The Lucas di Grassi Formula E Thread

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 25 Aug 2015, 00:26

I was there as well today, sorry I didn't mention it here, was a bit last minute and I wasn't online over the weekend so kept it simple.

Cracking day out, first hour in the grandstand, then down to the pit walk, best £5 I've spent in a while, got a good poke in all of the garages, met all of the big names despite the crowds (yes, even Simona dr-baker!

) and got autographs off Senna, Piquet, Simona, Di Grassi, Sam Bird, and Daniel Abt. Sam complemented my Marussia top which was nice!

It compared very favourably indeed to the BTCC pitwalk I did at Oulton Park earlier this year. That was rammed, stupid queues for the big names and difficult to really get anything. This was much more laid back, the drivers were friendly, and it was easy to get stuff signed and get pictures. Much more pleasant all round, and totally worth the £5.

After that, we spent a couple of hours around the Melbourne Loop, got some nice shots around there. Then spent a little while at the Grand Prix Collection museum in the afternoon. It was nice to see some new exhibits since my last visit in 2012, but I was somewhat disappointed to see a lot more military stuff than before. In the words of Neil in the first Inbetweeners movie "you can see that sh*t anywhere". When you consider the amount of military museums, places of interest, etc in comparison to motorsport exhibits and museums in this country, it's a shame the Grand Prix Collection has gone in this direction. I understand why, it's a big thing for the Wheatcrofts, but for £5 each (and that was half price) I'd like to see the Grand Prix Collection continue to reflect it's name! Still a fantastic display though and whilst there was definitely not as many F1 cars on display the Trojans, a RAM, an Arrows A2 and a whole slew of Force Indias, 2008 onwards, were highlights. It still has to be the best single display of F1 cars in the country (world?).

We got out of there at 4:30, just as it was about to rain, so we went back to the car and headed home. Seems like it was perfect timing really!

Snoozey2 · Post by **Snoozey2** » 25 Aug 2015, 01:24

I see Team Aguri have added some flares.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 25 Aug 2015, 11:37

AndreaModa wrote:Cracking day out, first hour in the grandstand, then down to the pit walk, best £5 I've spent in a while, got a good poke in all of the garages, met all of the big names despite the crowds (yes, even Simona dr-baker! ) !

golic_2004 · Post by **golic_2004** » 25 Aug 2015, 11:43

It's about time the Andretti got their issues with the software in order and Simona got to get some laps in for testing. Good luck this year Iron Maiden.

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 25 Aug 2015, 12:09

Snoozey2 wrote:I see Team Aguri have added some flares.

Sorry. I couldn't help myself.

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 25 Aug 2015, 12:12

golic_2004 wrote:It's about time the Andretti got their issues with the software in order and Simona got to get some laps in for testing. Good luck this year Iron Maiden.

There's something Bruce Dickinson hasn't done yet - motor racing!

And at 57, he's still not too old for it, at least not in the eyes of Don "oldest champeen ever, y'all" Pentecost.

Post by **Miguel98** » 25 Aug 2015, 12:35

So, driving the Trulli e-train machine will be..

Salvador Durán!!

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 25 Aug 2015, 19:31

I totally enjoyed the day out yesterday, and it was great to meet dr-baker and dinizintheoven for the first time!

I met dr-baker by Damon's pink Brabham in the museum, which is how all reject meetings should happen quite frankly. I was pleased to see plenty of other reject cars there (4WD Cosworth, Penthouse Rizla Hesketh, the lovely lovely 1983 RAM) but a bit disappointed that some of the cars I remembered from my previous visit - admittedly over 10 years ago! - were not there such as the LEC and the pre-83 Williams cars. Some of them were probably with their owners in historic racing trim though, I expect. The 1984 Tambay Renault at the entrance with full bucket wing in evidence was a nice surprise mind you!

Having looked at the on-track pictures, considering I *thought* I was taking pictures of a good selection of cars, it turns out that quite a lot of them were the Aguri. Hmmm....maybe it was their new 'Stefan GP' livery that stood out. The Virgin car seemed fast and sounded different to the others, so it wasn't a surprise to me that it topped the timesheets. Jolly Jacques did a lot of laps while I was taking pics, so I've got a few of him circulating too.

We were unsurprised that the Trulli team didn't make it out. The Andretti team looked ready to go out but never did - in retrospect, I wonder if events in the US had knocked the stuffing out of them. Understandable if so. I had no idea about Justin Wilson's accident (or indeed Guy Ligier's death) until dr-baker told me.

