Jakarta Future. Is There One?
This weekend’s Jakarta EPrix is the last of the agreed deal for the Indonesian capital to host Formula E. A new deal is being discussed although it is not known if agreement has been reached, mainly due to the possible need for a new location in the city. It is believed that one of the TBC asterisked dates on the 2025-26 schedule made public last week could be allocated for a fourth running of the Jakarta EPrix next summer.
“We were talking to them about a potential extension,” confirmed Formula E COO and deputy CEO, Alberto Longo to FEN last week. “There have been elections in the country, so there’s a new governor, there’s a new president of the country, so I’ve been there a few times already this year, and I’m meeting the new administration.
“We did a press conference. It was a month ago or something like this, with the governor, and he stated very clearly that he wanted to renew the contract,” added Longo.
“So, let’s just wait until the race. We’re going to be there for 10 days, and hopefully then we will find enough time with all the different stakeholders there to make sure that we go back to Jakarta, to Indonesia, which is, again, a key market for Formula E where we have millions of fans and definitely the biggest economy in the world. We definitely want to be in these places.”
Dodds Confident
Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds provided some confidence that Formula E will stay in Jakarta, telling FEN that “we met with some of the key players here, including the governor, and the governor has already announced publicly that their intention is to continue racing, and they wish to continue racing here.
“We’d love them to; we just need to work through some of the details on what that would look like. So maybe we’ll be able to announce something this weekend, over the race weekend. If not, we’d hope to be able to announce something pretty shortly after. Not necessarily,” added Dodds
Dodds also stated that the Ancol area was “not a certainly” to host the race and added that “this is a circuit we’ve raced at for three years. But there are other options to take the racing to other parts of the city, obviously, huge city, large population, and there are other interesting locations around the city, so that would be something we’d work out with local government and with the governor here.”
Dusty Spin-Field!
The 2.37-kilometre track in Ancol, Jakarta is almost identical to the one used in June 2023. But there are some subtle changes to the configuration of walls, while the dusty recently laid out surface is causing some initial concern for drivers.
There were several spins in the FP1 session which took place on a very dusty and dirty circuit. Robin Frijns meanwhile shunted his Envision Jaguar after a suspected suspension breakage pitched him in to the wall, although damage was relatively minor.
“It’s very dusty, more than a couple of years ago,” Frijns’ Envision Racing teammate Sebastien Buemi told FEN.
“Some of the corners are slightly different where they have made the wall a bit longer, and the pit entry is different. Other than that, it is very similar. It will take long to clean the track but once it is clean it will be alright.”
The Race Director, Marek Hanaczewski, has re-iterated the precise protocols for the closing of the pit entry at Jakarta, after the controversy of Jake Dennis’s exclusion in Tokyo last month.
“The DF (digital flag) located on Drivers right closest to the SC1, is designated the Pit Exit Closed light. A Red X shall be displayed on this panel when the Pit Lane is closed,” read a pre-race briefing note. “We will show this panel as the Red X during the FP1 to familiarize the Drivers with the location.”
Additionally, frequent localised showers are usual in the Ancol and are forecast throughout Saturday.
Da Costa’s Judgement Day Looms
Porsche and Andretti conducted two days of testing at Varano in Italy last week with Antonio Felix da Costa, Jake Dennis and Nico Mueller were the drivers in action. Both are understood to have flown in to and out of the test from Le Mans as they were on duty for AF Corse and Porsche Penske respectively.
The test was believed to be the first private manufacturer day allocated to Andretti this season and the first laps they had completed in testing since Jarama
FEN understands that da Costa is presently in tense discussions with Porsche bosses about his future with the team, which is known to include an option on his services for next season. A decision on whether this is activated is believed to be imminent. Should it not be, da Costa is believed to have several offers on the table.
Silly Season Fermenting
With The Race having broken news last month that Nick Cassidy will leave Jaguar TCS Racing this July, speculation has mounted about the shape of the 2025/26 grid. Frenzied meetings and discussions have abounded about possible conditional contracts that could have been signed between drivers and teams for the future.
If this is accurate it could centre upon the futures of not only da Costa but also Taylor Barnard, who has been offered several drives for both next season and thereafter. Barnard is known to be high on Jay Penske’s list of targets yet has also had significant interest from Jaguar. Speculation that he could replace Norman Nato at Nissan next season is understood by FEN to be wide of the mark
Speaking to FEN in Jakarta, Barnard said that “yes” his future in Formula E was secure but “I can’t say more than that.”
FEN understands that several surprise shakeouts are still possible on the grid, including at least one-driver who is contracted to his existing team for next season.
James’ View on Barnard Future
NEOM McLaren Formula E Team boss Ian James is currently trying to secure the future of that team, but also has a fight on his hands to keep Taylor Barnard with multiple teams having talked to the 21 year-old sensation.
“The fact that he’s attracted interest is not surprising at all,” James told FEN in Jakarta. “I’m not going to get into the contractual details, but as I sit here today, I’m comfortable with where we’re at.
“One thing that is going to be fascinating, though, and we saw this going from Gen2 to Gen3, is that some drivers were able to make that transition, and others less so.
“I think we’re going to see a similar sort of thing in Gen3 to Gen4. So, we almost need to take the crystal ball out again to get a gut feel for where we feel the drivers are going to be, as they get into that new machinery.”
