The Lucas di Grassi Formula E Thread

[SammiRei]

Silly season has already begun for next year's lineups - Bird leaving Jaguar was obvious (though rumour has it he'll be replacing the departing Rene Rast at McLaren next year), Jaguar are reportedly trying to get Cassidy to have an all New Zealand driver lineup, Frijns has left Abt Cupra (and rumour has it he's headed back to Envision to replace Cassidy following the above).
If Lotterer sticks around at Andretti I'll be amazed - his performance was so bad Dennis effectively won 4th in the constructors championship single-handedly.

On a personal note, I did enjoy Sunday's race once it finally got going, but I definitely feel like I picked the less exciting day to attend.

[Rob Dylan]

I hear a certain former F1 driver now "involved with sustainability" and living in Switzerland is potentially stepping into an FE car next year. My bets are on either Jackie Stewart or Jacques Villeneuve.

[dr-baker]

I hear a certain former F1 driver now "involved with sustainability" and living in Switzerland is potentially stepping into an FE car next year. My bets are on either Jackie Stewart or Jacques Villeneuve.

More realistically, possibly Vettel?

[dinizintheoven]

With the season done and dusted and hopefully everyone knowing the result by now (and if not, why not?), I'll post that complete list of unrejectifications in FE that I mentioned a few days ago. Any driver shown with a line of asterisks is still a reject; three of them have gone part of the way to getting shot of that status, but it's highly unlikely we'll ever see the first two of them in FE again.

Hence, if the car is up to the job, Dan Ticktum needs one more 6th place to escape being a Formula E Reject, and any new drivers - along with Roberto Merhi, David Beckmann and Kelvin van der Linde, if they return - will need a 4th, a 5th and another 6th at least, or three 6ths. But you all knew that anyway, right? Looking through the annals of FE history, the majority of unrejectifications come with one big result, rather than scraping three 6ths - not entirely surprising given that there have been seasons when any one of eight teams had a chance at winning at any given event.

Are there other drivers I'd like to see join FE? The only obvious candidate is Jamie Chadwick; there's something that says she might be better at FE than trying to make a name for herself in 'MURICA. Sebastian Vettel? Do me a favour. He's not coming back to driving, and if he did, he'd flunk, just like any other driver who's had any success in F1 (surely nobody can forget THE FINGER, right?) And then there's Billy Monger - I always thought FE would suit him, because how hard can it be to convert an electric car to hand controls? He couldn't have raced the Gen-1 cars, what with having to get out and sprint to the other car, but since Gen-2 that hindrance has been removed. But there's no way he'll leave his cushy job commentating and analysing Charwes Leklerk's hot laps on Channel 4.

Maybe Nyck de Vries will make a comeback somewhere... but it's not as if he has an unrejectification to get rid of.

