The Lucas di Grassi Formula E Thread

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 20 Mar 2017, 16:58

Esteban Gutierrez is going to replace Ha Qing Ma at Techeetah from the next race onwards - obviously ticket sales for Mexico weren't going very well and they needed to find him a seat!

In all seriousness, he surely can't do any worse than Ma who wasn't particularly rejectworthy in terms of incident, just incredibly SLOW. We can rely on Esteban to do something unexpectely stupid, right?

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 21 Mar 2017, 19:23

Ma Qing-Hua was the Dave Walker of Formula E. Although admittedly Jean-Éric Vergne won't be champion (because it'll be a Buemi walkover for every round except the last), he does have the champion-elect's drivetrain and Ma has done... what has he done with it, except take up a seat that could be better used by someone else?

It's quite appropriate Techeetah having that black and gold car this year.

WaffleCat · Post by **WaffleCat** » 02 Apr 2017, 11:02

Can I just say, without spoiling, the second half of the Mexico ePrix is one of the best racing battles I've ever seen, with a miraculous victor, fantastic drivers and non-stop drama. What a race, and I'll still say Formula E is the best motorsport out there.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 02 Apr 2017, 11:07

Yeah, very happy I saw that. First time I've actually watched an FE race in full this season, and it was worth it.

Still need to resolve some things with the series - fewer mickey mouse chicanes in the tracks they use, and less pointless bodywork that gets smashed to bits when the field piles into said chicanes.

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 02 Apr 2017, 11:22

That was a much more interesting race, with the strategy and multiple safety cars giving us a fascinating end.

2 things though -

1) Channel 5 - PLEASE STOP GOING TO A BREAK BEFORE ALL THE POINTS SCORING CARS HAVE CROSSED THE LINE!!!

2) Do the stewards only look at pit stop times and technical infringements these days? Because once again there were a couple of blatant clashes that should have been penalised but weren't, in particular a certain French driver with previous form for this sort of thing clearly smashing a certain German friend of ours off the track and triggering a pile-up.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 02 Apr 2017, 12:03

Oh yeah, forgot about the crap Channel 5 coverage. So low budget, they might as well not bother and just screen the world feed!

Post by **Ataxia** » 02 Apr 2017, 12:52

AndreaModa wrote:Oh yeah, forgot about the crap Channel 5 coverage. So low budget, they might as well not bother and just screen the world feed!

They do this on their Facebook page; the stream begins 30 minutes before the start with just the world feed coverage. No breaks at the very end, no people-shoved-in-a-cupboard coverage.

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 02 Apr 2017, 15:24

I forgot to mention that JEV's massive whinging was getting on my tits as well - check the Formula E website for a post-race rant!

Has he been taking lessons from Lewis?

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 02 Apr 2017, 15:38

dinizintheoven wrote:...because it'll be a Buemi walkover for every round except the last...

Tonight, for dinner, I will be eating those words with a generous helping of chips and gravy. After last night, they will actually taste good, as Janet Ellis would also discover in the first ever episode of Jigsaw.

I think she never read "The Phantom Tollbooth", though.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 02 Apr 2017, 17:45

Ataxia wrote:
AndreaModa wrote:Oh yeah, forgot about the crap Channel 5 coverage. So low budget, they might as well not bother and just screen the world feed!

They do this on their Facebook page; the stream begins 30 minutes before the start with just the world feed coverage. No breaks at the very end, no people-shoved-in-a-cupboard coverage.

Marvellous. Is that the Channel 5 FB or Formula E? I'll be going there next time!

Post by **Ataxia** » 02 Apr 2017, 17:51

AndreaModa wrote:
Ataxia wrote:
AndreaModa wrote:Oh yeah, forgot about the crap Channel 5 coverage. So low budget, they might as well not bother and just screen the world feed!

They do this on their Facebook page; the stream begins 30 minutes before the start with just the world feed coverage. No breaks at the very end, no people-shoved-in-a-cupboard coverage.

Marvellous. Is that the Channel 5 FB or Formula E? I'll be going there next time!

Channel 5. Unfortunately, due to the TV deals, the Formula E race is region-locked on their fb page and on Youtube (although you can catch all the other sessions).

UncreativeUsername37 · Post by **UncreativeUsername37** » 03 Apr 2017, 01:01

That was a true classic, the sort of thing that'll be fondly remembered decades afterward. Best race FE has ever had.

madmark1974 · Post by **madmark1974** » 03 Apr 2017, 11:24

UgncreativeUsergname wrote:That was a true classic, the sort of thing that'll be fondly remembered decades afterward. Best race FE has ever had.

Yup, great race, very entertaining throughout.

