The Right Blend?
The FIA has made clear the etiquette and procedures for cars re-joining after the Pit Boost pit stops in Friday’s race. In a specially issued note to teams earlier this week the document states that ‘cars in the fast lane have priority over the cars re-joining from the pit stop position, however, responsibility of providing each other sufficient space in the fast lane to avoid a collision is shared between the drivers.’
Additional detail, which FEN acquired today, includes: ‘Cars must be released from their pit stop position in a manner that doesn’t endanger any other driver or personnel in the pitlane; Cars are allowed to blend in the fast lane; The position on track will be determined by the car who had priority in the fast lane. In case two cars had a portion of the car in parallel to the other, priority is given to the car who was first in the fast lane.’
Big Brother is Watching!
The FIA, via one of its key suppliers Al Kamel, who also provide the timing infrastructure at all rounds, will implement at Jeddah a new CCTV system to monitor teams stops.
Each team has to install its own camera which includes a holder to be installed on a circular mast already installed by the local Jeddah logistics team. The teams have until 18.00 local time on Wednesday to complete their assembly. They must also install the cabling to the camera and the feed will be monitored by race control, who will have eyes on the positioning of the car, which must be within the designated box on the pit lane at all times.
Energy Bar is High!
Friday’s return of pit stops to Formula E for the first time in seven years will see the cars recharge with 3.85 kWh of power that will go into the batteries within 34 seconds via 600 kW of power deployed in to the RESS.
Porsche state that by way of comparison: The Formula E safety car, the sports car for the road – the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT, charges with up to 320 kW. The CCS (Combined Charging System) charging system symbolises the transfer of technology to series production: The sockets and plugs of the 99X racing car and the electric Porsche sports car for the road are similar. The CCS combines the option of alternating current charging with the option of direct current charging, thus enabling gentler charging at home, for example, with powerful rapid charging on the road.
This weekend’s Jeddah E-Prix marks the 100th race for ABB as title partner of Formula E. Since becoming title partner at the 2018 Marrakesh E-Prix, ABB, the Swiss-Swedish technology giant, has also taken on the role of official charging partner and seen the series acquire FIA world championship status. ABB fast chargers have powered the grid since Season 9 and the company is thought likely to remain as charging partner for the GEN4 era, which begins in Season 13.
Testing….Testing….
Three manufacturers are believed to have been out track testing between last month’s second round at Mexico City and arriving in Jeddah this week. Lola Yamaha ABT took the opportunity to try and iron out some of the issues that have compromised its start to life in Formula E with Lucas di Grassi having a run out at Abingdon Airfield at the end of January.
Jaguar TCS Racing also took the chance to test after Mexico City with Mitch Evans conducting the running at Abingdon Airfield.
Nissan were also out on track with Norman Nato running through several programmes at the Circuit Mallorca. Porsche, DS and Mahindra elected to keep their running in the simulator ahead of Jeddah.
Preparation for Gen4 has also been ongoing with James Rossiter having tested a specially adapted Gen3 Beta car for Bridgestone tyre testing. A more bespoke test car is also being worked with ahead of the productionised versions of the definitive Gen4 manufacturer car being delivered to teams this July.
Mind Your Language
The FIA last month has published a new appendix to its International Sporting Code (ISC) known as the “Penalty Guideline for Race Stewards” which warns participants of severe penalties if they violate the guidelines of the code.
The FIA has given a menu of five different violations which the race stewards can use as a guide when an infringement occurs. All of these violations were already laid down in the International Sporting Code, but the race stewards had no remit which to base their punishments upon.
These include statements that cause ‘moral damage’ to the governing body, offensive language, physical attacks (pushing, kicking, hitting, etc.)
Financial sanctions are based on a first violation fine of €10k euros, a second violation increases could be €20k plus a one-month suspension on probation, while a third violation increases the possible penalty to €30k plus a one-month suspension. Scope exists for the deduction of championship points too.
Andretti’s Jake Dennis told FEN recently that he believes “a balance” is needed with drivers expressing themselves in and out of the cockpit.
“I would like to see the driver say what he wants when driving,” said Dennis. “The interviews, it’s obviously a little bit more like they’re knuckling down on that now. I understand for the young viewers, you don’t want to give off a bad image. But it’s a hefty fine now. But also, I think it’s nice to see a driver show their passion and I don’t think they should really be punished for what they say over the radio.”
Industry Latest
Jaguar Land Rover Automotive plc reported its financial results for the three months to 31 December 2024 (Q3) recently. The report recorded Q3 revenue, stating its highest operating earnings over operating sales margin in a decade and a ninth successive profitable quarter.
The revenue for the quarter was stated at £7.5 billion, up 2% YoY, JLR’s highest Q3 revenue on record. The Q3 profit before tax and exceptional items was £523 million.
9.0%, up 0.2 percentage points YoY, the best Q3 EBIT margin in a decade.