Incidentally, that picture of him with his beloved Simona back up the thread was taken by me!
In return, he took a picture of me with one of the drivers which I will post below. As AndreaModa said, the pit walk was well worth it, although there was a bit of a scrum round Sam Bird and Bruno Senna so I didn't get close to them. The Mahindra and ABT teams seemed very organised with autographs, although both Nick Heidfeld and Lucas Di Grassi did seem a bit weary by the time I got to them. Boo to e-dams for not bothering to send either driver out.

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 25 Aug 2015, 19:42

Here's a picture of me with Daniel Abt from yesterday!

Snoozey2 · Post by **Snoozey2** » 25 Aug 2015, 20:13

Good job guys!

Post by **mario** » 25 Aug 2015, 20:42

Barbazza, another reason for the Andretti Autosport entry not participating in the test sessions could be the fact that, earlier this month, Andretti Autosport was sued by the co-owners of Andretti Sports Marketing, the marketing arm of the Andretti business empire.

One of the the major claims made by ASM was that Andretti's racing team was technically bankrupt - now, it seems that Andretti has recently come to a settlement with his partners in the business, and appears to have agree to sell his stake in the company to the remaining two investors. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/120367

Now, that is not necessarily to say that Andretti was bankrupt, but it is certainly plausible that he would have been distracted from the test sessions if he was having to participate in mediation sessions between himself and the co-owners in ASM.

Speaking of Andretti, it transpires that they are thinking of aborting their plans to run their own gearbox and motor package in 2015 - following repeated reliability issues, the team have decided that they cannot afford to spend more time and resources on their new system and have reverted back to the 2014 spec hardware package. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/120487

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 26 Aug 2015, 17:50

Autosport are reporting that the Swiss city of Lugano is negotiating for an FE round in the 2015/6 season, proposed to be 7th May next year, between the French and German rounds.

Wallio · Post by **Wallio** » 26 Aug 2015, 18:53

dr-baker wrote:Autosport are reporting that the Swiss city of Lugano is negotiating for an FE round in the 2015/6 season, proposed to be 7th May next year, between the French and German rounds.

I thought racing was illegal in Switzerland?

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 26 Aug 2015, 19:05

Wallio wrote:
dr-baker wrote:Autosport are reporting that the Swiss city of Lugano is negotiating for an FE round in the 2015/6 season, proposed to be 7th May next year, between the French and German rounds.

I thought racing was illegal in Switzerland?

They're making an exception.

Wallio · Post by **Wallio** » 26 Aug 2015, 19:23

Ah I see. "The Simona Rule" if you will.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 26 Aug 2015, 20:04

Wallio wrote:Ah I see. "The Simona Rule" if you will.

Yes, that'll be it. Nothing to do with the environmental credentials or Buemi's success (who is not Simona's cousin

)...

Snoozey2 · Post by **Snoozey2** » 26 Aug 2015, 23:23

The season 2 liveries, as they stand:

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 27 Aug 2015, 06:29

Snoozey2 wrote:The season 2 liveries, as they stand:

Row 1: e.DAMS, Dragon
Row 2: Abt, China/NextEV
Row 3: Virgin, Andretti
Row 4: Soopah Stefan Aguri, Mahindra
Row 5: Venturi, Trulli

golic_2004 · Post by **golic_2004** » 27 Aug 2015, 11:37

dr-baker wrote:
Wallio wrote:Ah I see. "The Simona Rule" if you will.

Yes, that'll be it. Nothing to do with the environmental credentials or Buemi's success (who is not Simona's cousin )...

That would be Natacha Gachnang, who is Buemi's cousin, a Formula Two reject.

golic_2004 · Post by **golic_2004** » 27 Aug 2015, 11:38

dr-baker wrote:
Snoozey2 wrote:The season 2 liveries, as they stand:

Row 1: e.DAMS, Dragon
Row 2: Abt, China/NextEV
Row 3: Virgin, Andretti
Row 4: Soopah Stefan Aguri, Mahindra
Row 5: Venturi, Trulli

My favorites are Dragon and Andretti

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 27 Aug 2015, 11:49

golic_2004 wrote:
dr-baker wrote:
Wallio wrote:Ah I see. "The Simona Rule" if you will.

Yes, that'll be it. Nothing to do with the environmental credentials or Buemi's success (who is not Simona's cousin )...

That would be Natacha Gachnang, who is Buemi's cousin, a Formula Two reject.