Code: Select all

REJECT? DRIVER                  FIRST RACE                    UNREJECTIFICATION (plus any notes)
======= ======================  ============================  ==================================
        Daniel Abt              #1 – 2014-15 Beijing          #5 – 2014-15 Miami
        Jaime Alguersuari       #1 – 2014-15 Beijing          #4 – 2014-15 Buenos Aires
        Sam Bird                #1 – 2014-15 Beijing          #1 – 2014-15 Beijing
        Sébastien Buemi         #1 – 2014-15 Beijing          #2 – 2014-15 Putrajaya
******  Michela Cerruti         #1 – 2014-15 Beijing          best result 12th
        Karun Chandhok          #1 – 2014-15 Beijing          #2 – 2014-15 Putrajaya
        Jérôme d'Ambrosio       #1 – 2014-15 Beijing          #2 – 2014-15 Putrajaya
        Lucas di Grassi         #1 – 2014-15 Beijing          #1 – 2014-15 Beijing
        Nick Heidfeld           #1 – 2014-15 Beijing          #9 – 2014-15 Moscow
******  Katherine Legge         #1 – 2014-15 Beijing          best result 15th
        Franck Montagny         #1 – 2014-15 Beijing          #1 – 2014-15 Beijing
        Charles Pic             #1 – 2014-15 Beijing          #1 – 2014-15 Beijing
        Nelson Piquet Jr.       #1 – 2014-15 Beijing          #3 – 2014-15 Punta del Este
        Nicolas Prost           #1 – 2014-15 Beijing          #2 – 2014-15 Putrajaya
        Stéphane Sarrazin       #1 – 2014-15 Beijing          #13 – 2015-16 Putrajaya
******  Takuma Sato             #1 – 2014-15 Beijing          one race, one fastest lap, one retirement
        Bruno Senna             #1 – 2014-15 Beijing          #13 – 2015-16 Putrajaya
******  Oriol Servià            #1 – 2014-15 Beijing          best result two 7ths
        Jarno Trulli            #1 – 2014-15 Beijing          #3 – 2014-15 Punta del Este
******  Ho-Pin Tung             #1 – 2014-15 Beijing          best result two 11ths
******  Matthew Brabham         #2 – 2014-15 Putrajaya        best result 13th
        António Félix da Costa  #2 – 2014-15 Putrajaya        #4 – 2014-15 Buenos Aires
1/3***  Salvador Durán          #3 – 2014-15 Punta del Este   best result 6th
******  António García          #3 – 2014-15 Punta del Este   best result 11th
        Jean-Éric Vergne        #3 – 2014-15 Punta del Este   #6 – 2014-15 Long Beach
******  Marco Andretti          #4 – 2014-15 Buenos Aires     best result 12th
        Loïc Duval              #5 – 2014-15 Miami            #8 – 2014-15 Berlin
******  Vitantonio Liuzzi       #5 – 2014-15 Miami            best result 9th
        Scott Speed             #5 – 2014-15 Miami            #5 – 2014-15 Miami
******  Justin Wilson           #9 – 2014-15 Moscow           best result 10th; deceased, but not from an FE race
******  Simona de Silvestro     #10 – 2014-15 London (1)      best result two 9ths
******  Alex Fontana            #10 – 2014-15 London (1)      best result 14th
******  Fabio Leimer            #10 – 2014-15 London (1)      best result 14th
        Oliver Turvey           #10 – 2014-15 London (1)      #35 – 2017-18 Hong Kong (2)
******  Sakon Yamamoto          #10 – 2014-15 London (1)      two retirements only
******  Nathanaël Berthon       #12 – 2015-16 Beijing         best result 8th
        Robin Frijns            #12 – 2015-16 Beijing         #13 – 2015-16 Putrajaya
******  Jacques Villeneuve      #12 – 2015-16 Beijing         best result 11th
        Oliver Rowland          #14 – 2015-16 Punta del Este  #51 – 2018-19 Sanya
******  Mike Conway             #15 – 2015-16 Buenos Aires    best result 8th
******  Ma Qing Hua             #18 – 2015-16 Paris           best result 11th; most FE races without scoring a point.
        René Rast               #19 – 2015-16 Berlin          #69 – 2019-20 Berlin (5)
******  Adam Carroll            #22 – 2016-17 Hong Kong       best result 8th
        Maro Engel              #22 – 2016-17 Hong Kong       #41 – 2017-18 Paris
        Mitch Evans             #22 – 2016-17 Hong Kong       #35 – 2017-18 Hong Kong (2)
        José María López        #22 – 2016-17 Hong Kong       #25 – 2016-17 Mexico City
        Felix Rosenqvist        #22 – 2016-17 Hong Kong       #23 – 2016-17 Marrakesh
******  Esteban Gutiérrez       #25 – 2016-17 Mexico City     best result 8th
        Tom Dillmann            #27 – 2016-17 Paris           #44 – 2017-18 New York (1)
        Pierre Gasly            #29 – 2016-17 New York (1)    #30 – 2016-17 New York (2)
        Alex Lynn               #29 – 2016-17 New York (1)    #69 – 2019-20 Berlin (5)
******  Luca Filippi            #34 – 2017-18 Hong Kong (1)   best result 10th
1/3***  Neel Jani               #34 – 2017-18 Hong Kong (1)   best result 6th
******  Kamui Kobayashi         #34 – 2017-18 Hong Kong (1)   best result 15th
        André Lotterer          #34 – 2017-18 Hong Kong (1)   #37 – 2017-18 Santiago
        Edoardo Mortara         #34 – 2017-18 Hong Kong (1)   #35 – 2017-18 Hong Kong (2)
******  Tom Blomqvist           #36 – 2017-18 Marrakesh       best result two 8ths
******  Gary Paffett            #46 – 2018-19 Diriyah         best result two 8ths
        Felipe Massa            #46 – 2018-19 Diriyah         #54 – 2018-19 Monaco
        Alexander Sims          #46 – 2018-19 Diriyah         #53 – 2018-19 Paris
        Maximilian Günther      #46 – 2018-19 Diriyah         #56 – 2018-19 Bern
        Stoffel Vandoorne       #46 – 2018-19 Diriyah         #52 – 2018-19 Rome
        Pascal Wehrlein         #47 – 2018-19 Marrakesh       #48 – 2018-19 Santiago
******  Felipe Nasr             #49 – 2018-19 Mexico City     best result 19th
******  James Calado            #59 – 2019-20 Diriyah (1)     best result 7th
        Nyck de Vries           #59 – 2019-20 Diriyah (1)     #61 – 2019-20 Santiago
******  Brendon Hartley         #59 – 2019-20 Diriyah (1)     best result 9th
        Nico Müller             #59 – 2019-20 Diriyah (1)     #74 – 2020-21 Valencia (1)
        Sérgio Sette Câmara     #64 – 2019-20 Berlin (1)      #71 – 2020-21 Diriyah (2)
        Nick Cassidy            #70 – 2020-21 Diriyah (1)     #74 – 2020-21 Valencia (1)
        Jake Dennis             #70 – 2020-21 Diriyah (1)     #75 – 2020-21 Valencia (2)
        Norman Nato             #70 – 2020-21 Diriyah (1)     #83 – 2020-21 Berlin (1)
******  Joel Eriksson           #77 – 2020-21 Puebla (1)      best result 10th
        Oliver Askew            #85 – 2021-22 Diriyah (1)     #97 – 2021-22 London (1)
******  Antonio Giovinazzi      #85 – 2021-22 Diriyah (1)     best result 16th
2/3***  Dan Ticktum             #85 – 2021-22 Diriyah (1)     best result two 6ths
        Sacha Fenestraz         #100 – 2021-22 Seoul (2)       #109 – 2022-23 Monaco
        Jake Hughes             #101 – 2022-23 Mexico City    #103 – 2022-23 Diriyah (2)
******  Kelvin van der Linde    #102 – 2022-23 Diriyah (1)    best result 16th
******  David Beckmann          #110 – 2022-23 Jakarta (1)    best result 16th
******  Roberto Merhi           #110 – 2022-23 Jakarta (1)    best result 12th

EDIT: ...it took until the first race of the 2023-24 season to work out that I'd made a counting error in the race numbers from the start of season 2 onwards. D'oh! The people responsible for sacking those who were sacked, have been sacked.

[dinizintheoven]

Anoraks on! Nerd glasses fixed with Sellotape at the ready! Adenoidal voices all round!

I think for most of us F1 Rejecters this is THE series. Its not some ropey old racing machines hustled back into life, its brand new state of the (electronic) art gear. And, as mentioned, a brilliant mix of drivers; has-beens, might be's and wont be's. And the old Stig thrown in for good measure.

AND ITS ALL LIVE AND FREE TO WATCH IN THE UK!!!!

- 12 March 2014, top of page 7

For this post I've had to go back to the early pages of this thread, the oldest of which are 11 years in the past. To think that even this forum on page 1 was pouring scorn on FE's chances, all it took was for SUPER AGURI to be announced and suddenly interest picked up.

With the round-up done of who's still a Formula E Reject and who isn't, I thought I'd also have a hypothetical look at how the car numbering would be if the series had used F1-1996-to-2013-style championship position numbering, as F2 still does today. For the first season, I've used the order in which each team's participation was confirmed... which neatly avoids the problem of who gets to drive car 1. Then, for all further seasons, I've given the lower number to whichever driver finished higher up the standings if they were both retained or if both drivers were new to the team, or to the one driver retained from the previous season. (The only exception to this is Mahindra in season 5, where Felix Rosenqvist had left FE officially but came back to fill in for Pascal Wehrlein for the first round.)