Talks for a merger between Nissan and Honda and reported to have stalled recently. Nissan could have become a subsidiary of Honda if some elements of the internal plans that were drawn up had been driven through. The original discussions were centred upon a deal that would be a merger as equals, according to a Reuters report last week.
Indian Takeaways
Ongoing court cases and inquiries in to the Hyderabad EPrix deal continue to be heard in the Indian city after political changes triggered a messy breakdown of plans to host a second ePrix in the city last February as planned.
Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds told FEN last month that despite the difficulties the world championship wants to return to the sub-continent in the future.
“Without getting into the details of it, I think your summary is fair, which was it was a very dissatisfying end to the Hyderabad conversations, probably for both parties,” said Dodds. “But we certainly haven’t given up on the opportunity to return to India, whether it’s season 12 or beyond season 12. It’s a very big country, lots of different locations we can return to in India and have a very successful race.”
Tokyo Not Drifting
A special event to kick-off the promotion of the second event in the Ariake district of Tokyo in May took place at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building last Monday. Attended by Governor Koike and Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds the event was furnished by a Lola Yamaha ABT show car. It was timed out to coincide with the start of applications to enter a ticket lottery, which closes on February 19. Tickets go on sale after that date and can be found here.
Partner News
NEOM McLaren have become technical partner of Oxagon’s innovative advanced and clean industries ecosystem. The collaboration goes ‘beyond conventional limits to make a tangible impact within Oxagon and beyond. At NEOM’s home race in the Kingdom, the Jeddah E-Prix will feature dynamic branding, including an enhanced livery, with the Oxagon logo present on the Nissan’s rear-wing endplates, plus an updated visor strip, with ‘NEOM’ translated to Arabic.
NEOM McLaren’s official licensing partner, LEGO, will be bringing a special activation to the Fan Village at the Jeddah E-Prix, showcasing a full-scale replica of the NEOM McLaren Formula E Team GEN3 race car, hand-built from the ground up using only LEGO bricks! This replica model has been in development for over two years and mirrors the current product available in stores around the globe.
Jaguar TCS Racing has confirmed that the sustainable performance sportswear brand Reflo have devised a new 2025 team kit, which is also available for purchase. The new range of clothing and accessories, with options for both men and women, includes core items such as a bomber jacket, gilet, zip-through jumper and short-sleeve polo shirts. The range is made from ‘100% recycled materials and is also made from Reflo’s recycled plastic yarn which, compared to standard polymers, requires 50% less energy, 70% fewer carbon emissions, 20% less water and no oil to manufacture.’
The Formula E FIA Girls on Track initiative is hosting 120 young women over the weekend. The day-long experience includes career talks, a Pit Lane Walk, activations in the Gaming Arena and educational partner workshops on-site, led by inspirational women from within the paddock. In addition to the on-site event, on Wednesday 12th February Formula E will co-host a woman in motorsport and career talk panel discussion at UBT (University of Business and Technology) with the Nissan Formula E Team. The event will be attended by over 70 students.
Staffing
One of the technical lynchpins of the Formula E Gen1 battery design via the company formerly known as Williams Advanced Engineering has returned to the organisation recently. Selin Aria Tur is now the Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer of the recently formed Williams Grand Prix Technologies company. She was originally the engineering project leader on the Gen1 battery developed and supplied by WAE between 2014 and 2018.
Former Jake Hughes engineer at NEOM McLaren, Alan Cocks, begins a new role at Jaguar TCS Racing earlier next month. The former NIO 333 and Mercedes EQ engineer takes up the new position at the reigning teams and manufacturers champions on March 1.
Oliver Turvey will continue in his role as sporting advisor at DS Penske this season in conjunction with his recently announced position as test and development driver for the Williams F1 team.
FEN continues to grow as well-known former Bridgestone, Lotus, Renault and Hyundai communications manager Andy Stobart joins in a predominantly commercial role.
Additionally, recent Automotive Journalism graduate Georgia Williams attends her first 2025 race week supporting Smith and Stobart on-site in Jeddah.
Abbi Pulling, who was quickest at November’s all-female test in Jarama, is a guest of the PIF in Jeddah this weekend where she will be carrying out partner duties. Pulling is currently finalising her 2025 programme and although not in action for Thursday’s rookie free practice session, still has close ties to the Nissan Formula E Team.
Media Miscellany
New episodes of the Formula E ‘Flashback’ series will air shortly the stories of Jean-Eric Vergne and Antonio Felix da Costa’s often uneasy relationship at DS Techeetah featured as retrospective topics. Both drivers are joined by then team boss Mark Preston, in addition to FEN creator Sam Smith and Formula E TV anchor Nicki Shields.
The latest edition of Jaguar TCS Racing’s monthly column in Motor Sport magazine has hit the magazine shelves. Team principal James Barclay discusses the difficult weekend in Mexico City and also looks at the Jaguar Land Rover Defender programme at the Dakar last month.
