Formula E Beijing ePrix Race Discussion

[soccerman17]

That's interesting about Servia, wasn't sure what to make of him based on his racing career as I've not really followed Indycar.

I have to disagree with you about Mahrindra. Obviously Chandhok was a shoe-in being an Indian team from India but we never saw him and Senna compete at the top level in equal machinery.

Formula e could be a chance for those former HRT guys to shake off the bad reputation. I could also be wrong and they could be floundering around at the back!

It is definitely a chance for them to shake off a bad reputation. And I can't predict the future, I have no clue what's going to happen, I'm just doing my best to guess based off of current reputation. So for all I know Katherine Legge could win the drivers title and Mahindra could win Teams. That's why I'm so excited for this ePrix! God I hate the word ePrix.

Also Charles Pic will be in the second Andretti seat, at least according to Wikipedia.

 

[teabagyokel]

Mahindra Racing.
Karun Chandhok
Bruno Senna

I'm going to be honest, the last new team to go with this line-up fared quite poorly. Yamamoto and Klien by Battersea?

 

[RasputinLives]

Fabio Leimer will drive the Amlin Aguri for the first race due to Felix Da Costa's DTM commitments.

As far as I'm aware Servia is only a stand in for Mike Conway but its seems very unclear as to why he is and for how long.

Le Mans winner Antonio Garcia appears to be waiting in the wings at China Racing too.

 

[soccerman17]

Conway is a really good driver as well. He's been very impressive this year driving road circuits for Ed Carpenter, picked up two wins for a single-car team.

 

[jez101]

a pit stop is mandatory to change cars at somepoint during the race.

Surely you cannot be serious?

Reminds me of one of the stupidest things I have even done. When I was a student and was going anywhere with my housemates in my old Dihatsu Charade, we would do pitstops when we pulled up at red traffic lights.

This involved everyone, including the driver, getting out and running around the car to get back in the door you got out of.

The stupid things you do when you are young... I guess Formula E is a young sport!

 

[mjo]

First chicane at the Beijing circuit. It's going to be messy.

 

[Slyboogy]

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE!!!!!!

 

[KekeTheKing]

I've sort of been waiting for the Moose call from Sly

Now where is EvilWhippet to support the bearded one, Mr Heidfeld!

 

[F1Yorkshire]

Takuma Sato will replace Da Costa for Aguri Amlin for the Chinese ePrix

 

[RasputinLives]

I thought it was going to be Leimer?

Not surprised to see Sato at Aguri though!

 

[RasputinLives]

Even odder as Leimer has just posted this picture of himself going through passport control on Twitter.

With the caption "ARRIVED IN BEJING!!"

Do you think he knows he's not driving yet?

 

[F1Yorkshire]

Have Andretti confirmed their second driver yet? I think it's going to be a case of seeing which former F1 drivers are hanging around the paddock hoping for a chance. I did see this tweet earlier which got me thinking....

Paul Di Resta ‏@pauldirestaf1 2h
After a break it's now time to go racing again!

 

[Titch]

Roll on Saturday, a bit of fun, for a change.

 

[RasputinLives]

F1Yorkshire that would make sense as Andretti have big connections with his cousin Dario Franchetti who in turn is one of the big names (and the commentator) promoting Formula E.

 

[sushifiesta]

I haven't spent a lot of time looking at Formula E but I really dislike that the race power is limited to 25% lower than full power and fans voting to give a temporary power boost is even worse. I think I saw a video with Trulli or one of the other drivers saying the cars were fun to drive in qualifying mode but pretty lifeless in race mode, or something along those lines anyway.

It will be interesting to see how well it does and what the racing's like though.

 

[Tuscan1969]

Give it a few races and we will see if power is upped etc ..... But I have to say I think the cars look prettier that the current F1 crop!

 

[RasputinLives]

sushifiesta I'll stand corrected but I thought they weren't limited on the power but due to the aspect of making the charge last they'll be running on average 25% less than full power. My understanding is they'll be able to turn their power output up when they need it but they have to be tactical in order to make sure they can complete the distance.

Certainly I heard them ask Sam Bird how often in races they'd be up at full power. He answered 'very rarely' but he didn't say they couldn't.

I might be wrong though.

 

[sushifiesta]

RasputinLives From the Formula E web-site:

Qualifying
The qualifying session is a straight fight for the fastest laptime and determines the order for the day's race. The session will last 55 minutes (40 minutes track) and see drivers divided into four groups of five cars, with each group having 10 minutes to set their best time. Full power (200kw / 270bhp) will be available throughout with drivers only able to use one car. The driver setting the fastest time will be awarded three points.
ePrix
Races will begin by standing start and last for approximately one hour with drivers making one mandatory pit stop in order to change cars. Power will be restricted to 'race mode' (150kw / 202.5bhp) but for those drivers with FanBoost, the power output can be temporarily increased to 180kw / 243bhp for 5 secs per car. Points will be awarded using the standard FIA system (see Rules & Regulations) with the driver setting the fastest lap also receiving two additional points.
FanBoost
Fans can give their favourite driver an extra speed boost by voting for them prior to the race. The three drivers with the most votes will each receive a 5-second ‘power boost’ per car per driver, temporarily increasing their car’s power from 150kw to 180kw. Just click here to cast your vote. You can change your mind as many times as you want until voting closes a short time before the start of the race.

 

[F1Yorkshire]

With Nelson Piquet in a car I'm sure there will be safety cars so could potentially get some crazy full power finishes. Is there any thing about pit stop windows or can they pit anytime depending on how long they think they can get their battery to last.

 

[RasputinLives]

I stand corrected then!

Hmmm. I think that rule will get changed. Remember next year its no longer a spec series!