The Lucas di Grassi Formula E Thread

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 09 Jan 2014, 21:32

Oh dear, the car sounds like it is about to break down

go_Rubens · Post by **go_Rubens** » 09 Jan 2014, 21:37

eurobrun wrote:Oh dear, the car sounds like it is about to break down

It was just wierd. Although I'd like to see it at full speed on an actual track, to get a better idea of the true racing sounds.

apple2009 · Post by **apple2009** » 17 Jan 2014, 19:20

Awesome! Really looking forward to the series now, especially with the possibility of Sato/di Grassi/Buemi/Chandhok/Liuzzi driving.

madmark1974 · Post by **madmark1974** » 29 Jan 2014, 12:32

Next round of driver sign-ups announced, including Bourdais, Senna, Karthikeyan and Christijan Albers...

http://www.fiaformulae.com/news/next-eight-names-to-join-drivers-club

Unveiled earlier this month, the new scheme features a pool of top, international names that all officially endorse the new FIA Formula E Championship and have expressed a willingness to race in the future.

watka · Post by **watka** » 29 Jan 2014, 13:33

My word this is shaping up nicely. Does anyone really know what this "Driver's Club" actually means though? Will there be some sort of draft where the teams pick their drivers from the roster? Also, does it mean that different drivers will race at each event, making Formula E more of a teams championship than a drivers championship (ala Superleague Formula)?

girry · Post by **girry** » 29 Jan 2014, 14:22

Christijan Albers? Wow.

WaffleCat · Post by **WaffleCat** » 29 Jan 2014, 20:50

watka wrote:My word this is shaping up nicely. Does anyone really know what this "Driver's Club" actually means though? Will there be some sort of draft where the teams pick their drivers from the roster? Also, does it mean that different drivers will race at each event, making Formula E more of a teams championship than a drivers championship (ala Superleague Formula)?

According to the web, the Driver's Club is just a series of drivers that want to participate in FE, and they each get a test run in the FE car as a result. I do not think there is any real "draft" of drivers for the teams from the Club, but I do presume the teams will have to sign Driver's Club members only,unless there is a shortage of drivers. It seems painfully obvious that some drivers are only in the Driver's Club so that one specific team can snap them up, like Andretti for Andretti, Sato for SUPAH AGOORI, Abt for Audi Sport ABT (The team literally has his name on it!) and Karthikeyan for Mahindra. These are just preliminary guesses,though.

As for the drivers in the club itself, this series seems too good to ignore. Albers? Bourdais? Buemi? Chandok? di Grassi? Karthikeyan? Qing Hua? Sato? SUPER AGURI? e.DAMS? Virgin? The names in here are just too good to be true. And I'm only naming those that have had previous involvement in F1.

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 30 Jan 2014, 18:47

WaffleCat wrote:As for the drivers in the club itself, this series seems too good to ignore. Albers? Bourdais? Buemi? Chandok? di Grassi? Karthikeyan? Qing Hua? Sato? SUPER AGURI? e.DAMS? Virgin? The names in here are just too good to be true. And I'm only naming those that have had previous involvement in F1.

You forgot Franck Montagny, though - but then again, so would most people.

Might he be the other Super Aguri driver? And will Lucas di Grassi drive for Virgin?

go_Rubens · Post by **go_Rubens** » 30 Jan 2014, 21:31

dinizintheoven wrote:
WaffleCat wrote:As for the drivers in the club itself, this series seems too good to ignore. Albers? Bourdais? Buemi? Chandok? di Grassi? Karthikeyan? Qing Hua? Sato? SUPER AGURI? e.DAMS? Virgin? The names in here are just too good to be true. And I'm only naming those that have had previous involvement in F1.

You forgot Franck Montagny, though - but then again, so would most people.

Might he be the other Super Aguri driver? And will Lucas di Grassi drive for Virgin?

I'm sooooo going to watch!

GwilymJJames · Post by **GwilymJJames** » 12 Feb 2014, 18:32

The last set of names are out.

Doornbos, Klien, Alguersuari, Daly, Minassin, Alex Brundle, Legge and...

