FE - 2015 London ePrix - Preview
Nelson Piquet Jr currently leads the driver standings and with a 17-point advantage over fellow countryman Lucas di Grassi, following his dominant win last time out in Moscow. Along with Di Grassi, Sebastien Buemi, Nico Prost, Jerome D’Ambrosio and Sam Bird could all still mathematically walk away with the title with 60 points up for grabs. Meanwhile, e.dams-Renault look favourites to secure the teams’ title in front of an expected 60,000 crowd with many millions more watching at home.
This weekend also sees a number of new drivers with Sakon Yamamoto replacing Antonio Felix da Costa at Amlin Aguri, Simona de Silvestro driving alongside Jean-Eric Vergne at Andretti, Briton Oliver Turvey partnering Piquet at NEXTEV TCR, 2013 GP2 champion Fabio Leimer in for Jaime Alguersuari at Virgin Racing and a new driver still to be announced at Trulli.
Season so far (after nine races):
In the season-opener in Beijing it was Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport Abt) who snatched victory after a dramatic last lap, last corner crash between long-time race-leader Nicolas Prost (e.dams-Renault) and Venturi’s Nick Heidfeld. For round two in Putrajaya, Malaysia, it was Virgin Racing’s Sam Bird who took the chequered flag after an impressive showing and clever use of battery management. Meanwhile, for the picturesque round three in Uruguay’s Punta del Este, it was Sebastien Buemi (e.dams-Renault) who recorded his maiden Formula E win after another action-packed race. The Buenos Aires ePrix proved to be another first, this time for Amlin Aguri’s Antonio Felix da Costa who secured his maiden win during a spectacular race. In Miami, it was Prost who secured his first win, and the team’s second, joined on the podium by debutant Scott Speed (Andretti) and Daniel Abt (ABT). In Long Beach, it was the turn of Piquet to make his mark finishing head of Andretti’s Jean-Eric Vergne and Di Grassi.
For Monaco, it was Buemi who became the first driver to win two Formula E races and the first from pole. In Berlin, it was Jerome D’Ambrosio who inherited the win after initial victor Di Grassi was excluded due to technical infringements. Sebastien Buemi ended second with Loic Duval earning his first top three finish for Dragon with third. Last time out in Moscow it was again Piquet who stood on the top step of the podium after getting the jump on Vergne off the start, leading home Di Grassi and Buemi before Heidfeld inherited third place following a time penalty for Buemi.
Drivers’ Standings (After Rd 9):
1. Nelson Piquet Jr | 128pts |
2. Lucas di Grassi | 111pts |
3. Sebastien Buemi | 105pts |
4. Nicolas Prost | 82pts |
5. Jerome D’Ambrosio | 77pts |
6. Sam Bird | 68pts |
7. Jean-Eric Vergne | 55pts |
8. Antonio Felix da Costa | 51pts |
9. Daniel Abt | 32pts |
10. Nick Heidfeld | 31pts |
Teams’ Standings (After Rd 9):
1. e.dams-Renault Formula E | 187pts |
2. Audi Sport ABT Formula E | 143pts |
3. NEXTEV TCR Formula E | 132pts |
4. Dragon Racing Formula E | 116pts |
5. Andretti Formula E | 104pts |
6. Virgin Racing Formula E | 98pts |
7. Amlin Aguri Formula E | 62pts |
8. Venturi Formula E | 49pts |
9. Mahindra Racing Formula E | 46pts |
10. Trulli Formula E | 17pts |
Visa London ePrix - Circuit layout
Length: 2.92km (1.8m) // Turns: 17 // Laps: 29
Visa London ePrix timetable – June 27 & 28:
08:15 – 09:00 Non qualifying 1
10:30 – 11:00 Non qualifying 2
12:00 – 12:10 Qualifying group 1
12:15 – 12:25 Qualifying group 2
12:30 – 12:40 Qualifying group 3
12:45 – 12:55 Qualifying group 4
16:04 Race (29 laps)
Teams & Drivers racing in the Visa London ePrix (Rds 10 & 11):
Amlin Aguri: | Sakon Yamamoto & Salvador Duran | |
Andretti: | Simona de Silvestro & Jean-Eric Vergne | |
Audi Sport ABT: | Lucas di Grassi & Daniel Abt | |
Dragon Racing: | Loic Duval & Jerome d’Ambrosio | |
e.dams-Renault: | Nicolas Prost & Sebastien Buemi | |
Mahindra Racing: | Karun Chandhok & Bruno Senna | |
NEXTEV TCR: | Nelson Piquet Jr & Oliver Turvey | |
Trulli: | Jarno Trulli & TBA | |
Venturi: | Nick Heidfeld & Stephane Sarrazin | |
Virgin Racing: | Fabio Leimer & Sam Bird |
Media Accreditation
Is located inside Battersea Park, south London at the Chelsea car park, Chelsea Gate, Battersea Park, 374 Queenstown Road, London, SW8 4NU
Accreditation opening hours:
Thursday 25 June 09:00 – 18:00
Friday 26 June 09:00 – 18:00
Saturday 27 June 07:00 – 15:00
Sunday 28 June 07:00 – 12:00
Media Centre opening hours:
Thursday 25 June: Closed
Friday 26 June: 09:00 – 20:00
Saturday 27 June: 07:00 – 22:00
Sunday 28 June: 07:00 – 22:00
Overview:
Formula E is the FIA’s new single-seater championship and the world's first fully-electric racing series. The inaugural season began on September 2014 and runs until June 2015, competing in 10 of the world's leading cities (11 races) including Berlin, Moscow and London. For the inaugural season, 10 teams, each with two drivers, go head-to-head creating a unique and exciting racing series designed to appeal to a new generation of motorsport fans, whilst also helping to promote sustainability.
Car – Spark-Renault SRT_01E
For season one, all drivers use an identical fully-electric single-seater designed and built by Spark Racing technology together with a consortium of the leading manufacturers including McLaren, Williams, Renault, Michelin and Dallara.
Practice
Drivers have two non-qualifying practice sessions. They will have up to two cars available to them giving them the option to change cars should they wish. Full power (200kw / 270bhp) will be available throughout.
Qualifying
The qualifying session is a straight fight for the fastest laptime and determines the order for the day's race. The session will last 55 minutes (40 minutes track) and see drivers divided into four groups of five cars, with each group having 10 minutes to set their best time. Full power (200kw / 270bhp) will be available throughout with drivers only able to use one car.
ePrix
Races will begin by standing start (no formation lap) and last for approximately 45 minutes with drivers making one mandatory pit stop in order to change cars. Power will be restricted to 'race mode' (150kw / 202.5bhp) apart from those drivers with FanBoost.
FanBoost
Fans can give their favourite driver an extra speed boost by voting for them prior to the race. The three drivers with the most votes (received online and through social media) will each receive a five-second ‘power boost’ per car per driver, temporarily increasing their car’s power from 150kw to 180kw. It can be used at any time apart from the first lap.
Points
Drives will score points using the standard FIA system of: 1st = 25pts, 2nd = 18pts, 3 = 15pts, 4th = 12pts, 5th= 10pts, 6th = 8pts, 7th = 6pts, 8th = 4pts, 9th = 2pts and 10th = 1pt.
Three points will be awarded to the driver securing pole position, whilst the driver setting the fastest lap receives two points. A driver’s total score is made up of all their results less one (i.e. they have to discount their worst result).
Further information:
Main: www.fiaformulae.com
Media (high-re images & press pack): http://media.fiaformulae.com (log-in required)
Results & live timing: http://fiaformulae.alkamelsystems.com/