Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Rome E-Prix

  • Round 14 – Rome E-Prix

    FP3-

    Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans continued his Rome dominance, as he topped the timesheets in the final Free Practice session of the Rome double header.

    Saturday’s winner, who achieved his third consecutive victory in the Italian capital, set a time of 1m37.561s. Envision’s Sebastien Buemi, who had to have his car rebuilt after a big crash in Round 13, slotted into second. Joining him in the top tree was Maximilian Guenther who set a completely identical time to Buemi.

    Nissan’s Sacha Fenestraz, wasn’t able to take part in FP3, being forced to watch from the sidelines, reportedly he had a battery problem.

    Maserati’s Maximilian Guenther had a small impact with the wall at Turn 7, going into the barriers after bailing the corner.
    Minutes later, Roberto Merhi (Mahindra Racing) narrowly avoided a big shunt, as he had a very close call with the wall at Turn 13/14.

    Qualifying-

    Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis kept his cool in the scorching Rome heat to start the Hankook Rome E-Prix from the Julius Baer Pole Position. It’s his second pole of the season and has helped him clinch an extra three points to close up the gap to Championship leader, Nick Cassidy to just two points.

    Cassidy will start on the front row of the grid alongside the driver closest to him in the standings Dennis, with championship contender Mitch Evans starting in fourth.

    Dennis has never finished lower than second when starting from his previous four pole positions. Round 14 will be crucial in the title battle and it’s set up perfectly.

    In the Semi’s it was a Kiwi showdown, as Round 13 winner Mitch Evans took on Cassidy. Both cars are equipped with Jaguar powertrains, it was Cassidy who made it through and guaranteed himself a spot on the front row.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Dennis, P2: Cassidy, P3: Nato, P4: Evans, P5: Bird, P6: Guenther, P7: Ticktum, P8: Buemi, P9: Mortara and P10: Da Costa.

    Round 14-

    Jake Dennis took full advantage of his rival’s misfortune to hammer his authority home on the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Drivers’ Championship with a stunning first Grand Slam of the Gen3 era.

    Dennis led away from pole and just about kept himself out of the absolute disaster that struck his closest title rivals Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans behind on just the second lap of the race.

    As the former took a look at Dennis for the lead into the braking zone at Turn 7, Evans lost the rear of his Jaguar in the compression, clipped the leader’s Andretti and spectacularly launched over the top of Cassidy’s Envision.
    Dennis took full advantage of Evans’ damage proved terminal while Cassidy could only recover to 14th come the end of the race.

    The result means Dennis takes a 24-point advantage over Cassidy into the season finale double-header in London – home soil and a circuit he’s strong at as a two-time winner.
    Evans is 44 points back in third, while TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein retains a slim mathematical hope, 49 points shy of top spot with 58 points available.

    Joining Dennis in the top three were Norman Nato in P2, who managed to hold off Sam Bird for the duration despite suffering early damage to his front wing in P3.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Dennis, P2: Nato, P3: Bird, P4: Mortara, P5: Buemi, P6: Guenther, P7: Wehrlein, P8: Vandoorne, P9: Ticktum and P10: Muller.

  • Round 13 – Rome E-Prix

    FP1-

    With the sun beating down on the Rome circuit, the TAG Heuer Porsche of Pascal Wehrlein went quickest in the first free practice session of the double header.

    The Jaguar TCS Racing driver, Sam Bird rounded out FP1 in second, with the Maserati MSG Racing of Edoardo Mortara completing the top three.

    Championship leader, Jake Dennis had some early concerns about his steering column. As a result of this, the Brit spent most of the valuable session in the garage, as his Andretti squad tried their best to fix his X99 Electric Gen3 – with the Brit complaining of poor confidence in the rear axel.

    The last team out of their garages was Mahindra Racing. Mahindra and customer ABT CUPRA cars both had a small software issue in the rookie test and continued into FP1, with all four drivers with Mahindra power units spending time in their pit boxes at points.

    Antonio Felix da Costa (TAG Heuer Porsche) spun at Turn 7, bringing out a brief yellow flag. A little later on, his old teammate Jean-Eric Vergne also found the limits of the street circuit as he pirouetted at Turn 14 whilst on a push lap.

