Track Changes/Chinese Whispers
There are two key changes to the Shanghai International Circuit short loop for Formula E this season with modified kerbs implemented at T11 and T12. Edoardo Mortara and Sam Bird spoke to FEN regarding these changes, broadly agreeing that they will be an improvement for the spectacles this weekend. Click HERE to read the full article. Additionally, the whole of SIC has been resurfaced ahead of this weekends action
There is a high likelihood that two Chinese races will take place next season with Sanya tipped to return to the calendar after making its debut as a race venue in March 2019. The provisional calendar was submitted to the FIA last week with the two Chinese races (the other remaining at Shanghai) likely to be held across late June and early July ahead of a third Asian venue on that particular leg of the schedule. This is expected to be a double-header at the third iteration of the Tokyo EPrix at Big Sight, Ariake.
Several Chinese manufacturers will again be in Shanghai this weekend. However, unlike last year there is no organised group meeting, instead Chinese based OEMs are being engaged in individual meetings. FEN understands that six well-known and leading Chinese EV automakers will meet with Formula E and the FIA across the weekend.
Additionally, a collective ‘host-city meeting’ was attended by five key officials from prospective Chinese venues on Wednesday. Proposals were mapped out for possible future events by Formula E executives Alberto Longo and Oli McCrudden.
Speaking to FEN about the significance of Chinese electric OEMs at races and possibly coming in to the World Championship, Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds recently told FEN that it is “possibly more likely that if they come into the championship, they come in with some form of collaboration.
“And we see that with Yamaha and Abt, of course, but they come in with some kind of racing collaboration as a first step into understanding what it takes to be competitive. We’ll be talking to them and the FIA too. I think we’re getting a bit closer,” concluded Dodds.
Andretti’s team principal Roger Griffiths told FEN in this week that China has been “the epicentre of battery technology development” and that it should “accommodate a potential second race.”
Griffiths also added the United States to that objective, adding that “the US is such an important market for Formula E too and with the country being the size it is there is no reason why it shouldn’t be able to accommodate two races as far as 2026 goes.
“We’ll have to wait and see what FE presents to the World Motor Sport Council in terms of what the calendar is,” conclude Griffiths.
Jakarta Farewell or a New Era?
Next month’s Jakarta EPrix could be the last for a while as plans for a new deal with the Indonesian government are believed not to have materialised. Difficulties in hosting the race at the Ancol area in the north of the country, which presently hosts the race, mean that an alternative location is being sourced, potentially for a return in 2027 or 2028. FEN understands that two possible TC event could be included in next year’s calendar in both late May and mid-June.
Testing Returns to Valencia
The traditional pre-season test will return to the Circuit Ricardo Tormo this October after a one-off appearance at the Circuito del Jarama last November which was enforced due to the devastating floods in the Valencia region. FEN understands that a provisional date of 27-31 October is pencilled in for the four day test, which as usual will also include a media and promotional content acquisition day.
CASS Engineer Switch
Nick Cassidy will return to being engineered this weekend by Phil Ingram who worked with the Kiwi throughout his successful 2024 campaign.
‘In this very busy period of back-to-back races, Phil Ingram will be Nick Cassidy’s race engineer in Shanghai (Geoff Lenfant will not be travelling). Phil engineered Nick to third place in Season 10 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship,’ a Jaguar TCS Racing spokesperson told FEN.
As a consequence, Josep Roca, Mitch Evans’ former race engineer, will fulfil the Head of Performance role in Shanghai this weekend.
Who will be Lola’s First Customer?
The identity of a potential first customer for the Gen4 powertrain provided by the Lola Yamaha alliance is hotting up with the new Formula E manufacturer talking to multiple parties including Mahindra and Penske.
Speaking to FEN in Tokyo earlier this month, Lola’s Mark Preston said that having a customer in Gen4 will be a big benefit for the nascent Lola/Yamaha/ABT tri-partnership.
“There’s not as much data as if you have four cars, or as Porsche has got six cars, so multiple cars obviously does make a difference,” said Preston.
“And so, I think that’ll be a big advantage, but then also dealing with two teams, the logistics and the technical support and all that kind of stuff is challenging.
“I think it’s good that it doesn’t happen straight away, because we’re building everything up to be able to handle that. So, plans in the background are getting ready to be able to supply because that’s what we’re required to do. We were required to do that for Gen3, but obviously we came in at a late stage.
“So, that’s all in the background, and there’ll be benefits and pitfalls, the same for everything. But yeah, definitely having four cars for example would be an advantage.”
