next year? But still, not much going on for your money.
Quote from: Matt on March 19, 2018, 11:55:29 AMDidn?t stop Rosenqvist from going P12 to P5.
Get that man a drive in F1.
Quote from: Matt on March 19, 2018, 11:55:29 AM
It was a pretty good race, but not a lot of passing opportunities. Didn't stop Rosenqvist from going P12 to P5.
Or Mitch Evans zooming up from 16th to 4th.
Quote from: Matt on March 19, 2018, 11:55:29 AM45 minutes races is awful for live fans. There is not much else going on, there are not support series. I think they are adding a GT series next year? But still, not much going on for your money.
Jaguar I-Pace (so many bloody things prefixed by 'I' these days) support race joins the fray next season, but still won't be much track action for the punters. I'd suggest two FE races at each event but probably take too long to cool and then charge the batteries, and two cars per driver doesn't seem very likely.
Massa taken enough time away from the track, has agreed a three-year deal to race for Venturi from next season: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/44131389
Formula E will be racing in Riyadh next season because nothing matters other than Agag?s bank account.
That's very Bernie Ecclestone of Formula E.
Next season's calendar: https://www.racefans.net/2018/06/07/fia-confirms-2018-19-formula-e-calendar/
I see the Fanboost nonsense remains.
Yes, but it's augmented by a HYPERBOOST Super Mario style feature. Go off the racing line and activate a more powerful engine which will last four minutes. How odd is that.
Extremely. To think, people are actually getting paid to come up with all this crap.
Part of the idea is to find a way to include strategy in the equation since they will not be pitting for tires or fuel otherwise. I am not sure about it, but they are right that races without any strategy can become processional.
Shouldn't really be an issue for cars with so little downforce, but if they feel it's necessary I'd favour the simplicity (and fairness) of IndyCar's push-to-pass system.
I shall use this for any and all electric stuff now.
https://www.motorsport.com/hillclimb/news/dumas-sets-early-pace-in-pikes-peak-qualifying-in-electric-vw-1047057/
Boom, the Volkswagen electric car goes nuts at Pikes Peak, over 11 seconds faster than the second fastest car in the first qualifying runs.
Never mind all that electric stuff and how fast it's gone up a hill, I'm just fixated on that beast of a rear wing. That thing is an absolute monster.
Buemi and Alexander Albon confirmed for the E.Dams team next season, thus ruling both out of an F1 drive: https://www.racefans.net/2018/09/20/nissan-formula-e-deal-buemi-rules-out-2019-f1-return/
If Albon does ever make it to F1, or perhaps even if he makes a name for himself in FE, I shall call him Blur.
No link from me now, but there was also a story that Rosenqvist will do every Formula E round that does not conflict with IndyCar.
Rosenqvist has a tendency to race in multiple series during the same season.
Van Door touted as a driver for HWA in the upcoming season, possibly alongside Gary Paffett: https://e-racing365.com/formula-e/vandoorne-closing-in-on-hwa-formula-e-seat/
HWA will metamorphosise into the Mercedes FE entry for the 2019/20 campaign, so I guess Ocon is also a candidate if Merc wants to keep him racing next year.
The Van Door confirmed as an HWA driver for next season: https://www.racefans.net/2018/10/15/vandoorne-to-join-formula-e-with-hwa/
First race. Anyone see it? Racing was okay, the cars seem appreciably nippier than the Gen1 models which is no bad thing, and, uh, I can't really be arsed to type anything else about it right now.
I did not watch it. It's getting a bit too arcade for my liking. Speed zones? Sure, it's only slightly more gimmicky than DRS but still.
I can see why they've introduced the speed zones (boost zones? I don't know the official name) now that FE is a pit stop-free environment - inject some strategy into the affair with these two compulsory four-minute bites of extra power. It's not an approach I love, but I wouldn't say it detracted from proceedings as much as DRS does in F1. With an essentially evenly paced field in FE, if a rival does use their 25 kW boost to zip past there is every opportunity to repay the favour; with DRS in F1 it's normally so hard to stay within one second of someone that anyone who can trigger DRS has a fundamentally much faster car/newer tyres and simply eases away after the overtake.
It's not so much that the field is evenly paced, but rather that the cars still don't go fast enough (and don't have enough grip) for aero wash to be a huge issue. But it's time to get rid of FanBoost, because there's just too many boosts going on. Not that FanBoost ever should have existed to begin with.
FanBoost... so dire it almost makes F1's DRS passes seem like a pure form of racing.
A fairly entertaining race last Saturday. The Da Costa/Sims incident was quite hilarious....
Electrified racing presses on with the launch of an F4 series: https://www.racefans.net/2020/01/21/electric-racing-academy-series-launched-at-zolder/
The 2020 Rome EPrix has been cancelled. I think we all saw that one coming down the road: https://www.racefans.net/2020/03/06/coronavirus-causes-first-major-race-cancellation-in-europe-as-formula-e-scraps-rome-eprix/
Indonesia race also off: https://www.racefans.net/2020/03/11/third-formula-e-race-cancelled-due-to-coronavirus/
At what point will they just cancel the season? Only Chile, Mexico, and Morocco are in countries reasonably unaffected.