I feel as if it was the circuit layout that helped - the cars were 'topping out' so early down the straights that it was pretty much impossible to get enough momentum to overtake.

On this occasion though, unlike F1 2017-style, this was a good thing!

golic_2004 · Post by **golic_2004** » 18 Apr 2017, 11:33

Conway to replace Duval for the Paris ePrix
https://www.motorsport.com/formula-e/ne ... ix-895321/

I think that's a good choice. Conway is known for his street course races in Indycar, so he should be solid in a more-established team like Dragon, all due respect to Venturi.

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 18 Apr 2017, 12:19

Conway also has past experience in Formula E and was fairly solid in previous performances, if not spectacular.

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 14 May 2017, 20:35

A race has passed - yesterday (and I've now just caught up with it) and so far there's no reaction. Is it the six-week gap between races, or the numbing inevitability that there's only ever likely to be one winner, Mexican race excepted?

At least it was Fwöliche Geburtstag for Nick Heidfeld, who's just blown out 40 candles and joined Oriol Servia, Jarno Trulli, Stéphane Sarrazin and some Canadian not-quite-musician whose name escapes me in the Old Gits' Club.

Also, a hefty slap round the chops again for my5.tv whose catch-up player still doesn't work with Firefox, Chrome, Safari or Opera, thus forcing me to use that "e" thing that masquerades as a browser. Grrrrrraaaaaaarrrrgh!

madmark1974 · Post by **madmark1974** » 15 May 2017, 08:56

I did see the race, and in some ways it went in a similar fashion to the Spanish GP - the top two drivers, in a class of their own, having what turned out to be an interesting battle.

Those last few laps I was, however, somewhat worried that Di Grassi would have a dose of brain fade and end up sticking it down the inside of Buemi, forget to brake and wipe them both out ... Which would have given Quick Nick the win, so in some ways it's regrettable that it didn't happen ...

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 15 May 2017, 09:31

dinizintheoven wrote:A race has passed - yesterday (and I've now just caught up with it) and so far there's no reaction. Is it the six-week gap between races, or the numbing inevitability that there's only ever likely to be one winner, Mexican race excepted?

At least it was Fwöliche Geburtstag for Nick Heidfeld, who's just blown out 40 candles and joined Oriol Servia, Jarno Trulli, Stéphane Sarrazin and some Canadian not-quite-musician whose name escapes me in the Old Gits' Club.

Also, a hefty slap round the chops again for my5.tv whose catch-up player still doesn't work with Firefox, Chrome, Safari or Opera, thus forcing me to use that "e" thing that masquerades as a browser. Grrrrrraaaaaaarrrrgh!

Apart from the crash at the Nouvelle Chicane (Nouvelle Hairpin?) at half distance, the most memorable part of the TV coverage for me was the cutaway to the Mini Moke on one of the yachts in the harbour...

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 15 May 2017, 09:33

dinizintheoven wrote:A race has passed - yesterday (and I've now just caught up with it) and so far there's no reaction.

I forgot it was on which I think is a by-product of the inconsistent gaps between races. I'm annoyed because who doesn't want to watch shiny cars go (relatively) quickly round Monte Carlo? Plus, it's still free to view.

Never mind. Paris, je t'aime.

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 15 May 2017, 09:55

dinizintheoven wrote:A race has passed - yesterday (and I've now just caught up with it) and so far there's no reaction. Is it the six-week gap between races, or the numbing inevitability that there's only ever likely to be one winner, Mexican race excepted?

I think it might also be the same reason the Grand Prix threads scarcely go over a page in length: the chatroom has taken away the vast majority of discussion on the forum.

Personally, though, I was only reminded of the race when my brother rang me and told me it was on. Not a reflection of my interest in F5 (in fact, I've probably become Buemi's biggest fan from researching him a while back), just the fact that I've just not been keeping tabs on what's going on in motorsport as much as I used to.

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 15 May 2017, 12:46

I was away at the weekend or I may have commented sooner. FWIW, yet again my comments concern the risible C5 coverage rather than the race, which for one in Monaco was somewhat unspectacular.

At least the presentation side was from a proper room with sofas. That's where the good news ends, given that 'special' guest was Ralph Firman, who was so incredibly dull that he made an F1 press release look interesting.

Commentary was of the B-list variety with Martin bloody Haven back with Mike Conway (who, to be fair, wasn't bad when he was allowed to speak) and can someone please explain why Bob Varsha chimes in at random occasions with extra comments?

Also, PLEASE can we have more than about 10 minutes after the race for driver comments, and other post-race stuff?

And one more thing - this one aimed at the FIA rather than C5 - I do not give a shite about Naomi ****ing Campbell being there!!!