Season 1, 2014-15

1/2: Drayson Racing - confirmed 9 January 2013

• dropped out before pre-season testing

3/4: China Racing - confirmed 27 February 2013

• 3: Nelson Piquet Jr.
• 4: Ho-Pin Tung, Antonio García, Charles Pic, Oliver Turvey

5/6: Andretti Autosport - confirmed 17 July 2013

• 5: Franck Montagny, Jean-Éric Vergne
• 6: Charles Pic, Matthew Brabham, Marco Andretti, Scott Speed, Justin Wilson, Simona de Silvestro

7/8: Dragon Racing - confirmed 25 September 2013

• 7: Jérôme d'Ambrosio (who was actually car 7 anyway)
• 8: Oriol Servià, Loïc Duval

9/10: Renault e.dams - confirmed 24 October 2013

• 9: Sébastien Buemi (who was actually car 9 anyway)
• 10: Nico Prost

11/12: SUPER (Amlin) AGURI - confirmed 1 November 2013

• 11: Takuma Sato, António Félix da Costa, Sakon Yamamoto
• 12: Katherine Legge, Salvador Durán

14/15: Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport - confirmed 15 November 2013

• 14: Lucas di Grassi
• 15: Daniel Abt

16/17: Mahindra Racing - confirmed 28 November 2013

• 16: Bruno Senna
• 17: Karun Chandhok

18/19: Virgin Racing - confirmed 5 December 2013

• 18: Sam Bird
• 19: Jaime Alguersuari, Fabio Leimer

20/21: Venturi - confirmed 9 December 2013

• 20: Nick Heidfeld
• 21: Stéphane Sarrazin

22/23: Trulli Grand Prix - confirmed 18 June 2014 after Drayson dropped out

• 22: Jarno Trulli
• 23: Michela Cerrutti, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Alex Fontana

Season 2, 2015-16

1/2: NEXTEV TCR - 4th in the 2014-15 Teams' Championship

• 1: Nelson Piquet Jr.
• 2: Oliver Turvey

3/4: Renault e.dams

• 3: Sébastien Buemi
• 4: Nico Prost

5/6: Dragon Racing

• 5: Jérôme d'Ambrosio
• 6: Loïc Duval

7/8: Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport

• 7: Lucas di Grassi
• 8: Daniel Abt

9/10: DS Virgin Racing

• 9: Sam Bird
• 10: Jean-Éric Vergne

11/12: Amlin Andretti

• 11: Simona de Silvestro
• 12: Robin Frijns

14/15: SUPER (Team) AGURI

• 14: António Félix da Docta, René Rast
• 15: Nathanaël Berthon, Salvador Durán, Ma Qing Hua

16/17: Mahindra Racing

• 16: Bruno Senna
• 17: Nick Heidfeld, Oliver Rowland

18/19: Venturi

• 18: Stephane Sarrazin
• 19: Jacques Villeneuve, Mike Conway

20/21: Trulli Grand Prix - never competed in any races this season but were entered

• 20: Vitantonio Liuzzi
• 21: Salvador Durán, Jarno Trulli

Season 3, 2016-17

1/2: Renault e.dams - also 2015-16 Teams' Champions

• 1: Sébastien Buemi, Pierre Gasly
• 2: Nico Prost

3/4: Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport

• 3: Lucas di Grassi
• 4: Daniel Abt

5/6: DS Virgin Racing

• 5: Sam Bird
• 6: José María López, Alex Lynn

7/8: Faraday Future Dragon Racing

• 7: Jérôme d'Ambrosio (who was actually car 7 anyway)
• 8: Loïc Duval

9/10: Mahindra Racing

• 9: Nick Heidfeld
• 10: Felix Rosenqvist

11/12: Venturi

• 11: Stéphane Sarrazin, Tom Dillmann (rounds 7-12)
• 12: Maro Engel, Tom Dillmann (round 6)

14/15: MS Amlin Andretti

• 14: Robin Frijns
• 15: António Félix da Costa

16/17: Techeetah - was SUPER (Team) AGURI

• 16: Jean-Éric Vergne
• 17: Ma Qing Hua, Esteban Gutiérrez, Stéphane Sarrazin

18/19: NEXTEV NIO

• 18: Nelson Piquet Jr.
• 19: Oliver Turvey

20/21: Panasonic Jaguar Racing - new team

• 20: Mitch Evans (who was actually car 20 anyway)
• 21: Adam Carroll

Season 4, 2017-18

1/2: Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler - 2nd in the 2016-17 Teams' Championship

• 1: Lucas di Grassi
• 2: Daniel Abt

3/4: Renault e.dams

• 3: Sébastien Buemi
• 4: Nico Prost

5/6: Mahindra Racing

• 5: Felix Rosenqvist
• 6: Nick Heidfeld

7/8: DS Virgin Racing

• 7: Sam Bird
• 8: Alex Lynn

9/10: Techeetah

• 9: Jean-Éric Vergne
• 10: André Lotterer

11/12: NIO

• 11: Oliver Turvey, Ma Qing Hua (round 12)
• 12: Luca Filippi, Ma Qing Hua (round 8)

14/15: MS&AD Andretti

• 14: António Félix da Costa
• 15: Kamui Kobayashi, Tom Blomqvist, Stéphane Sarrazin

16/17: Dragon Racing

• 16: Jérôme d'Ambrosio
• 17: Neel Jani, José María López

18/19: Venturi

• 18: Maro Engel
• 19: Edoardo Mortara, Tom Dillmann

20/21: Panasonic Jaguar Racing

• 20: Mitch Evans (who was actually car 20 anyway, again)
• 21: Nelson Piquet Jr.

Season 5, 2018-19

1/2: DS Techeetah - 2nd in the 2017-18 Teams' Championship

• 1: Jean-Éric Vergne
• 2: André Lotterer

3/4: Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler

• 3: Lucas di Grassi
• 4: Daniel Abt

5/6: Envision Virgin Racing

• 5: Sam Bird
• 6: Robin Frijns

7/8: Mahindra Racing

• 7: Jérôme d'Ambrosio (who wasn't car 7 in reality this time)
• 8: Felix Rosenqvist, Pascal Wehrlein

9/10: Nissan e.dams

• 9: Sébastien Buemi
• 10: Oliver Rowland

11/12: Panasonic Jaguar Racing

• 11: Mitch Evans
• 12: Nelson Piquet Jr., Alex Lynn

14/15: Venturi

• 14: Edoardo Mortara
• 15: Felipe Massa

16/17: NIO

• 16: Oliver Turvey
• 17: Tom Dillmann

18/19: Geox Dragon

• 18: José María López
• 19: Max Günther, Felipe Nasr

20/21: BMW i Andretti

• 20: António Félix da Costa
• 21: Alexander Sims

22/23: HWA Racelab - new team

• 22: Stoffel Vandoorne
• 23: Gary Paffett

Season 6, 2019-20

1/2: DS Techeetah - also 2018-19 Teams' Champions

• 1: Jean-Éric Vergne, James Rossiter (practice only)
• 2: António Félix da Costa

