Welcome to the Official Formula E Championship thread for the inaugural season! The racing starts in a couple of months but the first official test is in about a day and a half. This will be very devisive, I know...some will love it some will hate it. Whatever side you chose, it should be fun to discuss.
"Formula E is a breath of fresh air and F1 has to worry that fans will believe so" - Jarno Trulli
FIA book on Fe:
http://current-e.com/wp-content/uplo...2/fe-specs.pdf
Here is the season schedule:
•Round 1: Beijing, People’s Republic of China - 09/13/14
•Round 2: Putrajaya, Malaysia - 10/18/14
•Round 3: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 11/15/14
•Round 4: Punta del Este, Uruguay - 12/13/14
•Round 5: Buenos Aires, Argentina - 01/10/15
•Round 6: Los Angeles, USA - 02/14/15
•Round 7: Miami, USA - 03/14/15
•Round 8: Monte Carlo, Monaco - 05/09/15
•Round 9: Berlin, Germany - 05/30/2015
•Round 10: London, UK - 06/27/2015
--The races will not be called Grand Prixs but will be referred to as ePrix races.--
F1 vs Fe
"Williams Advanced Engineering announced in June 2013 that it will partner with Spark Racing Technology to design and assemble a battery system for the 42 cars that will be used in the FIA Formula E Championship." -- this is the same Williams as in F1
http://www.williamsf1.com/AdvancedEn...ies/Formula-E/
Overview:
•10 international teams, each with two drivers. Each driver will have 2 cars.
•Races will take place on 10 city-centre venues around the world
•Circuits will be from 2.5km to 3 km in length
•Cars will accelerate from 0- 100Km/h in 2.9 seconds, with a maximum speed of 225Km/h
•The cars will still produce sound at around 80 decibels (more than a road car travelling at 70mph)
Event:
•Practice, qualifying and the race will all take place in one day (Saturday) in order to minimise disruption to the city.
•Practice will last one hour with cars taking to the track as they please.
•Qualifying will see cars taking to the track in groups in order to avoid congestion with each driver having a set number of laps in order to set their fastest time.
•Races will be one hour in length with each driver required to make two mandatory pit stops to change cars. Tyres will not be changed.
•Points will be awarded to the top 10 finishers in accordance with other FIA championships: 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1
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Each driver will pilot two cars during the hour-long race. No, you didn’t read that wrong. Twice each race, as per the rules, a driver must pit to “refuel” by jumping into a car with a fully charged battery. This isn’t going to be like Le Mans in the ’60s, where drivers would roar off without being fully belted. The cars must be stopped in the pits for a minimum of 30 seconds to ensure that all the safety equipment is properly engaged before reentering the race. While the practice of using two vehicles in one race may seem laughable, it’s commonplace in MotoGP, where riders change bikes if something mechanical goes wrong. Tires, however, must last the entire stint. A tire puncture is the lone exception to that rule.
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The FIA has posted the tech regulations book here:
http://www.fia.com/sites/default/fil...A9c.2013_0.pdf
Some specs on the Spark-Renault SRT_01E as it relates to the above
•Max power (limited): 200kw, equivalent to 270bhp
•Race mode (power-saving): 133kw, equivalent to 180bhp
•'Push-to-Pass': 67kw
•Acceleration: 0 - 100 km/h (0-62mph) in 3s - Estimated
•Maximum speed: 225 km/h (FIA limited) - Estimated
•MGU by McLaren
•Maximum of two MGU's allowed
•MGU's must be linked only to the rear axle
• USe a RESS (rechargeable Energy Storage System)
•The use of traction control is forbidden
•McLaren Electronics ECU/GCU including data logging system
•Power supply management unit
•CAN data acquisition pre-equipment
•FIA Marshalling system
•Beacon receiver
•Telemetry is not permitted
•Non assisted rack and pinion steering system (power assistance is allowed)
•Steering wheel with dashboard, marshalling display, gear change and clutch paddles
Here is the website:
www.fiaformulae.com
They have something called a "fan boost" where you can vote:
http://fanboost.fiaformulae.com/
"The three drivers with the most votes will each receive one 2.5-second ‘power boost’, temporarily increasing their car’s power from 133kw (180bhp) to 200kw (270bhp)."
http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/teams.aspx:
"The inaugural season will see 10 teams, each with two drivers, competing in the 2014/2015 FIA Formula E Championship. All teams - coming from a variety of top, global championships - have now been confirmed and approved by the FIA.
It will be down to the individual teams to select their drivers. To date, 14 of the 20 drivers have been announced including Lucas di Grassi, Daniel Abt, Jaime Alguersuari, Sam Bird, Karun Chandhok, Bruno Senna, Franck Montagny, Jarno Trulli, Nick Heidfeld, Stéphane Sarrazin, Katherine Legge, Sebastien Buemi, Nicolas Prost and Michela Cerruti.
For the inaugural season, each team will run four Spark-Renault SRT_01E Formula E cars, two per driver, with the cars/teams based at a purpose built central workshop at Donington Park in the UK - part of a number of steps to reduce overall running costs.
From season two, Formula E will become an 'open championship' allowing teams to design and develop their own cars - in accordance to the technical specifications set out by the FIA - and showcasing their electrical energy innovations in a competitive, racing environment.
Related News:
BMW to become official vehicle supplier
"The agreement would see BMW supply a fleet of its highly advanced fully-electric and hybrid vehicles to be used as course, medical and VIP cars at all race events. Two of the manufacturer’s vehicles – the all-electric BMW i3 and the hybrid BMW i8 - which will be used at the events were also unveiled to guests at the Roundhouse in London."
Jörg Reimann, Vice President BMW Brand Experience: “We have watched with great interest the continued growth of the new FIA Formula E Championship and the potential it has to significantly increase the interest in sustainable mobility. As a global manufacturer at the forefront of innovation and technology, BMW regards Formula E as a great platform in which to showcase our range of fully-electric and hybrid vehicles and to align our common goals. We are working on an agreement to finalise this partnership.”
ESPN calls Fe 'the future of motorsport"
Story:
http://en.espnf1.com/fia/motorsport/story/164787.html
Renault ups sponsorship and involvement in Fe
Renault has stepped up it's involvement in Fe by backing the Seb Prost and Nicolas Buemi squad for e.dams. It is now e.dams-Renault.
Is this a killer for the series? We'll see!
So let's hear it!! I want to hear your opinion: What do you think? Any news you want to share? Who is near one of the scheduled venues?
-- I will be going to the Miami event. You may be apprehensive about this series but - come on! - anything racing through down town has got to be fun.
Why this is good for Miami:
http://egov.ci.miami.fl.us/Legistarw...ents/70553.pdf