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 15 May 2017, 16:09

On the calendar side of the discussion, I was surprised when they said that the next round of the championship was only a week away! Talk about an inconsistent calendar. I hope I don't get to next Saturday and think that there can't possibly be another FE race so soon after the last...

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 15 May 2017, 22:00

Barbazza wrote:At least the presentation side was from a proper room with sofas. That's where the good news ends, given that 'special' guest was Ralph Firman, who was so incredibly dull that he made an F1 press release look interesting.

I was wondering why he was wheeled out; was nobody else available? Has Jaime Alguersuari gone givin' it large in Ibifa bling bling innit?

And one more thing - this one aimed at the FIA rather than C5 - I do not give a shite about Naomi ****ing Campbell being there!!!

Maybe they were trying to do the same "hey, look, a celebrity on the grid just like the F1 race will have plenty of". Still, am I alone in thinking her obviously rehearsed lines about "sustainability" and "climate change" and all the other eco-buzzwords came across as... insincere? I can't bring myself to believe that any billionaire would care about such matters any more than if they found a penny lying on the street, for any reason other than the "correct" kind of publicity.

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 16 May 2017, 17:16

dinizintheoven wrote:Maybe they were trying to do the same "hey, look, a celebrity on the grid just like the F1 race will have plenty of". Still, am I alone in thinking her obviously rehearsed lines about "sustainability" and "climate change" and all the other eco-buzzwords came across as... insincere? I can't bring myself to believe that any billionaire would care about such matters any more than if they found a penny lying on the street, for any reason other than the "correct" kind of publicity.

You're assuming here that I listened to a word she said rather than hitting the FF button rapidly every time her face appeared on screen. I did that even during the race.

Post by **Ataxia** » 16 May 2017, 22:36

dinizintheoven wrote:I was wondering why he was wheeled out; was nobody else available? Has Jaime Alguersuari gone givin' it large in Ibifa bling bling innit?

They could have at least had the decency to get his old man on the show for some crazy soundbites.

I'm not entirely sure why they had The Haven on lead comms instead of Varsh, I remember Bob was pretty good at Long Beach in...was it last year?

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 17 May 2017, 17:00

I can't remember which one Varsha did, but he was good. I'd be all for giving him the reserve gig ahead of fatface Haven, that's for sure. It seems a complete waste of time just having him chip in with comments now and then.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 17 May 2017, 20:24

Barbazza wrote:I can't remember which one Varsha did, but he was good. I'd be all for giving him the reserve gig ahead of fatface Haven, that's for sure. It seems a complete waste of time just having him chip in with comments now and then.

And there were occasions where it felt like Varsha was interrupting Haven to say his one or two sentences...

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 18 May 2017, 16:00

Well, given that Haven shouts everybody else down given the slightest opportunity, that would be no surprise.

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 20 May 2017, 16:10

Barbazza wrote:You're assuming here that I listened to a word she said rather than hitting the FF button rapidly every time her face appeared on screen. I did that even during the race.

Although I was watching the Mexico ePrix on My5 (which I will continue to grumble at length about), I don't trust my dodgy mouse not to disengage the left button at the wrong point and send the slider flying to the other end so that the result was spoiled before I'd seen any of the race... did you have it recorded on VHS?

Anyway, here's a hypothetical scenario that went through my head as the race was neutralised right at the end.

Frijns was running fifth, but was going to take a 5 second penalty that would have dropped him down to seventh. Cue the safety car instead, that bunched up the field and instead would have seen him drop out the points altogether. Cue then Abt's problems that made enough of a gap to see him only drop to sixth.

Now imagine if - in a scenario strangely reminiscent of F1 in 2008 - it was Di Grassi running fifth at the final round, needing seventh place to secure the championship with Buémi absent and driving in the WEC instead. Di Grassi is told he has a 5 second penalty. Everything's OK, says the team radio, stay where you are, you'll drop to seventh, but you'll still be champion.

If you were the driver of the #9 car that would otherwise have been Buemi's to wrap up the championship with, would you drive straight into the wall, knowing that this would bunch up the field so that Di Grassi dropped further back than seventh and thus Buémi would be champion instead, and knowing also that Nelson Piquet Jr would have plenty to say about that day in Singapore?

(Something tells me that this scenario is unlikely, not just because of the memories of Singapore, but more because the championship will already be decided in Buémi's favour before the planes even take off for Montreal...)

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 21 May 2017, 15:39

I don't watch Formula E races on VHS, no! My 'FF' is my old-fashioned was of talking about zipping things forward on the Sky box...