THE STIG

UncreativeUsername37 · Post by **UncreativeUsername37** » 12 Feb 2014, 19:18

Okay, I know I said I didn't care if the Twitter vote thing went through, but with this cast....

nome66 · Post by **nome66** » 12 Feb 2014, 21:35

GwilymJJames wrote:The last set of names are out.

Doornbos, Klien, Alguersuari, Daly, Minassin, Alex Brundle, Legge and...

THE STIG

*formerly known as

madmark1974 · Post by **madmark1974** » 13 Feb 2014, 10:07

This thread name is now confirmed safe, as Di Grassi is signed up for a race seat with Abt at, er, ABT:

http://www.fiaformulae.com/news/abt-reveal-drivers-line-up

ABT Sportsline will contest the first season of the new FIA Formula E Championship with former Formula One racer and Audi factory driver Lucas di Grassi and German youngster Daniel Abt.
The German outfit is the first of the ten teams in the field to have presented its driver line-up. The inaugural event of the new fully-electric race series will take place in Beijing, China, on 13 September 2014.

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 13 Feb 2014, 10:14

madmark1974 wrote:This thread name is now confirmed safe, as Di Grassi is signed up for a race seat with Abt at, er, ABT:

http://www.fiaformulae.com/news/abt-reveal-drivers-line-up

ABT Sportsline will contest the first season of the new FIA Formula E Championship with former Formula One racer and Audi factory driver Lucas di Grassi and German youngster Daniel Abt.
The German outfit is the first of the ten teams in the field to have presented its driver line-up. The inaugural event of the new fully-electric race series will take place in Beijing, China, on 13 September 2014.

Daniel Abt will drive for ABT Sportsline? Didn't saw that coming...

eytl · Post by **eytl** » 13 Feb 2014, 21:45

So 10 of the 24 shortlisted drivers are F1 rejects. Two of the teams (Virgin and Super Aguri) are reject teams, three if you count Venturi, plus a team owned and run by an honorary reject (Andretti).

Does it get any better than this? I'm just cheesed off that there won't be a round in Hong Kong anymore, otherwise I would have been a certainty to go.

Jocke1 · Post by **Jocke1** » 14 Feb 2014, 14:53

eytl wrote:Does it get any better than this?

I just hope Gaston Mazzacane will be a V.I.P on the grid in Buenos Aires.

Here are the ones who should get to wave the chequered flag at each race:

China Beijing 13 September 2014 ..-.. Actress Ming-Na Wen
Malaysia Putrajaya 18 October 2014 ..-.. Alex Yoong
Brazil Rio de Janeiro 15 November 2014 ..-.. Ricardo Zonta
Uruguay Punta del Este 13 December 2014 ..-.. Vice President Danilo Astori
Argentina Buenos Aires 10 January 2015 ..-.. Gaston Mazzacane
United States Los Angeles 14 February 2015 ..-.. Actor Nicolas Cage
United States Miami 14 March 2015 ..-.. President Raul Castro
Monaco Monte Carlo 9 May 2015 ..-.. Mika Hakkinen
Germany Berlin 30 May 2015 ..-.. Michael Schumacher (hopefully in good health by then)
United Kingdom London 27 June 2015 ..-.. Perry McCarthy

andrew2209 · Post by **andrew2209** » 14 Feb 2014, 19:27

That Formula E entry list seems to have everything for a spectacularly hilarious racing series.
Banzai Japanese Racer-CHECK
Drivers with famous surnames-CHECK
Drivers who failed in F1-CHECK
A female driver-CHECK

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 15 Feb 2014, 17:18

GwilymJJames wrote:The last set of names are out.

Doornbos, Klien, Alguersuari, Daly, Minassin, Alex Brundle, Legge and...

THE STIG

I was hoping it would be the original Black Stig.

Jocke1 wrote:
eytl wrote:Does it get any better than this?

Here are the ones who should get to wave the chequered flag at each race:

Brazil Rio de Janeiro 15 November 2014 ..-.. Ricardo Zonta

Nah, let's have Pele again!

andrew2209 · Post by **andrew2209** » 15 Feb 2014, 20:16

I'm going stick my neck out and say I think this series have some potential, if organised well, to be very successful. It has some well known names behind it, it's choosing events at major cities, and while the rules aren't perfect at the moment, it could make electric cars more well known, as well as developing them.

