Formula E

Sam Bird and Jaguar Agree Contract Extension

News Articles, Previously Published Work

Sam Bird and Jaguar TCS Racing sign a new contract extension ahead of the first race of Season 8.

Season 8 may not have begun, but Sam Bird has already secured his future with Jaguar TCS racing by signing a multi-year contract extension.

The team and driver pairing enjoyed a successful season 7, their first year together, with Bird taking two race wins in Diriyah and New York. He also enjoyed a further podium finish in Rome. These results, alongside the efforts of his teammate Mitch Evans, helped the team to secure 2nd in the championship.

It was undoubtedly a successful first season together and this contract extension shows that Jaguar is confident Bird is the right man to continue this success. It will provide a huge boost to all parties so close to the first race of Season 8.

Image Credit: Formula E

The exact length of the contract has not been confirmed, however it means that Sam Bird will enter the new Gen3 era, in Season 9, as a Jaguar driver.

Bird stated “My first season with Jaguar TCS Racing told me everything I needed to know – I wanted to continue to be a part of the Jaguar TCS Racing family.”

He added that “The whole team is determined, focussed and ready to get results and that’s exactly who I want to be working with. Now it’s time to get season eight underway and ensure we put all our off-season practice and learnings into action to score as many points as possible.”

This sentiment was echoed by the Team Principle of Jaguar TCS Racing, James Barclay. “It is a really positive start to Season 8 as we confirm Sam Bird will continue his electric racing career with Jaguar TCS Racing after a great first season with the team. Sam’s results from last year demonstrate he fits in extremely well here at Jaguar TCS Racing, shares our goals and is very much part of the family.”

Feature Image Credit: Formula E

Posted on 23rd January, 2022 for The PitCrew Online

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Formula E Reveals New Porsche Safety Car

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The all-electric Porsche Taycan will be the new Formula E safety car, launching at the first race of Season 8.

Shortly ahead of the first race of Season 8, Formula E has launched their new safety car. The Porsche Taycan is the first fully electric sports car made by Porsche.

Under the striking and colourful paint job, designed to represent all current Formula E teams, is 560kW of power, allowing the machine to reach top speeds of up to 260kh/h.

The aim is for this vehicle to highlight the “social values such as diversity and community” of all teams, as well as paying homage to the commitment of all 22 drivers.

Image Credit: Formula E

Vice President of Porsche Motorsport, Thomas Laudenbach, commented that “The distinctive design illustrates our commitment to the successful future of this innovative racing series. Although we’re rivals out on the track, we’re spreading this message to the world together. What’s more, we hope that this also enables us to appeal to a younger target audience who are not yet motorsport fans.”

Jamie Reigle, Formula E’s CEO added that “In designing the Formula E Safety Car, Porsche reimagined the critical on-track safety function to be a powerful symbol of the championship’s commitment to an electrified future and the unity of the competitors in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.”

Feature Image Credit: Formula E

Posted on 18th January, 2022 for The PitCrew Online

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Maserati joins Formula E

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Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer, Maserati, have announced they will be joining Formula E in Season 9.

When the new Gen 3 Formula E cars launch, a new team will be lining up on the grid. It has been announced that Maserati will be joining the all-electric series from Season 9.

Maserati, and their Folgore electric brand, are “proud” to be returning to single-seater motorsport after a long 60-year absence.

“We are very proud to be back where we belong as protagonists in the world of racing. We are powered by passion and innovative by nature” stated their CEO, Davide Grasso. He continued by saying “We have a long history of world-class excellence in competition and we are ready to drive performance in the future.”

Maserati’s successful motorsport history includes an F1 World Championship, won by Jan Manuel Fangio in 1957, and two Indy500 wins, in 1939 and 1940. Arguable, Maserati’s greatest successes came in Sportcar and GT racing, with 4 Targa Florio wins and, more recently, 14 FIA GT titles since 2004.

Image Credit: Formula E

The news comes after the announcement that three giant teams – Mercedes, Audi and BMW – will be leaving the sport at the end of Season 8. This much-needed boost will help to quash some of the discussions around the future of Formula E and the potential success of the Gen3 era.

CEO Jamie Reigle commented that “Formula E races in the heart of the most iconic cities in the world and is followed passionately by a progressive global audience. Our millions of fans will be thrilled to see Maserati line up on the grid as one of the world’s elite electric car brands.”

Alejandro Aga, Founder and Chairman, continued this by stating that “The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is the pinnacle of electric racing. It provides the perfect environment for the most dynamic and innovative high-performance car brands to showcase their technological capabilities alongside their sporting ambitions.”

Feature Image Credit: Formula E

Posted on 11th January, 2022 for The PitCrew Online

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Formula E Launches Gen3 Cars and Introduces New Cost Cap

News Articles, Previously Published Work

Ahead of the 2022/2023 season, Formula E has provided us with a glimpse at their new net-zero carbon Gen3 cars, as well as announcing a new cost cap for manufacturers.

With the car due to officially launch in spring 2022, Formula E has provided some insight into the changes we can expect to see in their Gen3 cars. This new generation of all-electric racing machines will be used from season 9 onwards and, overall, will be more efficient and faster.

The teaser images shared at the end of November don’t give away too much about the car’s design but they do start to show the angular shape of the chassis and wings. This look has been inspired by an “aero-efficient delta wing of a fighter jet”.

The design also boasts a wider rear and a lack of wheel covers. The latter feature should allow for closer wheel-to-wheel battles as the cars will be able to cope with more considerable contact.