This was a reference to a mistake I made in this podcast. Give it a listen!

In other news, Trulli are going for Reject of the Second Season. They are already Rejects of the Pre-Season Testing...

Snoozey2 · Post by **Snoozey2** » 27 Aug 2015, 14:50

dr-baker wrote:In other news, Trulli are going for Reject of the Second Season. They are already Rejects of the Pre-Season Testing...

Oh, i wouldn't go that far. it seemed that way for a long time, but if Trulli is willing to continue testing and paying out of his own pocket, then i say "have a go".

both Trulli and Andretti stared down the barrel at Donington. Andretti blinked first.
http://www.motorsport.com/formula-e/news/andretti-ditches-season-two-powertrain

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 27 Aug 2015, 15:00

Snoozey2 wrote:
dr-baker wrote:In other news, Trulli are going for Reject of the Second Season. They are already Rejects of the Pre-Season Testing...

Oh, i wouldn't go that far. it seemed that way for a long time, but if Trulli is willing to continue testing and paying out of his own pocket, then i say "have a go".

Well, I would like to see Trulli do well, but it will be an uphill struggle. But the ROTY award in my opinion isn't a negative exactly. It simply acknowledges that an entity was an underdog that had yet to punch above their weight, but that there were expectations of upwards progress.

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 27 Aug 2015, 18:37

Regarding the liveries, having seen all of them bar Trulli's in the pits earlier in the week, the Andretti livery looks much better close up.
The Aguri one is obviously a favourite, and the Mahindra one could be nice if it wasn't so BRIGHT!

I don't believe for a minute that the China livery is the final one, and the Dragon one looked very 'Martin Brundle's Tyrrell at Monaco 84' in the pits but not very exciting out on track.

Zergon · Post by **Zergon** » 27 Aug 2015, 19:13

dr-baker wrote:
Snoozey2 wrote:
dr-baker wrote:In other news, Trulli are going for Reject of the Second Season. They are already Rejects of the Pre-Season Testing...

Oh, i wouldn't go that far. it seemed that way for a long time, but if Trulli is willing to continue testing and paying out of his own pocket, then i say "have a go".

Well, I would like to see Trulli do well, but it will be an uphill struggle. But the ROTY award in my opinion isn't a negative exactly. It simply acknowledges that an entity was an underdog that had yet to punch above their weight, but that there were expectations of upwards progress.

I have to admit I have little faith on Trulli for this year, partly because of how badly the tests have gone and partly because while Liuzzi and Duran are decent drivers, I don´t rate them particularly high compered to rest of the (known) field. That said, I could see them playing the long game and perhaps the choice of keeping the new powertrain will prove to be the right one in season three (if not earlier), at least compared to Andretti and possibly Aguri (assuming that they are going to switch to new powertrain in third season) who would need to learn a new powertrain while everyone else already have year of experience with theirs.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 27 Aug 2015, 19:18

Barbazza wrote: the Mahindra one could be nice if it wasn't so BRIGHT!

But the livery worked well in the rain (after your departure - you timed that well!), losing none of the detail at all in the reduced light. But then, how many wet races are we likely to have this season!

UncreativeUsername37 · Post by **UncreativeUsername37** » 27 Aug 2015, 19:36

Venturi reminds me of HRT the most so it wins

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 27 Aug 2015, 20:47

e.DAMS loses in my opinion. Just look at the livery it ran at the start of pre-season testing, on Monday 10th August:

nome66 · Post by **nome66** » 28 Aug 2015, 20:28

looks almost like the old GD.01 machine they almost used in '95

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 01 Sep 2015, 00:32

A few pics from me from the 24th August. Full set on Flickr at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/crackers250/albums/72157657960528316

Nathanael Berthon, Team Aguri by James Clarke, on Flickr

Renault e.Dams car details by James Clarke, on Flickr

Lucas Di Grassi, ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport by James Clarke, on Flickr

Bruno Senna, Mahindra Racing by James Clarke, on Flickr

Jacques Villeneuve, Venturi by James Clarke, on Flickr

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 01 Sep 2015, 16:40

Surfer's Paradise for many years hosted IndyCar/ChampCar racing. Then A1GP was destined to go there after ChampCar merged with IndyCar, but A1GP went into administration themselves before they held a race there. Should single-seaters make a return to Surfer's Paradise? FE would currently seem the best series to go there if so.

Plus, at some point, I think that if there is going to be a future for electric racing, there are going to be national electric series. Will Britain's series in this situation be named British National Formula E?