3/4: Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler

• 3: Lucas di Grassi
• 4: Daniel Abt, René Rast

5/6: Envision Virgin Racing

• 5: Robin Frijns
• 6: Sam Bird

7/8: Nissan e.dams

• 7: Sébastien Buemi
• 8: Oliver Rowland

9/10: BMW i Andretti

• 9: Alexander Sims
• 10: Max Günther

11/12: Mahindra Racing

• 11: Jérôme d'Ambrosio
• 12: Pascal Wehrlein, Alex Lynn

14/15: Panasonic Jaguar Racing

• 14: Mitch Evans
• 15: James Calado, Tom Blomqvist

16/17: ROKiT Venturi Racing

• 16: Edoardo Mortara
• 17: Felipe Massa

18/19: Mercedes EQ - was HWA Racelab

• 18: Stoffel Vandoorne
• 19: Nyck de Vries

20/21: Geox Dragon

• 20: Brendon Hartley, Sergio Sette Câmara
• 21: Nico Müller

22/23: NIO 333

• 22: Oliver Turvey
• 23: Ma Qing Hua, Daniel Abt

24/25: TAG Heuer Porsche - new team

• 24: André Lotterer
• 25: Neel Jani

Season 7, 2020-21

1/2: DS Techeetah - also 2019-20 Teams' Champions

• 1: António Félix da Costa
• 2: Jean-Éric Vergne

3/4: Nissan e.dams

• 3: Sébastien Buemi
• 4: Oliver Rowland

5/6: Mercedes EQ

• 5: Stoffel Vandoorne (who was actually car 5 anyway)
• 6: Nyck de Vries

7/8: Envision Virgin Racing

• 7: Robin Frijns
• 8: Nick Cassidy

9/10: BMW i Andretti

• 9: Max Günther
• 10: Jake Dennis

11/12: Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler

• 11: Lucas di Grassi (who was actually car 11 anyway)
• 12: René Rast

14/15: Jaguar Racing

• 14: Mitch Evans
• 15: Sam Bird

16/17: TAG Heuer Porsche

• 16: André Lotterer
• 17: Pascal Wehrlein

18/19: Mahindra Racing

• 18: Alexander Sims
• 19: Alex Lynn

20/21: ROKiT Venturi

• 20: Edoardo Mortara
• 21: Norman Nato

22/23: Dragon-Penske

• 22: Nico Müller, Joel Eriksson
• 23: Sergio Sette Câmara

24/25: NIO 333

• 24: Oliver Turvey
• 25: Tom Blomqvist

Season 8, 2021-22

1/2: Mercedes EQ - also 2020-21 Teams' Champions

• 1: Nyck de Vries
• 2: Stoffel Vandoorne

3/4: Jaguar TCS Racing

• 3: Mitch Evans
• 4: Sam Bird, Norman Nato

5/6: DS Techeetah

• 5: António Félix da Costa
• 6: Jean-Éric Vergne

7/8: Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler

• left the series

9/10: Envision Racing

• 9: Robin Frijns
• 10: Nick Cassidy

11/12: Avalanche Andretti

• 11: Jake Dennis
• 12: Oliver Askew

14/15: ROKiT Venturi Racing

• 14: Edoardo Mortara
• 15: Lucas di Grassi

16/17: TAG Heuer Porsche

• 16: Pascal Wehrlein
• 17: André Lotterer

18/19: Mahindra Racing

• 18: Alexander Sims
• 19: Oliver Rowland

20/21: Nissan e.dams

• 20: Sébastien Buemi
• 21: Max Günther

22/23: Dragon-Penske

• 22: Sergio Sette Câmara
• 23: Antonio Giovinazzi, Sacha Fenestraz

24/25: NIO 333

• 24: Oliver Turvey
• 25: Dan Ticktum

Season 9, 2022-23

1/2: DS Penske - 11th in the 2021-22 Teams' Championship

• 1: Stoffel Vandoorne
• 2: Jean-Éric Vergne

3/4: NEOM McLaren - was Mercedes EQ

• 3: René Rast
• 4: Jake Hughes

5/6: Maserati MSG Racing

• 5: Edoardo Mortara
• 6: Max Günther

7/8: Techeetah

• left the series

9/10: Jaguar TCS Racing

• 9: Mitch Evans (who was actually car 9 anyway)
• 10: Sam Bird (who was actually car 10 anyway)

11/12: Envision Racing

• 11: Nick Cassidy
• 12: Sébastien Buemi

14/15: Avalanche Andretti

• 14: Jake Dennis
• 15: André Lotterer, David Beckmann

16/17: TAG Heuer Porsche

• 16: Pascal Wehrlein
• 17: António Félix da Costa

18/19: Mahindra Racing

• 18: Oliver Rowland, Roberto Merhi
• 19: Lucas di Grassi

20/21: Nissan

• 20: Sacha Fenestraz
• 21: Norman Nato

22/23: NIO 333

• 22: Dan Ticktum
• 23: Sergio Sette Câmara

24/25: Abt Cupra

• 24: Robin Frijns, Kelvin van der Linde
• 25: Nico Müller

Season 10, 2023-24 (seats confirmed plus speculation by The Race)

1/2: Avalanche Andretti - 3rd in the 2022-23 Teams' Championship

• 1: Jake Dennis
• 2: apparently Felipe Drugovich

3/4: Envision Racing

• 3: Sébastien Buemi
• 4: Robin Frijns

5/6: Jaguar TCS Racing

• 5: Mitch Evans
• 6: Nick Cassidy

7/8: TAG Heuer Porsche

• 7: probably Pascal Wehrlein
• 8: probably also António Félix da Costa

9/10: DS Penske

• 9: probably Jean-Éric Vergne
• 10: probably also Stoffel Vandoorne

11/12: Maserati MSG Racing

• 11: probably Max Günther
• 12: Edoardo Mortara (who would be 11 if Max isn't in the other car)

14/15: Nissan

• 14: probably Sacha Fenestraz
• 15: maybe Oliver Rowland

16/17: NEOM McLaren

• 16: probably Jake Hughes
• 17: very likely to be Sam Bird

18/19: NIO 333

• 18: very probably Dan Ticktum
• 19: very probably also Sergio Sette Câmara

20/21: Mahindra Racing

• 20: Lucas di Grassi, apparently
• 21: anyone who's willing to put up with that reticent drivetrain, allegedly Jehan Daruvala

22/23: Abt Cupra

• 22: still Nico Müller, if he takes up masochism
• 23: Kelvin and Sheldon van der Linde, sitting in the same seat

[dr-baker]

So Sam Bird will be at McLaren, confirmed.

https://www.autosport.com/formula-e/new ... /10510252/

[dinizintheoven]

So the worst kept secret since Lance Stroll joining the team owned by his dad is out...

Alongside Jake, I’m confident that we have one of the strongest pairings on the Formula E grid.

Epic cope. If he was talking about Jake Dennis, and the Sam Bird of the Virgin days who could punch above that car's weight, he might have a point, but he isn't. Jake Hughes has a very heavy right foot that doesn't suit FE and Sam... is well past his best.