Rowland/Porsche Bombshell Unpicked
Formula E Notebook founder Sam Smith broke news of a sensational attempt by Porsche to poach champion elect Oliver Rowland recently. The news has been the talk of the Jakarta paddock even though Rowland will stay at Nissan with a multi-year deal that should go through until 2028. Read the Story HERE
One of the carrots that Rowland is believed to have been offered by Porsche is the possibility to compete in endurance racing, something which he could also have the opportunity of doing at Nissan, via the Alpine Endurance Team. Rowland has a limited amount of endurance experience having raced with Strakka and Ginetta briefly in 2018.
With Rowland agreeing to staying at Nissan, and a long-term deal about to be announced, Porsche is now looking at either holding da Costa to the option they have on him for 2025-26 or bringing in Nico Mueller alongside Pascal Wehrlein.
Should the latter of those two possibilities transpire, it is believed that Andretti will look at either Jak Crawford or Frederik Vesti as rookies as partners to Jake Dennis for next season. Dennis has a confirmed contract with the U.S entered team until the summer of 2026.
Buemi in Berlin?
While Nyck de Vries looks set to be replaced by Aston Martin F1 reserve Felipe Drugovich at Berlin, his Toyota Gazoo teammate Sebastien Buemi’s whereabouts have always felt less clear. The 2015-16 Formula E champion has an element of choice on where he races but FEN understands that he is more likely to be at Berlin than Interlagos, especially after a disappointing Le Mans last week when the car he shares with Ryo Hirakawa and Brendon Hartley finished a lowly 15th after losing a wheel while exiting the pits.
Buemi is staying tight-lipped on the subject but his Envision Racing team boss Sylvain Filippi was to the point when asked if Buemi would be racing at Berlin.
“Yes, is the simple answer” was Filippi’s response.
Envision were compromised last year when both Buemi and teammate Robin Frijns had to be replaced by Paul Aron and Joel Eriksson for the Berlin races which then clashed with the Spa WEC round. This year the clash is with the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo at Interlagos.
Testing… Testing
Former Maserati MSG team principal and sporting manager of DS Techeetah James Rossiter is believed to have been approached to test at the Berlin Tempelhof rookie session recently. The chances though of the current Gen4 test and development driver taking part are believed to be presently very slim.
Rossiter would qualify as a rookie as he has never taken part in a Formula E race, although did do a free practice session at Marrakesh in March 2020 after regular DS Techeetah driver Jean-Eric Vergne fell ill but returned for qualifying and the race.
Recent Gen4 testing has taken place in Spain with Rossiter getting more mileage in the test and development car that ill inform the production cars that are scheduled to be delivered to manufacturers this autumn. Reports have circulated that the car hit 210mph in testing. The Gen4 car will see a huge step in performance with a 470 hp (350 kW) to 804 hp (600 kW) hike.
FEN has learned that sportscar driver Louis Deletraz, F2 race winner Richard Verschoor and F3 driver Alessandro Giusti are among the drivers that could take part in the Berlin rookie test at Berlin Tempelhof next month.
Deletraz has previously visited the Formula E paddock at the pre-season Valencia test in 2022 and was close to taking part in the 2023 rookie test, while Williams Academy driver Giusti is known to have been talking to Lola Yamaha ABT recently about a possible run.
Lola Yamaha ABT was out testing at the Calafat circuit in Spain last week with both Lucas di Grassi and Zane Maloney in action. The team is currently in negotiations with Maloney about staying on with di Grassi next season for a second campaign.
Marelli Snag?
The Marelli Corporation has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States, the Japanese auto parts owned company said in a statement last week.
The company, which through its European division works with Formula E, is owned by private equity firm KKR, said it had secured a commitment of $1.1 billion in financing from its lenders, and that around 80% of the lenders had signed an agreement to support its restructuring’ according to a report by Reuters news agency.
Marelli, which was founded in 1919 as Magnetti Marelli, is providing the spec Front MGU packages for the Gen4 car that is currently in development.
Teams have been recently reassured by the FIA that it is business as usual for the GEN4 project and that there will be no impact to the Formula E activities.
Dabas Departure
Formula E chief media officer Aarti Dabas will leave her role at the end of the present season after five years with Formula E Operations.
“Aarti has made a fantastic impact during her five years at Formula E. Under her leadership, our global TV audience more than doubled, reaching nearly 500 million viewers last year,” said CEO, Jeff Dodds.
“She drove pivotal media partnerships and expanded our international broadcaster portfolio, bringing the sport to more fans than ever. Just as importantly, she’s built a high-performance team that’s well-positioned to keep growing our reach and showcasing the drivers, drama, and innovation that define Formula E. We thank her for her outstanding contribution and wish her every success in the future.”
FEN has learned that Jonathan Salt will take on an expanded remit, leading Media Rights and Broadcast, from August onwards. Additionally, Business Intelligence will continue to be led by Sandy McDougall, who will now sit within the Commercial function reporting to Richard Thomas. Dan Cherowbrier will continue to lead the Technology functions.
Notebook Update
Australian F1 writer Stewart Bell is joining Formula E Notebook this weekend for his first EPrix. Bell has created features, news and copy for a variety of clients including Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, News Corp Australia, The Official Formula 1 Magazine, GP Racing, Motor Sport, AAP, Yahoo!, GQ, Daily Mail, Etihad Airways, Emirates and many more.
FEN’s post-race Notebook will be published on Sunday evening, at approximately 19.00 UK time.