Post by **mario** » 15 Feb 2014, 21:22

andrew2209 wrote:I'm going stick my neck out and say I think this series have some potential, if organised well, to be very successful. It has some well known names behind it, it's choosing events at major cities, and while the rules aren't perfect at the moment, it could make electric cars more well known, as well as developing them.

It depends whether or not they can successfully pitch it at the right audience and maintain the initial interest in the sport.

Given that it is something of a novelty, it will probably attract attention for the first few years simply because it is unorthodox - however, in a world that is already saturated with countless racing series, it is going to be tough for a start up series, even one with highly respected figures behind it, to make a substantial impression with the public.
The first challenge will be, if they go ahead as promised and open up the regulations in 2015 to permit more technological developments, whether their backers are going to be prepared to pump money into the sport to permit that development - after all, one of the selling points is the fact that the series is relatively cheap (capped at a total cost of $2 million per team per season), but advancements in technology can't come without somebody paying for it, and it isn't as if it will come cheap either. Garnering manufacturer interest and manufacturer backed teams might help with the technological and financial aspects, but so far the automotive industry seems to be disinterested in the series and I expect that they will only want to be involved if the series is successful.

The other element is whether or not the races can be a success too - the novelty aspect is perhaps why some cities have signed up to host an event, but I cannot imagine that places like London, Berlin or Beijing are going to be prepared to shut down chunks of their road network for races every single year. One of the selling points has been the fact that the low noise levels will permit the series to conduct street races where conventional cars would not be viable, and is perhaps one of the more unique USP's of the sport - albeit also one weakness, since it reduces the visceral impact of the sport.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 16 Feb 2014, 17:17

Interesting as always, Mario. One quick thought - even gaining manufacturer interest and input is not necessarily the answer to keeping a series going. After the third season of A1GP, the series replaced their Lola-Zyteks with Ferraris. The first round of the 4th season got cancelled and there was a reduced entry list at the second round because not enough cars were ready on time. Plus replacing the cars seem to eat into the budgets of both series and teams. I am sure in my mind that if they had been able to resist the allure of the pristige of Ferrari and continued with updated Lola-Zyteks, the series may have lasted longer. Shame, because that remains one of my favourite series outside of F1, IndyCar and BTCC (all four series I have seen race at Brands Hatch by the way...). (IndyCar = ChampCar...)

madmark1974 · Post by **madmark1974** » 03 Mar 2014, 15:02

Well, at least something with Renault technlology in it is working properly ...

Formula E’s fully-electric Spark-Renault SRT_01E car has now completed 1,000km of testing without a single glitch – the equivalent of an entire season’s worth of racing

http://www.fiaformulae.com/news/formula-e-car-enjoys-trouble-free-testing

Backmarker · Post by **Backmarker** » 03 Mar 2014, 17:03

madmark1974 wrote:Well, at least something with Renault technlology in it is working properly ...

Formula E’s fully-electric Spark-Renault SRT_01E car has now completed 1,000km of testing without a single glitch – the equivalent of an entire season’s worth of racing

http://www.fiaformulae.com/news/formula-e-car-enjoys-trouble-free-testing

Renault don't even make the motors - McLaren do. Renault do the 'systems integration'. Williams make the batteries. Dallara and Spark Racing Technologies made the chassis.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 13 Mar 2014, 12:12

First track's been unveiled, and it looks a bit rejectful to me - 90 degree corners, chicanes, a a u-shaped pit lane...

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/112885

Post by **tommykl** » 14 Mar 2014, 16:10

dr-baker wrote:First track's been unveiled, and it looks a bit rejectful to me - 90 degree corners, chicanes, a a u-shaped pit lane...

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/112885

Since when does Beijing have good racing circuits? Honestly, anything remotely better than this would have been a surprise to me.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 14 Mar 2014, 16:19

tommykl wrote:
dr-baker wrote:First track's been unveiled, and it looks a bit rejectful to me - 90 degree corners, chicanes, a a u-shaped pit lane...