Though, I'd like him to prove me wrong and maybe he'll end up as FE World Champion when he's knocking hard on the door of 40.

[dinizintheoven]

It's all slotting together, and in a way I didn't expect...

- Nyck de Vries is coming back to FE, alongside Edoardo Mortara... at Mahindra.
- Lucas di Grassi has been displaced and gone back to his "old" team, ABT Cupra... for another year of pain, but maybe better results in season 11.
- Roberto Merhi has left the building.
- Jehan Daruvala has been promoted from Maserati reserve to main driver, alongside Max Günther.
- Norman Nato replaces André Lotterer at Andretti, and Oliver Rowland returns to FE in Nato's former Nissan seat.
- Nobody is confirmed at Porsche, but it'll be Wehrlein and da Costa again, surely?

Also, anyone up for the London ePrix this coming season? I haven't been to a live race since that day in Battersea Park.

[dr-baker]

Also, anyone up for the London ePrix this coming season? I haven't been to a live race since that day in Battersea Park.

I'll be up for it. I haven't done a live FE race since then either, although I've done BTCC since then, at Knockhill, Brands Hatch and Rockingham.

Was due to go to New York in June 2020 for the FE, but that trip got cancelled.

Would you go on the Saturday again, or the Sunday, or both days?

[dinizintheoven]

Would you go on the Saturday again, or the Sunday, or both days?

Make a celebration of it and do both days. Might have to go beer-free because accommodation in London is still more expensive than driving to Epping and getting a tube in and out of Sadiq's Hot Zone.

[dr-baker]

Would you go on the Saturday again, or the Sunday, or both days?

Make a celebration of it and do both days. Might have to go beer-free because accommodation in London is still more expensive than driving to Epping and getting a tube in and out of Sadiq's Hot Zone.

Sounds good to me. I would be up for that. All the way back in 2015, it allowed me to try a wider variety of viewing areas.

Although I would be tempted to pay up for grandstand seating within the Excel Centre itself this time.

[MyHamsterRacedAnOnyx]

For what it's worth(I can't see it being posted before)

2024 Calendar
Round 01:13 Jan Mexico City,Mexico
Round 02:26 Jan Diriyah,Saudi Arabia
Round 03:27 Jan Diriyah,Saudi Arabia
Round 04:10 Feb TBC
Round 05:24 Feb TBC
Round 06:16 Mar Sao Paolo,Brazil
Round 07:30 Mar Tokyo,Japan
Round 08:13 Apr Rome,Italy
Round 09:14 Apr Rome,Italy
Round 10:27 Apr Monaco,Monaco
Round 11:11 May Berlin,Germany
Round 12:12 May Berlin,Germany
Round 13:25 May TBC
Round 14:08 Jun Jakarta,Indonesia
Round 15:29 Jun Portland,USA
Round 16:20 Jul London,England
Round 17:21 Jul London,England


Any candidates for the missing three rounds?

[Ataxia]

You'd hope Cape Town would be one of the February dates - was lucky enough to go out to South Africa for that race this year, and it was incredible. Poor old Kelvin van der Linde though, got run ragged doing media duties around the city and then couldn't even take to the start...

But there's still issues in SA with things like load shedding - it didn't really affect the race as FE brings its own power source and many big civil works have their own off-grid generators or solar energy solutions, but it's still a problem affecting most people every day.

The other February space is being held for Hyderabad but there's a bit of doubt about that one, and Malaga may be the May date. FE's become a bit more cautious over officially announcing things until they're set in stone, as the Vancouver race being canned was a bit of a PR nightmare even though it was entirely down to the promoter rather than the championship. FE also wants to get Seoul back in.

[Barbazza]

For the first time in the UK, races won't be free to air next season, as sadly the lovely folks at TNT Sports (even Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask etc.) have snapped up the rights.

Races will be streamed live on Discovery+ which I do have as it's free with Sky, but I like to record them and watch later at my leisure. Well, I did. Not any more!

[Jarvis]

I will be looking forward to see how de Vries is going to perform in Formula E after his disappointing stint in F1.

[dr-baker]

I will be looking forward to see how de Vries is going to perform in Formula E after his disappointing stint in F1.

He has high standards in FE to maintain, being a recent FE champion. The pressure will be on.

[dinizintheoven]

Races will be streamed live on Discovery+ which I do have as it's free with Sky

Is it? How do I get hold of that?

[Barbazza]

Races will be streamed live on Discovery+ which I do have as it's free with Sky

Is it? How do I get hold of that?

I've just checked and it is still free for subscribers. You have to set up an account with Discovery+ online and link it via QR code to your Sky box as I recall, but then you should be ready to go.

[dinizintheoven]

I've just checked and it is still free for subscribers. You have to set up an account with Discovery+ online and link it via QR code to your Sky box as I recall, but then you should be ready to go.

QR code? Gah! I need a smartphone for that, and I'm a technological Luddite (and proud of it).

[Barbazza]

I've just checked and it is still free for subscribers. You have to set up an account with Discovery+ online and link it via QR code to your Sky box as I recall, but then you should be ready to go.

QR code? Gah! I need a smartphone for that, and I'm a technological Luddite (and proud of it).

I think you can do it without providing you're OK with following a URL and typing in a code or something along those lines!

[dr-baker]

The Indian races have been cancelled due to a change in local politics, with the new incumbents being very against the series. Damned democracy...

[dinizintheoven]

So, who's still watching? Mild spoilers alert in very light grey below. (Now un-greyed because... two weeks later.)

After yesterday's lack of obvious shenanigans, I'm going to say the pecking order of the drivetrains is much the same as it was last season. Porsche and Jaguar competing for the top spot, much like late 1980s endurance racing. Then Stellantis, then Nissan, Mahindra moving up to fifth... and ERT-formerly-NIO mired right at the back and I'm going to predict now that it'll be nul points for them this season.

There are seven champions on the grid (out of the eight who have ever won the title), up from five last year (adding new champion Jake Dennis and the returning Nyck de Vries).

However, Nyck de Vries will do very little with Mahindra, and what possessed Edoardo Mortara to move there is a mystery Sherlock Holmes couldn't solve.

Lucas di Grassi might not regret (re-)joining Abt Cupra as they're dropping the Mahindra drivetrain for next year and he might get up the sharp end of the grid again.

Robin Frijns is back up the sharp end but it seems he really doesn't get on with the Mexico City track...

And, at least, with anything up to half the grid as candidates for victory on any given weekend, FE races aren't the foregone conclusion that F1 is, where Max Verstappen only has to turn up to win. Long may that continue, even if it isn't the mad lottery of season 1.

[Barbazza]

Turns out I couldn't watch the race 'as live' this evening because you need a TNT Sports subscription even if you're using the Discovery+ app.
So congrats to all involved for putting it behind a paywall. I'm not paying TNT's rip-off prices....

[dinizintheoven]

I've decided I can justify it as (1) I barely spend any money on "hobbies" as it is, and (2) I'm not shelling out for Sky Sports just to watch Max Verstappen cruise to victory after victory after victory, week in, week out.

The paywall is a problem, though. And I do wonder if the manufacturer teams who really, really need people to be watching so that they can "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" *COUGHjaguarCOUGH* are going to regret the move as the TV viewing figures are certain to drop sharply.

That said, FE has been passed around like this weird thing that broadcasters don't know what to do with. ITV4 (i.e. not the main channel), Channel 5 (or, sometimes, buried on Spike during the end of their coverage), BBC (er... Red Button, not even a real channel), and then Channel 4... you'd think Channel 4 would be FE's natural home among the free-to-air channels, given that their political leanings are generally aligned with the kind of people who are interested in electric cars (and gluten-free soy products, and self-flagellation - I remind you, all this is emphatically NOT me...) but even they didn't stick with it for the long term.

I suppose by this time it was either a dedicated sports channel, a streaming service, or no coverage at all.

[Barbazza]

Yeah, I suppose there was no free to air channel left sadly. C4 really did a good job of their coverage and also tried their best to show it live as often as they possibly could. I was rather surprised when they decided to ditch it.

The one thing I'm not sad to miss is the personality void that is Jermaine Jenas. Goodness knows how he gets so many presenting jobs.

[dinizintheoven]

Also, with the season underway, I have a few more statistics...

We know that Ma Qing Hua holds the unenviable record of the highest number of FE entries without ever scoring a point - 14 (and he was Jean-Eric Vergne's team-mate at Techeetah, briefly). However, amongst the drivers who did get on the scoresheet, Tom Blomqvist has entered the highest number of races without making any progress towards unrejectification, with 23.

With so little driver turnover, this season is unlikely to have any unrejectification action, chiefly because there are only two drivers on the grid who have yet to be unrejectified. One is Jehan Daruvala - who's only competed in one race, although he's got a half-decent chance in a Maserati. The other one is all-round Mr Nice Guy Dan Ticktum, who has entered more races than anyone else without being unrejectified - 33 of them. He has two 6th places, so only needs another 6th to do so, but with the ERT looking as lively as a Mogadon-drenched slug, it's likely he'll have 48 entries without getting there, should he enter every race this season. Driving that car is a dirty job, but someone's got to do it.

[dinizintheoven]

And now, I have caught up with the weekend's two races in a country which I definitely approve of hosting races in, FE, F1, everything else, come one, come all, and which I'd really, really like to visit one day because there are definitely no reasons why I would ever not want to. I definitely didn't almost miss the first race and was only saved due to my TNT Sports subscription meaning I can watch the England Test cricket tour to India at a sensible time. No, that would never happen, would it?

My thoughts, before the sarcasm fuse blows - I'll un-grey them once they're no longer considered spoilers (which I now have):

Who would want to be Mitch Evans? All those years he's spent plugging away at Jaguar, building them up from being stone dead last in season 3 to being their first podium-sitter, their first winner, seeing off every team-mate he's ever had, including Sam Bird, and now, if anyone's finally going to take Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag to both titles, it's less likely to be him.

Who would want to be me, trying to make predictions such as "the team formerly known as NIO will score nul points this season" only for that to be torpedoed at the second round?

Who would want to run a Mahindra drivetrain, now that all four Mahindra-powered entries are still on nul points? Regretting your decision to leave Maserati, are you, Edo?

Who would want to be Antonio Felix da Costa or Norman Nato in round 3? Despite their powerful Porsche powertrains, both of them found the four Mahindra-powered cars too stiff a challenge to get past, and it's not as if AFDC can't pull off some spectacular passing moves in that car - see last year for details.

Who would want to be Sebastien Buemi's mechanics? Did anyone else think of Punta Del Este in season 1? "AAAAAAAH NOOOOOOON! PARDON!"

Who would want to be lumbered with polishing Stoffel Vandoorne's championship trophy? All the discussion about champions in F1 tends to revolve around how X, Y and Z "wasn't a worthy champion who didn't deserve it and it should have been (insert driver we're stanning for here) instead..." etc, etc, etc, ad nauseam. Jake Dennis has just become the latest champion to show that his championship wasn't a fluke - in the first Diriyah race, at least. So, of the seven one-time champions, he's become the fifth to get a post-championship win. The other two... haven't even stood on a podium after their championship seasons, let alone get a win, and The Unstoffable Belgian Waffle shares that unenviable record with Nelson Piquet Jr., who nobody likes (except his dad, and nobody likes him either). At least Nelsinho had the excuse of terrible machinery that wasn't capable of delivering wins while he remained with The Team Now No Longer Known As NIO, and Jaaaaaaag were still establishing themselves in his one and a half seasons with them.

Also: Ollie Pope deserves extra poppadoms with his next biryani.

[dr-baker]

I missed watching these races live, and I didn’t get round to recording them on my digital recording device from TNT Sports. Last year, this meant that I would simply go to Channel 4’s YouTube channel a few hours later and watch the hole race there. Now what do I do if I miss the whole race again? I could watch 5 minutes of highlights on the Formula E YouTube channel, but that feels like eating a packet of crisps when you really fancy a full-blown roast dinner. So where can I go to get my roast dinner with all the trimmings that is the full races from Saudi Arabia?

[dinizintheoven]

I missed watching these races live, and I didn’t get round to recording them on my digital recording device from TNT Sports. Last year, this meant that I would simply go to Channel 4’s YouTube channel a few hours later and watch the hole race there. Now what do I do if I miss the whole race again? I could watch 5 minutes of highlights on the Formula E YouTube channel, but that feels like eating a packet of crisps when you really fancy a full-blown roast dinner. So where can I go to get my roast dinner with all the trimmings that is the full races from Saudi Arabia?

There's no pork in that roast dinner, is there? Eh? Eh?

What you could do is send me a message and I'll see if I can sort you out with... something. I won't say what it is, and be warned it won't be "premium quality", but it'll be enough to keep you happy. I will say no more. You have my email, right? Probably an old one but I'm still watching it.

Meanwhile, being the NERD that I am, I have STATISTICS! These should go some way to showing who's "the best", or rather, who's been the most successful driver in Formula E over the first nine seasons (i.e. not including the first three races this season). I've done so by calculating what percentage of the total points available each driver has scored, out of the total races entered - a DNS counts as an entry and instant retirement and zero points, a withdrawal does not count as an entry as it has, at times, allowed another driver to step into the same car.