Yeah, and they've already held those rounds! Next races are Paris, Seoul, and Berlin, all meant to take place before the end of June. Sure they will.
Talking of the Coronavirus... I see the U.K. continues to slip down the World leaderboard of reported cases: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
Just a couple of weeks back we were safely within the top ten, but now we find ourselves in a rather lowly 15th (I'm ignoring the Cruise Ship entry) having been overtaken by a raft of countries, all of which bar the U.S. have considerably smaller populations than Britain. I think our position has at least stabilised, for a while there I feared we'd drop behind Belgium (can you imagine!), and so hopefully we can build from this base as we try and chase down Sweden, the Netherlands, and Denmark.
Formula E season suspended until further notice: https://www.racefans.net/2020/03/13/opening-f2-and-f3-race-dates-cancelled-as-formula-e-suspends-season/
How to make Formula E even less interesting to watch: hold six races in Berlin - https://www.racefans.net/2020/06/17/formula-e-to-hold-six-races-in-eight-days-to-end-2019-20-season/
We're concerned over how the 2nd race in a double header will feel, but the SIXTH in a sextuple-header? That's just impressive.
Yeah, but it's three different configurations of the entirely charmless Templehof airport venue, so that should keep everyone enthralled....
Ah yes, the airpot they abandoned 10-15 years ago for the new Brandenburg Airport (which hasn't opened yet).
If you're bored, and haven't heard of the Berlin Brandenburg Airport, go find a video on YouTube or read an article. It's an absolute hoot, such a failure.
I did see a piece about it a couple of years back, but I just went and refreshed my memory and, well, what a fuck up. I see it's slated to open this October, and after looking at some shots of the interior, I do find it rather humorous that they'll have a brand new state-of-the-art airport that already looks ten years old!
Or, considering it's lack of wear and tear, a ten-year old airport that looks brand new.
According to Wikipedia, that new Berlin airport will indeed be opening this November.
While they're actually quite different, it reminds me of MidAmerica Airport in St. Louis. It was built to alleviate traffic at the main St. Louis airport, but it was questionable at the time it was built (it is sometimes considered a "pork barrel" project--essentially, a personal political gift that brings money to a specific representative's district) and only became more questionable soon thereafter. St. Louis used to be a hub for TWA, which meant it was quite a busy and growing airport... until TWA merged with American in 2001, and American dropped St. Louis as a hub. Now the main St. Louis airport (which has also since expanded by adding another runway) doesn't even have that much traffic. MidAmerica served 303,000 passengers last year, compared to the main airport, Lambert, which served 15,878,527 passengers. Lambert is also right in the middle of the city, whereas MidAmerica is 20 miles away.
Anyway, as for Formula E... honestly, I can barely tell the tracks apart anyway. I'm glad they'll get the season finished and I'll still watch them all.
I shall probably watch two or three of them, possibly more in the unlikely event that they rustle up some interesting layouts round the airport. Actually, quite a lot of the venues do blend together in my head, the German one stands out because it is such a soulless setting!
From next year Formula E will be a proper FIA-sanctioned World Championship with a nice, compact calendar: https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2020/june/2021-race-calendar
Racing on a bunch of street circuits all over the world starting in January still seems very optimistic. It's a bit different when you're racing on actual tracks.
BMW follows Audi out of the Formula E door: https://www.racefans.net/2020/12/02/bmw-follow-audi-in-pulling-out-of-formula-e/
Lack of freedom to innovate probably killed their enthusiasm for the series.
Time to wake the thread from deep hibernation. New season soon with rejigged cars and a calendar that's all in the same year, what an idea!
1 Mexico City - Mexico - 14 January
2 Diriyah 1 - Saudi Arabia - 27 January
3 Diriyah 2 - Saudi Arabia - 28 January
4 Hyderabad - India - 11 February
5 Cape Town - South Africa - 25 February
6 Sao Paulo - Brazil - 25 March
7 Berlin 1 - Germany - 22 April
8 Berlin 2 - Germany - 23 April
9 Monaco - Monaco! - 06 May
10 Jakarta 1 - Indonesia - 03 June
11 Jakarta 2 - Indonesia - 04 June
12 Portland - United States - 24 June
13 Rome 1 - Italy 15 July
14 Rome 2 - Still in Italy - 16 July
15 London 1 - United Kingdom - 29 July
16 London 2 - United Kingdom - 30 July
I'm impressed to see Rome wasn't rebuilt (outside Italy) in a day.
It is famously a two-day job....
Here be the new cars in all their angular splendour:
(https://i.postimg.cc/HsRCdtGr/racefansdotnet-21-12-13-13-41-03-123.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/mgYpJ3Tf/racefansdotnet-21-12-13-14-38-54-153.jpg)
Front wing not the most pleasing but otherwise I rather like them
I don't like seeing them from above. So... fat. Bulky. Awkward.
Honestly, Gen 1 and Gen 2 both looked pretty sweet at least after seeing them for a while. Maybe Gen 1 with the "newer" front wings were my favourites. I'll probably warm up to this one also.