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/112885

Since when does Beijing have good racing circuits? Honestly, anything remotely better than this would have been a surprise to me.

True. But if ever there were a Tracks Reject, this would have to be the MasterCard Lola/Andrea Moda of all tracks...

watka · Post by **watka** » 14 Mar 2014, 23:58

dr-baker wrote:
tommykl wrote:
dr-baker wrote:First track's been unveiled, and it looks a bit rejectful to me - 90 degree corners, chicanes, a a u-shaped pit lane...

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/112885

Since when does Beijing have good racing circuits? Honestly, anything remotely better than this would have been a surprise to me.

True. But if ever there were a Tracks Reject, this would have to be the MasterCard Lola/Andrea Moda of all tracks...

Yep, it was like Macau gone horribly, horribly wrong if I recall correctly.

Backmarker · Post by **Backmarker** » 15 Mar 2014, 09:47

watka wrote:
dr-baker wrote:
tommykl wrote:Since when does Beijing have good racing circuits? Honestly, anything remotely better than this would have been a surprise to me.

True. But if ever there were a Tracks Reject, this would have to be the MasterCard Lola/Andrea Moda of all tracks...

Yep, it was like Macau gone horribly, horribly wrong if I recall correctly.

The cars were sucking the manhole covers off the street

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 15 Mar 2014, 11:52

Backmarker wrote:The cars were sucking the manhole covers off the street

Yeah, but that's happened several times in Shanghai hasn't it? It happened with A1GP, it happened with DTM's street race, it even happened to Juan Pablo Montoya at one of the early F1 races!

AxelP800 · Post by **AxelP800** » 15 Mar 2014, 14:47

dr-baker wrote:
Backmarker wrote:The cars were sucking the manhole covers off the street

Yeah, but that's happened several times in Shanghai hasn't it? It happened with A1GP, it happened with DTM's street race, it even happened to Juan Pablo Montoya at one of the early F1 races!

Que?

Race 1
Race 2

Yeah, I found a good channel having almost all A1GP races :mrgreen:

Post by **Londoner** » 17 Mar 2014, 21:50

https://twitter.com/FIAformulaE/statuses/445591103467577344

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 17 Mar 2014, 22:43

East Londoner wrote:https://twitter.com/FIAformulaE/statuses/445591103467577344

My thought exactly when I saw the news on Autosport.

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 17 Mar 2014, 23:46

Good job, ITV4!

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 18 Mar 2014, 00:08

Are there any clashes scheduled between FE and BTCC? If so, how are ITV going to manage that?

Renngeist · Post by **Renngeist** » 18 Mar 2014, 16:07

dr-baker wrote:Are there any clashes scheduled between FE and BTCC? If so, how are ITV going to manage that?

I don´t think there are any.

GwilymJJames · Post by **GwilymJJames** » 19 Mar 2014, 13:24

Formula E has got, if anything, EVEN MORE THRILLING.

New drivers for the club are:

Jerome "Custard" D'Ambrosio
Sam Bird "Is The Word"
"Quick" Nick Heidfeld
And THE TRULLI TRAIN

They join the likes of Christian Klien, Robert Doornbos, Sebastien Buemi and Adrian Quaife-Hobbes in the Formula E Drivers Club. It's all so exciting. I may have to sit down.

madmark1974 · Post by **madmark1974** » 19 Mar 2014, 13:40

So here's the complete (for now) list of drivers available :

http://www.fiaformulae.com/drivers

Pointrox · Post by **Pointrox** » 19 Mar 2014, 23:21

Gotta love how most drivers have/had some connections to F1.
Even Andy Soucek is in there, even thought his bout with Virgin left him with a rather unfavorable reputation.
All this series needs is a certain Nelsinho Piquet to jump on the bandwagon

watka · Post by **watka** » 19 Mar 2014, 23:34

Its an absolute pick 'n' mix of F1/GP2 has beens from the past 7-8 years. I love it!

Waris · Post by **Waris** » 21 Mar 2014, 07:08

Yesss, this is the kind of series we need! I've been waiting for something like this (in terms of drivers) ever since A1GP and Superleague went out of business. :lol: