The Lucas di Grassi Formula E Thread

[dr-baker]

The Monaco race wasn't bad, it had passing and action. F1 won't have as much action primarily due to the relative size of the cars.

[SammiRei]

Monaco proving once again that all you need to make it interesting is cars small enough to actually pass each other on track with any regularity.

Spoilers for the first Berlin race in light grey - nothing for the second race because I haven't see it yet.

My goodness, that was a lot of front wing damage between the pack, wasn't it? A lot of chaos, and a pretty solid race for the newbies, including a point for Barnard.

[Barbazza]

I really appreciate the spoilers, as I might (eventually) catch up with the races having watched..er...none of them this year. I do visit the official website so I see who's won, but beyond that I haven't dug deeper.

Although I can't watch live as I don't have TNT, does anybody know if the races (in full, preferably) are available on catchup somewhere - Discovery+ maybe?

[dr-baker]

So one of the commentators on the TNT coverage of Formula E this year is this guy called Jermaine Jenas, who I really don’t know much about. And when the BBC sacked him earlier this week for inappropriateness, I hadn’t really made the connection that he was also involved with the FE media team. Anyway, Autosport reports that FE have yet to make a decision around the commentary teams for next season. So it’s a case of wait and see. Although based on what is alleged to have happened, that is something I would rather not see.

[dr-baker]

[Har1MAS1415]

I wonder what became of Formula Foundation E?
https://brscc.co.uk/brscc-launches-form ... -for-2023/

[dr-baker]

I wonder what became of Formula Foundation E?
https://brscc.co.uk/brscc-launches-form ... -for-2023/

Nothing on the https://formulafoundation.co.uk/index.html website. Can't even tell if the internal combustion version of the series has got off the ground.

[Har1MAS1415]

I wonder what became of Formula Foundation E?
https://brscc.co.uk/brscc-launches-form ... -for-2023/

Nothing on the https://formulafoundation.co.uk/index.html website. Can't even tell if the internal combustion version of the series has got off the ground.

Thought so

[SammiRei]

Today's test session is a women's specific session with 18 drivers including a few names from W Series.
It'll be interesting to see where they fall aginst the regular drivers in terms of pace in the same cars.

Sadly, the answer seems to be 'a reasonable amount slower'. The lack of familiarity compared to the men seems to be a major issue, as Abby Pulling (who set fastest lap in the women's session) was nearly 2 seconds slower than the slowest fastest lap set by one of the men (Nico Müller), and more like 2.5 seconds slower than the slower of the two drivers in the same car (Norman Nato in the Nissan). Compare that to the under 1.5 second spread in the men's field as a whole, and you've got a very strong argument for needing to build up the grassroots support for women racing before they're going to be able to compete with male drivers on a level playing field.

[SammiRei]

Watched the season opener for the 2024/25 season, thoughts below (spoiler block removed).

Well that was lively, wasn't it? The drivers complained about the peleton style from the first half of the gen 3 era, and this was certainly a change.
4WD Attack Mode is ridiculously powerful, but there's always been a strategic element to it and this doesn't really change it all that much.

2 Red Flags, Werhlein going upside down, Barnard getting a podium as a rookie and Evans winning after starting dead last due to a fault in qualifying. What a race.

[dr-baker]

I've just been reading through the first page of posts on this thread, and I seem to have said something rejectful there...

If it comes to London, I'll go to watch it. If it features in Autosport, I'll read about it. But unless drivers use it as a stepping stone in their career, in the same way that Hulkenberg and Piquet Jnr won races in A1GP on their way to F1, then I don't see it getting a big following or having much of a future.

On another point, I have just caught up with yesterday's Mexico City ePrix. At the end of the race, Barnard finishes using his Attack Mode a second or two before crossing the line, yet receives a penalty for something unrelated. But Buemi, di Grassi and Mortara all crossed the line with approx 2 minutes each of Attack Mode remaining, yet I can't find any evidence of penalties or disqualifications for them for this. Although, having said that, comparing the finishing order as they crossed the line compared to the official results I can see online now, they HAVE been penalised:

Buemi 13th to 17th
Mortara 17th to 19th
Di Grassi 16th to 20th

Yet this still doesn't all make sense. Mortara had more Attack Mode than either of the other two, yet lost fewer positions, and Buemi got dropped the most positions despite having the least left (albeit by a matter of 3-4 seconds).

[SammiRei]

On another point, I have just caught up with yesterday's Mexico City ePrix. At the end of the race, Barnard finishes using his Attack Mode a second or two before crossing the line, yet receives a penalty for something unrelated. But Buemi, di Grassi and Mortara all crossed the line with approx 2 minutes each of Attack Mode remaining, yet I can't find any evidence of penalties or disqualifications for them for this. Although, having said that, comparing the finishing order as they crossed the line compared to the official results I can see online now, they HAVE been penalised:

Buemi 13th to 17th
Mortara 17th to 19th
Di Grassi 16th to 20th

Yet this still doesn't all make sense. Mortara had more Attack Mode than either of the other two, yet lost fewer positions, and Buemi got dropped the most positions despite having the least left (albeit by a matter of 3-4 seconds).

From what I've been able to find out, Buemi and Mortara each got a 10 second penalty for not finishing their second attack mode, while DiGrassi got a drive through (converted to 27 seconds) for not even starting his second.
I'm guessing Buemi was over 5 seconds ahead of Bird (who also had a 5 second penalty from earlier in the race due to the collision with Mortara), while Mortara wasn't (and thus moved behind Bird after the penalties shook out), and DiGrassi's more severe penalty meant he went right to the back regardless.

Also unrelated, Ticktum apparently copped a €1,000 fine for speeding in the pitlane.

[dr-baker]

From what I've been able to find out, Buemi and Mortara each got a 10 second penalty for not finishing their second attack mode, while DiGrassi got a drive through (converted to 27 seconds) for not even starting his second.
I'm guessing Buemi was over 5 seconds ahead of Bird (who also had a 5 second penalty from earlier in the race due to the collision with Mortara), while Mortara wasn't (and thus moved behind Bird after the penalties shook out), and DiGrassi's more severe penalty meant he went right to the back regardless.

Also unrelated, Ticktum apparently copped a €1,000 fine for speeding in the pitlane.

Thanks for making sense of that. I do remember now thinking during the second safety car period that di Grassi still had his full allocation of attack mode to use. Makes sense for him to get a bigger penalty. That is the risk with waiting to use the attack mode until late in the race.

And Ticktum is a plonker.