Then I've ranked those drivers who have competed in at least 16 ePrix, i.e. the length of the longest seasons so far. Had I not done this, there would be the bizarre anomaly of Pierre Gasly as the second-best driver ever after his two substitute appearances in the otherwise-BUEMIWINSLOL car in season 3. There are 41 drivers who qualify for this list, and if it proves anything, it's "driving for NIO can seriously harm your career".

Code: Select all

    DRIVER          EPRIX CHAMP WINS % OF TOTAL
    ======          ===== ===== ==== ==========
1   J. Dennis         47    *     5     32.37
2   L. di Grassi     115    *    13     30.78
3   F. Rosenqvist     25          3     30.76
4   J-E. Vergne      114   * *   11     29.66
5   S. Buemi         114    *    13     27.97
6   M. Evans          95         10     26.36
7   S. Bird          114         11     24.96
8   N. Cassidy        47          5     24.89
9   N. Prost          45          3     23.00
10  S. Vandoorne      71    *     3     22.69
11  N. de Vries       42    *     4     21.30
12  A.F. da Costa    112    *     8     20.27
13  P. Wehrlein       64          4     19.78
14  D. Abt            69          2     19.18
15  E. Mortara        80          6     17.99
16  R. Frijns         89          2     17.35
17  N. Heidfeld       44                16.51
18  J. d'Ambrosio     69          3     15.84
19  N. Piquet         51    *     2     15.80
20  A. Lotterer       81                15.37
21  L. Duval          28                14.72
22  B. Senna          21                14.60
23  O. Rowland        64          1     14.45
24  M. Günther        67          4     13.31
25  R. Rast           38                13.08
26  N. Nato           33          1     12.04
27  S. Sarrazin       37                11.70
28  A. Sims           55          1     10.73
29  J. Hughes         16                10.34
30  A. Lynn           42          1     10.01
31  J.M. López        33                 8.57
32  M. Engel          23                 7.05
33  S. Fenestraz      17                 6.49
34  F. Massa          24                 5.52
35  O. Askew          16                 5.17
36  N. Müller         33                 4.62
37  O. Turvey         89                 4.31
38  T. Dillmann       23                 3.60
39  D. Ticktum        32                 3.13
40  S. Sette Câmara   53                 2.05
41  T. Blomqvist      23                 1.46

FE really should have appreciated Felix Rosenqvist more, so that he didn't think the grass was greener on the gun-friendly side of the Atlantic - and as Lucas di Grassi is in for another horrifically unproductive season, Rosenqvist is going to go up to second in the rankings (and if I was calculating on a race-by-race basis, he'd already be there). Jake Dennis needs to score 121 points this season to stay above Rosenqvist in these rankings. Which he should, given the machinery at his disposal... right?

I'd never have expected Nico Prost to be quite so high up, even though he was in the all-conquering (and very cheesy) e.dams in the early days - he faded dramatically in his final season. Also, he was the only driver in the list to be affected by the season 1 rule that every driver must drop the worst non-DSQ result - everyone else had at least no-score round. Prost only dropped one point, and I've calculated his ranking on gross points rather than net. His dad would have something to say about dropping points during the 1988 F1 season grumble grumble zut alors etc etc etc.

No prizes for anyone who guessed that Nelson Piquet was the lowest-ranked champion, though Alex Lynn as the lowest-ranked winner was less obvious and Max Günther as the lowest-ranked multiple winner was a surprise - then again, he did have two very unproductive seasons, and was dropped for a few races in his first season and told to shape up or ship out (clearly he made the right decision).

Two podium-sitters didn't even make this list - Franck Montagny (two races and two races only), and Scott Speed - though Wikipedia's list of FE drivers must have an error in there as the number of podiums, when the nine from this season are removed, adds up to 347 when it should be 348.

[dr-baker]

I missed watching these races live, and I didn’t get round to recording them on my digital recording device from TNT Sports. Last year, this meant that I would simply go to Channel 4’s YouTube channel a few hours later and watch the hole race there. Now what do I do if I miss the whole race again? I could watch 5 minutes of highlights on the Formula E YouTube channel, but that feels like eating a packet of crisps when you really fancy a full-blown roast dinner. So where can I go to get my roast dinner with all the trimmings that is the full races from Saudi Arabia?

There's no pork in that roast dinner, is there? Eh? Eh?

What you could do is send me a message and I'll see if I can sort you out with... something. I won't say what it is, and be warned it won't be "premium quality", but it'll be enough to keep you happy. I will say no more. You have my email, right? Probably an old one but I'm still watching it.

Email has been sent! And no, I’m not porking anything. But a bit of gammon goes down well…

[dr-baker]

So happy to see Sam Bird win again. I was hoping he could pull it off, but equally concerned that it would all go wrong as it has several times over the past few years. But the last few laps, I would have been happy for him to have come second, would have been his best result since 2022. Great move at the end of the Race to see him finally take the win.

[dinizintheoven]

June 2023:

Bird's my favourite driver in Formula E, but I have a funny feeling he's going to need to seriously buck his ideas up if he wants a seat next season, given today's mess.

I too.am a fan of the Bird, but I am starting to fear that his last win is already behind him.

July 2023:

If I hadn't already been worried for Bird's career going into today's race, I certainly would be now. That was a mess.

Listening to the interview after today's race, it sounds as if either Sam Bird has already been told he's fired for next season, or that he doesn't believe he's up to the job any more... maybe both. I would say "the curse of the second Jaguar seat strikes again", but he's been the most successful of the Other Jags by miles. Adam Carroll, NPJ, Alex Lynn, James Calado, none of them ever stood on the podium, even if NPJ's season and a half brought three fourth places... but he'd been the inaugural champion and more was expected of him. Norman Nato's substitute appearance last season led to a blank scoresheet. But even with two wins and five further podiums over three seasons, Mitch has beaten him every time.

August 2023 (in the off-season):

Alongside Jake, I’m confident that we have one of the strongest pairings on the Formula E grid.

Epic cope. If he (Zak Brown) was talking about Jake Dennis, and the Sam Bird of the Virgin days who could punch above that car's weight, he might have a point, but he isn't. Jake Hughes has a very heavy right foot that doesn't suit FE and Sam... is well past his best. Though, I'd like him to prove me wrong and maybe he'll end up as FE World Champion when he's knocking hard on the door of 40.

I stand very much corrected. We all do.

That's the greatest comeback since Lazarus! Howay man, divn't y'kna.

What next? Will Daniel Ricciardo drag the VCARB onto the podium? Will Nelson Piquet Jr. return to FE and win his second title... with ERT? Will Nigel Mansell win Le Mans with his two sons in tow despite being north of 70?