DAC on ‘Priorities’!
Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa appears to be the last remaining lock to unpick for the driver market this season as deals are set to explode at several teams depending on whether the German marque retains his services or not.
Speaking to FEN in Tokyo earlier this month, da Costa spoke about his desire to race in the WEC full-time again and the perceptions on priorities of teams and drivers for those attempting dual programmes.
“We speak about priority here, priority there but the reality is, I think the word priority, when we discuss these things, is, it’s a very dangerous word,” said da Costa
“That is because I’ve been doing a double program for 10 years, and I’ve always had priority either in one or the other. And the word ‘priority’ is the wrong word, because in FE it doesn’t mean I work less hard in WEC, no. It just means that in the occasional day that there is a clash, I have to go to the other one instead of that one.
“It doesn’t mean that there is less effort, that there is less will to be there, it doesn’t mean any of that. I think the word priority is most of the time badly interpreted. But having said this, I understand that if you’re paying someone to be somewhere, and then the guy’s got to miss a race because he’s doing something else, that’s also not ideal.
“So, I can understand that the view on the teams and the team owner sides and the manufacturer sides as well. But as a driver, all I want is to just race a race car every weekend. I don’t know how many more years I go to this, maybe five, maybe 10, maybe 12, maybe 15. And if I can race in competitive championships, competitive cars every weekend, why would I not do that?”
Nissan’s Clear Vision
Nissan CEO, Ivan Espinosa, told FEN in Tokyo that winning multiple championships, which presently is well on course for this season would be “a great time for us to show how things can work when you have determination, team alignment, and when you have a clear vision for what you want to achieve.
“This team started from very low in the rankings,” added Espinosa. “What they have achieved as a team is just proof of what Nissan can do. So, the values that this team have is exactly what Nissan is about – determination, fight, and having a clear vision and fight as one team.
“In racing, same as in business, you win or die as a team. You win or lose as a team. You live or die as a team. And this is what we are showing. This is what we have to do in the company today.”
‘Driver’ Feedback
Formula E Chief Marketing Officer, Ellie Norman, has told FEN that the documentary, Driver, chronicling four drivers – Antonio Felix da Costa, Dan Ticktum, Jake Dennis and Mitch Evans – over the course of last season – will soon see trends on its viewership although precise figures are unlikely to be known.
“Amazon Prime Video, like your Netflix and your Apple’s and your Disney’s inevitably don’t share any viewing data, so what we will be doing and certainly what I’ll be looking at is social media comments, sentiment to see how that has landed,” said Norman.
“Can we really see if people sharing the trailer, are people kind of recommending and sort of almost going deep to really try to uncover more, then I suspect that Arti (TV distribution boss Arti Dabas) and her team will be absolutely leaning on their Amazon relationships to see if we can glean anything in terms of how it’s performed.
“Certainly, I’ll be looking at all of those social signals that we can pick up to really indicate how that has landed and the positive sentiment around the series itself.”
To watch ‘Driver’ click HERE.
Ticktum’s Beastly Charity Action Odyssey
Dan Ticktum donated $100,000 to British military veterans’ charity, Help for Heroes, after winning a special challenge set by the world’s biggest content creator, MrBeast.
The CUPRA KIRO driver appeared in the latest edition of MrBeast’s recent series which pits contestants against world-class athletes, with $100,000 on the line.
Ticktum took to the Miami HardRock Stadium track, facing the pressure of completing four racing laps of the Miami International Autodrome in the time it took Ronnie, a friend of MrBeast, to finish three.
In the head-to-head, which was released on Saturday 24 May and saw CUPRA KIRO’s state-of-the-art Formula E GEN3 Evo cars go wheel-to-wheel, Dan crossed the line first to secure $100,000 which he donated to Help for Heroes.
The film has so far been viewed by 85-million people. Click HERE to watch it.
Your Shanghai EPrix Broadcast Team…
Tom Brooks, Karun Chandhok and Andre Lotterer will be commentating from London on this weekend’s events in Shanghai, while Alexa Rendell, Billy Monger, James Rossiter, Nicki Shields and Saunders CB will be on the ground in the Shanghai International Circuit paddock.
At Shanghai this Week…
FIA General Manager Alberto Villarreal will visit the Shanghai EPrix this weekend. He joined the FIA last October after 19 years working for Goodyear. He reports directly to President Mohammed Ben Sulayem and the President of the Senate. Villareal oversees the operational and financial performance of the FIA.
