Formula E Putrajaya ePrix Discussion

Dash Racing

Points Scorer
After a pole to flag victory by Buemi at Beijing, Renault eDAMS looks like the team to beat this year, with Buemi especially looking unbeatable with his clean sweep - fastest in FP1 and FP2, pole position, 1st place, and the fastest lap award all going to the Swiss driver.

Meanwhile, last year's champion, Nelson Piquet Jr., is in a funk and has more or less written this year off already. He can't possibly do worse than his DNF result at Putrajaya last year, so perhaps he can take solace in only being able to go up from there?

Last year's race at Putrajaya may not have ended with a bang like Beijing, but the hairpin provided a great overtaking opportunity. Rather curvaceous for a street circuit, Putrajaya is a bit more interesting than Beijing from a driving point of view.

Last year's winner was the ever popular Sam Bird, who will almost certainly want a repeat performance. It might be a tough ask for the DS Virgin driver, with ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport (try saying that three times fast!) and Renault eDAMS having a clear performance advantage at China. However, Putrajaya and China place very different demands on the cars, and what worked in China might not work well at Putrajaya.

Trulli's woes continue, with their drivetrain still held up in Chinese customs. In a nice show of support and closing of ranks by Formula E Holdings, NEXTEV's Steven Lu, and series shipping partner DHL, everyone is hard at work to free Trulli's drivetrain from bureaucratic hell and get them shipped to Putrajaya. However, the lack of running time in China will almost certainly cause a knock-on effect for the beleaguered team, who put a lot of their troubles down to their late start before season 1. They struggled with overheating last year because they were cooling the motor, not the inverter, a fundamental mistake inherited from Drayson's design, and not spotted until the cars were dismantled at the end of season 1! The problem should be fixed this year, but it may be safe to say this year might turn into a write-off too.
Fanboost is already open for Putrajaya, with Jacques Villeneuve topping the leaderboard :yesss: Don't forget, you can vote once per voting method per day, giving you up to three votes a day. Get your votes in and show your support for your favorite drivers.

Make sure you tune in on November 7th for the Putrajaya ePrix!
 
You're quick off the mark with the Formula E threads Dash Racing! Good write up.

Putrajaya was one of my favorite tracks last year so really looking forward to this one. Nice to have the two first races so close together rather than 8 weeks apart like last time! I doubt we'll see the Trulli team running even if they do get the car out of customs as those cars have barely turned a wheel.

Its got to be either E-Dams or Abt really although that Virgin car with its 1 gear setting will find a track at some point this year that it will be fastest at.

I know you're a Villeneuve fan but I think Venturi's choice of drivers is really hampering it. Sarrazin was a none entity last year so why he gets to come back I have no idea. Dragon run the same powertrain and already look streets ahead which I think can be put partly down to having two drivers pushing each other along.
 
Thanks RasputinLives Formula E is my favorite racing series of all time, I'm always so excited when the next race is coming up, so getting these Formula E threads up is easy-peasy!

My favorite tracks last year were Punta del Este and Long Beach, but Putrajaya was definitely one of the better tracks of the year. It is so fun to have these races close together this time.

I think the thing to remember about Villeneuve's performance at Venturi this year is that unlike a lot of the field, he has less experience with EVs than they do - his performance was actually spot on for a Formula E rookie, and equivalent to the rest of the rookies (comparing them to their experienced teammates). His fastest lap in the race was three tenths faster* than Sarrazin's. Egads it's odd calling an Indy 500 and F1 WDC winner a rookie though!

I will agree with you on Sarrazin, I don't rate him either. The problem is, where are you going to get a driver who can push JV without having a lot of driver drama?

* this seems to be the theme of the race, actually. Berthon was three tenths faster than Da Costa, and Frijns was a country mile faster than Di Silvestro. The only rookie not faster than his teammate was Turvey, who was a second slower than Piquet Jr.
 
I see what you're saying about Vileneuve being a rookie but he was outperformed by another rookie, Frinjs, in last years equiptment.

I just wonder if Jaques has bitten off more than he can chew.
 
Frijns was in a full racing program last year, while Villeneuve hasn't done that in ten years. I think it's a case of Jacques needing to shake off the rust - he's undoubtedly very rusty.
 
I'm in trouble this weekend, the e-Prix, F1 and WEC. I suspect there will be lots of "are you still sitting in front of the bloody TV" comments from the missus.
 
Yes, the ePrix is on the 7th. Right now, the weather forecast for Putrajaya says 80% chance of thunderstorms on the day of the race. Am I right in thinking we didn't get a wet race last year? It could be Formula E's first wet race in Putrajaya, if the weather forecast is accurate.
 
Yes we never got to see this all purpose weather tyre in action did we? Will be interesting to see how it works especially if we end up with a drying track.
 
Ah yes, I shall miss that live then as I'm off to the Far East for a week and don't get back until late Saturday on the 7th :(
 
Absolutely bonkers! a broken up track and cars falling like flies! Sam Bird finished second and broke down on the cool down lap!

How about Frinjs bringing last years car with broken suspension to a podium?

Its good to see the Renault is not indestructible and I think Di Grassi and Audi are going to push them all the way this year. Good Stuff - having all these different designs and different approaches on the cars is really making it interesting and of course the racing is always good.

No heat coming out the cars and no aero means cars can follow closely which of course leads to overtaking. Its a simple formula really.
 
With all these street circuits and concrete barriers, shouldn't the cars be a little stronger? Carbon fiber suspension arms tend to fail completely but metal tubing would just bend without breaking. Of course the best solution is to not hit the barriers but that seems too much for these drivers.
 
Ha, thoroughly enjoyed that. Lots of accidents, incidents and overtaking. I bet NPj was cursing and swearing when he got overtaken by a woman!
 
What a crazy race that was from Putrajaya. 1st half was ok but that 2nd half was crazy so many drivers cars batteries just cutting out & then restarting im guessing because batteries got too hot & cooling problems. Friyins 3rd place was certainly a 1st for me. In all races ive seen never someone a driver broken suspension. crabbing onto podium. Sarazian summed the entertaining race that he could stall on the grid & yet still nearly made it on to the podium

But the 1st 2 qualifying sessions ive noticed e:dams is turning into Mercedes because you've got a dominant car & ironically the son of a world champion is being easily beaten by his team mate & barring reliability problems I think Buemi will have this championship sown up before battersea because he is that quick 1/2 sec in qualy
 
But forget to say I may be wrong but id be amazed if Nelson piquet finishes the formula e season with next ev as he made red bull & mclaren releationships with there engine suppilers look friendly. Either piquet & team will have a bust up or 1 of them will get sick of each other
 
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