Waris · Post by **Waris** » 03 Sep 2015, 19:38

While we're on the subject of circuits... I'm wondering if perhaps the Port Imperial Street Circuit that was designed for the Grand Prix of America that will seemingly never come to fruition, could perhaps be used in Formula E? They're still looking for a circuit in the USA now that Miami isn't returning for a second year, Formula E should be a lot cheaper to host than Formula 1, plus it's a great circuit that deserves to have a race. Although it might be a bit too long for FE, but that can probably be fixed easily.

Additionally, I'd like to see FE have a race at that São Paulo street circuit that was going to have an IndyCar race this year that got cancelled.

nome66 · Post by **nome66** » 04 Sep 2015, 01:22

Waris wrote:While we're on the subject of circuits... I'm wondering if perhaps the Port Imperial Street Circuit that was designed for the Grand Prix of America that will seemingly never come to fruition, could perhaps be used in Formula E? They're still looking for a circuit in the USA now that Miami isn't returning for a second year, Formula E should be a lot cheaper to host than Formula 1, plus it's a great circuit that deserves to have a race. Although it might be a bit too long for FE, but that can probably be fixed easily.

Additionally, I'd like to see FE have a race at that São Paulo street circuit that was going to have an IndyCar race this year that got cancelled.

just whipped this thing up in ms paint. measured the layout on google earth, approx. 1.6 miles in length. the start/finish would be along the marina, after the small chicane. track would be clockwise.
one thing i'm unsure of in my design is the chicane after turn 4 along the first little backstretch that would otherwise be a pair of flat-out sweepers. the chicane would drive right through the train station entryway, and now that i look at it, it wouldn't make sense from an event planning perspective. maybe an Albert-park-style sharpening of the lefthand sweep would suffice.

Waris · Post by **Waris** » 04 Sep 2015, 13:40

nome66 wrote: just whipped this thing up in ms paint. measured the layout on google earth, approx. 1.6 miles in length. the start/finish would be along the marina, after the small chicane. track would be clockwise.
one thing i'm unsure of in my design is the chicane after turn 4 along the first little backstretch that would otherwise be a pair of flat-out sweepers. the chicane would drive right through the train station entryway, and now that i look at it, it wouldn't make sense from an event planning perspective. maybe an Albert-park-style sharpening of the lefthand sweep would suffice.

That looks great for FE. I hope the organizers consider it. It's exactly the kind of place where electric racing would make sense too.

EDIT: Wow, apparently it was already being talked about last year: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2014/04/if_formula_e_could_replace_f-1_as_new_yorks_grand_prix_report_says.html#incart_m-rpt-1 Why has there been no more news about this...?

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 09 Sep 2015, 13:35

Looks like we'll be suffering FE deprivation for a week longer (what? It's a thing now!). Because of other events taking place in the Olympic Park the Beijing ePrix has been pushed back a week.

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 09 Sep 2015, 17:38

What's the Mandarin for "bathplug"?

Still, this means it's an extra week to get a season preview podcast together. Does anyone else want in on it?

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 09 Sep 2015, 17:50

dinizintheoven wrote:What's the Mandarin for "bathplug"?

Still, this means it's an extra week to get a season preview podcast together. Does anyone else want in on it?

I'll cautiously throw my hat into the ring here. Skype is the most likely medium of communication as I have no short term plans to hop across the sea, but I'm willing to give it a whirl, if I find the time and a place where no-one will bother me. I also feel like I have unfinished business from my own botched resurrection attempt of the F1 Rejects podcast.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 09 Sep 2015, 18:43

dinizintheoven wrote:What's the Mandarin for "bathplug"?

Still, this means it's an extra week to get a season preview podcast together. Does anyone else want in on it?

No idea of the Mandarin for "bathplug", but I'll be up for a bit more podcasting.

TheFlyingCaterham · Post by **TheFlyingCaterham** » 09 Sep 2015, 21:26

dinizintheoven wrote:What's the Mandarin for "bathplug"?

Still, this means it's an extra week to get a season preview podcast together. Does anyone else want in on it?

Maybe, although I probably won't know what I will be talking about.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 10 Sep 2015, 12:09

I don't know whether this will be of use to anybody on here, but Formula E have a few jobs available here. The roles that they are seeking people for are:

Community Manager (social media role)
PA and Team Assistant – Operations
Operations intern
Marketing intern

But there does not appear to be a closing date for applications?