[dr-baker]

Well, let's hope this isn't a flash in the pan success, like Williams's last win with Pastor Maldonado was...

[dr-baker]

It feels like the 1997 F1 season with Lola Cars and with Yamaha motors. Just need a credit card sponsor now to finance the team. Although that blue and yellow livery does look pretty good...

[dinizintheoven]

Bring it on! Let's see if they can team up with Vincenzo Sospiri Racing for extra technical support.

While they'll not be at risk of a DNQ in FE, Lola will have to get used to being bottom of the standings for a couple of years - especially with Yamaha being an all-new drivetrain manufacturer, and even if they'd not come in the only option of a drivetrain not used by two teams is the reticent ERT.

It also raises the possibility of what drivetrain ABT Cupra are going to switch to. They've ditched Mahindra two years early, and with good reason - surely they'll want to get something more competitive lined up, which means one unlucky team are going to be dumped with the slow ERT or the new and unproven Yamaha.

[SammiRei]

Finally got caught up (I don't have the pay-per-view channel and refuse to pay for it, even for the formula e), so my turn to comment.

Super happy for Sam, that was a good race for him. Overall pretty lively, and I'm slightly surprised Di Grassi didn't get a penalty for going off-track at t1/t2 without stopping, unlike later on when a couple of drivers did.

Spoilers for Tokyo in light grey, since it was only yesterday.

Not sure why Bird ended up so far back, since we didn't see it. Also didn't see what caused Di Grassi and De Vries to retire, though I presume it was them coming together.
Definitely a few sideways moments, and the ramp down to turn 3 was pretty bumpy. A little gutted for Mortara, which means Mahindra remain firmly glued to the bottom of the teams championship.
Nice win for Gunther though.

[dr-baker]

It’s been a week now, so I will make this readable and reply to it…

Not sure why Bird ended up so far back, since we didn't see it. Also didn't see what caused Di Grassi and De Vries to retire, though I presume it was them coming together.
Definitely a few sideways moments, and the ramp down to turn 3 was pretty bumpy. A little gutted for Mortara, which means Mahindra remain firmly glued to the bottom of the teams championship.
Nice win for Gunther though.[/color]

This YouTube video explains what happened to Sam Bird, and quite frankly, it sounds frightfully scary to be honest: https://youtu.be/G4x7yfIsl9k?si=a6V9xGMKVkeJ8U3s. Also starts with a couple of good jokes, albeit a bit racy?

[SammiRei]

Spoilers for Misano in light grey for a week or so.

Race 6 was certainly chaotic, but if the rumours about the GB E-Prix moving to Silverstone from next year are true, this would go a long way to demonstrating why - even for Formula E this was a lot of action and overtaking.
Kinda gutted for DaCosta, since that was entirely outside of his control.

As for race 7, somewhat less chaotic, but how Rowland's error happened I have no idea - I was watching with my family and around the time the commentators were saying he could go flat out to the end I said that I thought they'd miscounted by a lap and he'd be just short.
Also I'm pretty sure it was DiGrassi who punted Bird off, and the 5-second time penalty the latter got for causing a collision would seem to bear that out.

[dinizintheoven]

Further spoilers for Misano NOW UNCOVERED (since the next race has happened), nothing to do with what SammiRei has already mentioned:

A big shout to Nico Müller for dragging the reticent Mahindra-"powered" Abt Cupra to 4th in the second race, and it would have been a podium for the beleagured former champions, had Müller had just a scrap more energy left - the most likely reason he was beaten right at the finish line was because he had to lift off to avoid being disqualified.

Great news for fans of everyone's favourite driving delinquent who has unflattering views about Nicholas Latifi: Dan Ticktum unrejectified himself! And he'd have done it even if those revolting penalties hadn't been handed out, as he'd have been 6th and already had two 6th places before. But he ended up classified 4th, and that'd have done it in one shot. This means that Jehan Daruvala - who scored his first points in the second race - is now the only driver on the grid still in FE Reject status...

...that is, until Berlin, where both Envision drivers and Nyck de Vries will be stepping aside due to commitments in the WEC. Previous FE Reject Joel Eriksson will be joined by 20-year-old Paul Aron, the first FE driver born in the 21st Century (albeit the second born in a year starting with a two, after David Beckmann). Meanwhile, at Mahindra, Jordan King will keep NdV's seat warm.

Dan Ticktum was previous the driver with the highest number of race entries without being unrejectified, but has done so at the 38th attempt. It is now Tom Blomqvist who has had the highest number of entries without being unrejectified, at 23 - previously this was only the highest number of races with no progress towards unrejectification. The highest number of races without scoring a point is 14, a record which will probably always be held by Ma Qing Hua.

And no need for a spoiler-cut on this one: Abt Cupra are teaming up with Lola-Yamaha for their powertrain next season. A word of warning to them, though - if they think it can't get any worse than Mahindra's powertrain not being up to scratch, Jaguar weren't exactly up the sharp end when they joined FE later than everyone else, finishing dead last in the first year and having three more in the doldrums before coming good in 2020-21. Even the might of Mercedes didn't get it right first time, albeit that HWA Racelab was more of a testing-the-water entry for their first year in the series. Will the Abt management have the same level of patience as Jaguar did?

Also, it's not entirely obvious whether Lola will field a car of their own, or whether they're just going to be a powertrain supplier.

[dinizintheoven]

And this aged like milk left out in the sun...

This means that Jehan Daruvala - who scored his first points in the second race - is now the only driver on the grid still in FE Reject status...

...that is, until Berlin, where both Envision drivers and Nyck de Vries will be stepping aside due to commitments in the WEC. Previous FE Reject Joel Eriksson will be joined by 20-year-old Paul Aron, the first FE driver born in the 21st Century (albeit the second born in a year starting with a two, after David Beckmann). Meanwhile, at Mahindra, Jordan King will keep NdV's seat warm.

...because Paul Aron has been usurped as the first FE driver from the 21st Century by Taylor Barnard, currently sitting bottom of the standings in F2 but given a sudden Bearman-esque thrust into the McLaren FE hotseat after Sam Bird smashed up his hand again. And he's also the youngest ever driver in the entire history of the series, having not quite reached 20 yet.

I can't think of too much that was remarkable about the Monaco ePrix except that (spoilers, just in case...) Stoffel Vandoorne finally managed to stand on the podium for the first time since winning the season 8 championship! This does mean there's only one champion who never did - Nelson Piquet Jr. - though Stoff does still share the unwanted record of not winning a race after being crowned champion. The car's capable of it, though, it's not as if he's driving for ERT and has just fluked a result.