As for yesterday's race, how unlucky is Daniel Abt? Whenever stupidly random things happen, it's almost always on his car. And his drive yesterday was superb, taking calculated risks to overtake people rather than relying on others to see you coming from miles back (hello, Di Grassi) - and he gets absolutely zilch for it. Frijns was incredibly lucky, mind you so was Sarazzin who was listed at 10th yet we were told he had a 10 second time penalty so how on earth did he end up there? (or was it applied at the pit stop as in F1 perhaps?)

Buemi wins yet again though - BORING!

Dj_bereta · Post by **Dj_bereta** » 21 May 2017, 17:47

Di Grassi is losing his cool. It can't be helped by the fact he lost two championships due technical infringements. Now E-Dams is miles ahead and Buemi will wins the title again with a huge margin.

Also, I think Nicolas Prost is a strong contender for ROTY in this season. He is getting beaten by Buemi in every race by a huge margin. He is quickly becoming the Marco Andretti of FE, only here because his dad is the team owner.

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 22 May 2017, 08:54

Nice race and I didn't mind Bob Varsha.

That's about it, really.

golic_2004 · Post by **golic_2004** » 23 May 2017, 11:26

Unofficially we welcome Sao Paulo, Brazil and Santiago, Chile to Formula E next season. Perhaps Zurich, Switzerland will join the mix too.

https://www.motorsport.com/formula-e/ne ... ar-909038/

Jan Magnussen · Post by **Rob Dylan** » 02 Jun 2017, 12:28

Just caught up on the race and...wow. I think it would be difficult in the coming races for Vergne or di Grassi to be as incompetent at challenging Buemi as they were in Paris. That was quite impressive just how poorly their title challenges were. If it were not for the blip in Mexico, there wouldn't even be a trace of a chance that someone might be able to beat him this year.

Good race though, thoroughly enjoyable.

Post by **Ataxia** » 10 Jun 2017, 14:09

Ataxia, a while ago wrote: I'm no fan of Martin Haven by any stretch, but I didn't find him too bad overall.

I've had enough of him now.

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 14 Jun 2017, 00:53

After yet another battle against the ever-obstructive My5, I finally had the chance to watch both races on Monday. At last we have a new winner, someone who's only joined the circus this season rather than being a veteran of season 1, and he even put up a fight against The Anointed One in the second race!

Drivers like Felix like winning in Formula E. Thor only knows when (or if) Nick Heidfeld will ever win, though - remember he was in with a shout at the last corner of the first ever race and has never had a look in since then...

Also, I can't be the first one to have noticed that the cars were all displaying the drivers' three-letter abbreviation, and larger numbers on the rear wheel-bumper-things (whatever they're called), Formula 1 style. Is this going to apply to every FIA-sanctioned series, or just those that are televised, or was this just Formula E doing it without being told because they thought it was a good idea?

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 14 Jun 2017, 11:37

dinizintheoven wrote:Also, I can't be the first one to have noticed that the cars were all displaying the drivers' three-letter abbreviation, and larger numbers on the rear wheel-bumper-things (whatever they're called),

Yes, I noticed them too. And I think IndyCar call those things wheel-pods?

dinizintheoven wrote: Thor only knows when (or if) Nick Heidfeld will ever win, though - remember he was in with a shout at the last corner of the first ever race and has never had a look in since then...

And Venturi have looked equally as bleak. Two podiums, and disqualified from a win with Sarrazin for exceeding energy usage in Battersea.

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 14 Jun 2017, 14:11

dr-baker wrote:And Venturi have looked equally as bleak. Two podiums, and disqualified from a win with Sarrazin for exceeding energy usage in Battersea.

No wonder Heidi jumped ship, and Sarrazin has done so as well - initially I thought Venturi had rehashed their livery (again), until I saw he was driving for Techeetah in Berlin (and will presumably keep on doing so).

What I hadn't noticed is that Venturi have nudged their way up to 8th in the team standings, one point ahead of Jaguar, who are also one point ahead of... Dragon. What's happened to them? No points at all since Buenos Aires, with a series of penalties and dropped balls... this was a team winning (albeit by benefitting from post-race penalties) in the first two seasons.

I wonder if the Faraday Future tie-up might not have been their best idea. Looking at their Wikipedia article (yes, I know) I get the impression they're the EV equivalent of Spyker or Marussia - trying to get noticed without actually having the ability to build or sell any significant number of cars. And just like Fisker before them, they've turned to Chinese money for life support.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 14 Jun 2017, 14:28

dinizintheoven wrote: Looking at their Wikipedia article (yes, I know)

I had to do that to remind myself just how bleat Venturi's results have been...

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 14 Jun 2017, 22:16

dr-baker wrote:I had to do that to remind myself just how bleat Venturi's results have been...

And in a terrible insult to logic, if those results stay as bleat as they are or get even worse, the team will never be the GOAT.

*drum roll*
*cymbal crash*