Image Credit: Formula E

When it comes to the technical specs, the most notable development is the increase in regenerative energy, harnessed from the braking system. Up to 40% of a Formula E Gen3 car’s power will now be produced in this way.

Additionally, all racing cars will also have a front and rear powertrain, with 250kW of energy coming from the front of the car and 350kW coming from the back. This development means that the Gen3 car will have more than double the amount of energy when compared to the Gen2 model. Thanks to this added front powertrain, the Gen3 car will also be the first formula car to not feature a rear hydraulic brake system.

With the overall cars being lighter and smaller than their Gen2 predecessor, the Gen3 machine will have a more efficient power-to-weight ratio and will be capable of top speeds of up to 200mph.

In addition to the changes to the cars, for the 9th season of Formula E teams and manufacturers will face a new cost cap. This means that powertrain manufacturers will be limited to spending €25 million across two consecutive seasons. However, with most teams already working on their Gen3 machines, this cost cap is unlikely to have an immediate effect on the teams.

Image Credit: Formula E

When discussing the developments we will see in the 9th series, Formula E’s CEO Jamie Reigle stated that: “In designing the Gen3 car, we set out to demonstrate that high performance, efficiency and sustainability can co-exist without compromise. Together with the FIA, we have built the world’s most efficient and sustainable high performance race car.”

“The Gen3 is our fastest, lightest, most powerful and efficient racing car yet. It is a creature designed for its habitat: racing on city streets in wheel-to-wheel combat. We look forward to witnessing it inspire and excite the next generation of motorsport fans in cities around the world from Season 9 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.”

Feature Image Credit: Formula E

Posted on 2nd January, 2022 for The PitCrew Online

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Motorsport Monday – 18th March 2019

Screen Time

F1 Chat with Charli Andrews, Liam Hodgins and Connor Jackson.

Has Bottas got one major mental advantage over Hamilton already?

Where was Ferrari’s pace all weekened?

Should Claire Williams step down before the end of the season?

Will Kubica be shipped out mid-season to make way for another driver?

And who broadcast it better?  SkyF1 or Channel 4?

Motorsport Monday – 11th March 2019

Screen Time

First show of 2019!  Lester Forbes is joined by the Motorsport Radio website editor Connor Jackson and motorsport journalist Charli Andrews making her debut to discuss Formula E, IndyCars and Formula 1.

5min – Formula E / Review of Hong Kong
41min – IndyCar / Review of St. Pete
65min – F1 Chat / Australian GP Preview & Predictions

DiGrassi cruises to victory in a chaotic Zurich E-Prix

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Lucas DiGrassi took a serene win, his first of the season. He crossed the line just 7.5 seconds ahead of Sam Bird, who has cut Jean Eric Vergne’s championship lead to just 23 points ahead of the final race weekend of the season. 

Earlier today, Mitch Evans managed to put his Jaguar on pole position for the first time in his Formula E career with a time of 1:12.811s. He managed to beat Techeetah’s Andre Lotterer by 0.137s.

Sam Bird, who is sitting second in the championship after his victory in Rome, set the third fastest time, while Jean Eric Vergne, the title leader, could only set the 17th fastest time.

 

As the lights went out, Evans lead the field with ease; after four laps, his lead was up to 1.5s as the following riders took a defensive stance. However, he complained that his cockpit was “super hot”, suggesting he had technical difficulties. These difficulties became evident when, on lap 17, when di Grassi was able to cruise past him for the lead as Evan’s tried to save energy.

Despite starting in sixth, di Grassi stormed through the grid, passing Jerome D’Ambrosio, Sam Bird and Andre Lotterer with ease on his way to snatch the lead. By the time the chequered flag fell, he was 7.542s ahead of the pack.

Di Grassi wasn’t the only driver making waves, as championship leader Jean Eric Vergnefought his way through the grid as he attempted to save his championship lead. He started 17th, but by lap nine he was in the points scoring positions.

His efforts were halted, however, when his car stalled in the pits leaving him stationary for a painful 12 seconds. He came out in ninth and was left to start all over again. He kept the pressure on his fellow racers and fought his was back up.

 

The podium was completed by Briton’s Sam Bird and Jerome d’Amborisio for the first time this season. Both drivers were saved by key players being slapped with a driver-through penalty for speeding under a full course yellow. Mitch Evans, Andre Lotterer, Sebastian Buemi and Jose Maria Lopez were initialled fined, and Jean Eric Vergne later joined the party.

These penalties also allowed drivers such as Nick Heidfeld and Oliver Turvey to salvage some points after a disappointing weekend, finishing in sixth and ninth respectively. After his impressive pole, Evans was forced back to finish in a disappointing seventh, ahead of Felix Da Costa, who secured his first points finished since Mexico.

Sadly home favourite, Edoardo Mortara was the first race retirement, competing only six laps before clipping the kerb through the tram stop.

After first lap drama saw Nelson Piquet Jr slamming in to the back of Daniel Abt, scattering the German’s rear wing across the tarmac, he eventually retired on lap 20.

Nico Prost was the final retirement as he locked the breaks and journey in to the wall for a high speed collision on lap 31.

 

After the chaos caused by various penalties, Sam Bird was able to reduce the championship fight from 40 points, to just 23 ahead of the final race weekend of the season.

The grid will be back out in action for the double-header in New York on the 7th and 8th of July. Overtake Motorsport will have all the action and results for you.

 

Feature Image Credit: Audi Formula E twitter