Diriyah Formula E Notebook – Part 1

There is expected to be a high level of security in and around the Diriyah EPrix this year in light of recent military activity in Yemen and the Red Sea which saw air strikes were carried out again this week by U.S and UK forces on Houthi rebel installations.
Government security includes agencies from civil defence, military and the Royal Guard. A spokesperson for Formula E Operations told FEN that “We have robust security measures in and place and will continue to work with the government and local authorities to adapt security protocols as necessary.”
Clarification on detail regarding the primary throttle map regulation is expected after Porsche’s investigation related to its launch off the grid in Mexico City. No further action was given after the enquiries which lasted for four hours after the race.
A bulletin was issued to teams on Friday 19^th January which outlined new detail on specifics of the primary throttle pedal map, stating the initial launch and what was allowed within parameters of what is known as ‘the tunnel’ of software procedures. This included clarification over updated guidelines on throttle applications of less than 5%.
Porsche’s Florian Modlinger confirmed to FEN that two members of the Porsche race team were effectively taken away from their duties during the race to confer with FIA technical officials, among them new Technical Cross-Disciplinary supervisor Thomas Chevaucher.
“The FIA need to see who the responsible guy is and clearly at the race track we have a team manager, technical lead engineer, then you talk to the people who are taking over [from those in the garage] and who replaces or covers who, and that was the topic on-going during the race,” Porsche team principal, Florian Modlinger told FEN.
“I think [making a decisions in the race] is [the FIA’s] preferred option because, from the teams and manufacturers, everybody does not like post-race penalties if a result changes. I have to say it was handled from both sides very well and was achieved, discussions were on both sides. Handled well and fair.”
The incident that ended ERT driver Sergio Sette Camara’s Mexico City EPrix before it had even begun when he failed to make it to the grid at Mexico, is still under investigation. Initially it was suspected that an inverter issue was to blame but further inspection after a period of quarantine of the car has revealed the failure is believed to have a possible link to the RESS.
FEN has discovered that the battery was isolated and quarantined at the exit of Turn 1 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. It is not yet known when it was able to be transported back to WAE’s base in the UK.
Sette Camara discussed the incident with FEN saying that “I don’t know [where the battery is], I just wish [that battery] is never in my car again.
“I don’t want to get near that thing again,” he added. “I hope it’s somewhere in the UK now being investigated because otherwise, if nothing has been investigated and we’re racing again then that’s a bit off, isn’t it? Before we race again, that should be completely clarified and cover why it happened and why it won’t happen again. That’s my view.”
The Attack Charge energy boost practice which took place during Free Practices at Mexico City will not be repeated in Diriyah. Some issues with the chargers occurred at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, while FEN also understands that some teams also broke the socket caps on the Gen3 cars during the tests.
Andretti’s Roger Griffiths elaborated on the teams disappointing Mexico City race, saying that difficulties on getting traction out of tight corners at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez earlier this month ultimately told the torrid tale for Jake Dennis and Norman Nato.
“We certainly made improvements to the car between qualifying and the race but we’ve still got a bit to go,” Griffiths told FEN. “It’s given us a lot to work on, and I think there’s a couple of things we need to change procedurally around the information flow, the work flow, particularly during the race, and when calls needed to be made.”
Envision’s Sylvain Filippi confirmed to FEN that Robin Frijns slow getaway in Mexico City was down to “one of these learning new systems things.”
“So, it’s a shared responsibility because it’s these down to the driver knowing the launch procedure, basically. We just have to make sure that we rehearse it properly and then we make sure that the caller doesn’t have a problem,” concluded Filippi.
Edoardo Mortara said that while he was disappointed with the competitiveness of his race in Mexico City, he was sanguine about the position Mahindra is in this season, saying that he was at the team “to make things go the right way” and “to improve no matter where we’re starting from.”
“I’m here to try to bring this package more forward,” he told FEN. “Like in Mexico, I was not expecting that many issues but that’s fine, I’m all good with that. I’m actually pretty optimistic and positive for the next race weekends because I believe that if we can solve some of the issues, we’re going to be more competitive. I don’t know where we will make the speed compared to the others but I think it will, at least, make us quicker.”
Jaguar TCS Racing’s Gary Ekerold has been promoted from Sporting Manager to General Manager at the team and Fortescue WAE. Ekerold has been an ever-present in the paddock since the inception of Formula E in his role at Williams Advanced Engineering/WAE since 2014 and with Jaguar since 2016.
The Maserati MSG Racing team has launched a sustainability initiative called SEVENTEEN. Aligning with the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, SEVENTEEN unites a global vision for sustainable progress with Maserati MSG Racing’s own commitment to improving equality, diversity, and inclusion in World Championship motorsport. Maserati MSG Racing will connect with local teenagers impacted by climate change and innovation projects at race locations throughout the season to highlight local issues and incredible causes, while educating motorsport’s global audience about the urgency of change.
Sniffer Media, the owners and founders of the Formula E Notebook brand, recently contributed to the 2023/24 edition of Autocourse, the world’s leading motorsport annual.
Copies of the 410 page opus, read throughout the industry, and published by Icon Publishing Ltd, are available HERE.
The special Motor Sport magazine published to accompany the 10^th season of Formula E, which Formula E Notebook’s Sam Smith contributed to, is available for download and purchase HERE.