    FP2-

    Three time Rome race winner, Mitch Evans closed out Free Practice 2 with a meteoric 1m37.881s firing him to the top of the timesheets, and almost half a second inside last year’s pole time.

    Several drivers were using the 30 minute session to explore the limits of the circuit with a few early yellow flags for offs at Turn 7. The likes of Mitch Evans and both NIO 333 drivers found themselves doing a 180 degree spin down the escape road.

    Evans had already gone quickest before he embarked on his final lap as the timer expired in the session. He went another four-tenths quicker than his previous best.

    Portland winner, Nick Cassidy found himself with work to do in 15th, following up on just 12th in FP1. The Kiwi is just a point behind Dennis in the standings.

    Qualifying-

    Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans strolled to Julius Baer Pole Position making it his second of the season – heading a front row lockout for the team.

    Evans and Bird headed into the Final knowing they’d achieved their second front-row lockout in Formula E. Evans had been 0.6 seconds quicker than the rest in FP2, but there was nothing between the two over the opening sector of the lap until Bird made a mistake dropped him well over a second back from his teammte.

    Standings leader, Jake Dennis said he didn’t feel quite at one with the car in qualifying, he made the Duels but only managed seventh.
    That said, he’s ahead of his closest title rival Nick Cassidy – the Envision driver down in ninth and third-placed Pascal Wehrlein also failed to make the Duels – knocked out of Group A.

    Fenestraz faced Bird in the first Semi. The Nissan looked rapid throughout but with the track temperature hitting over 50 celsius, it looked liked it’d be Bird in the final as Fenestraz slipped up and made a costly error.

    Evans faced Buemi. As the Jaguar driver started promosingly, taking a slender advantage of less than a tenth of a second over the first half of the lap. More than a second split the two, Buemi would nevertheless be happy with fourth.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Evans, P2: Bird, P3: Fenestraz, P4: Buemi, P5: Rast, P6: Mortara, P7: Dennis, P8: Guenther, P9: Cassidy and P10: Wehrelein.

    Round 13-

    Mitch Evans became the first polesitter to stride to victory in Rome int he Hankook Rome E-Prix Round 13, besting the rest in a race of two halves, split by a massive multi-car shunt involving his teammate Sam Bird and several other drivers.

    Evans was jumped by Bird off the line, with Jaguar looking like playing it tactically, ensuring the Kiwi could conserve energy in the slipstream behind the sister I-TYPE 6.

    The pair then swapped positions again after the opening of the race before Sacha Fenestraz made it by Bird first and then Evans for the lead through the first round of Attack Mode activations and a brief break in the action for a Safety Car while Andre Lotterer’s car was recovered – the German finding the wall.

    High drama on Lap 9 saw multiple cars caught up in a massive shunt at the quickest part of the track with Bird losing the rear of his Jaguar over the tricky, rapid and undulating section between Turns 6 and 7.

    Sebastien Buemi, clipped back end of the Jaguar on his way through – the Swiss narrowly missing a square-on impact. Edoardo Mortara flew into the side of Bird’s car as it sat stricken in the middle of the circuit while several other drivers picked their way through and escaped with minor damage.
    That meant big ramifications for the teams and drivers – who all thankfully escaped unharmed in testament to Gen3 resilience.

    Fourteen cars made the restart, with Fenestraz heading the pack away with Evans in tow. From there, Dennis seized the initiative, passing Evans with a sweeping move around the outside of the Jaguar through Turn 5.

    It was comfortable for Evans to the flag, as headed home Cassidy while Maximilian Guenther also dispatching Dennis for third at the flag.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Evans, P2: Cassidy, P3: Guenther, P4: Dennis, P5: Vergne, P6: Mortara, P7: Nato, P8: Sette, P9: Wehrlein and P10: Fenestraz.

  • Rome Preview

    The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is back this weekend as we return to Rome for Round 13 & 14, it’s also the penultimate race weekend of Season 9 with the standings top four all sat within striking distance.

    Formula E makes its way back to the Eternal City for the fifth season and its seventh race in the Italian capital city at the Circuito Cittadino dell-EUR.

    Four drivers representing four teams two marques, Jaguar and Porsche are split by just 32 points – well inside the total on offer over the two races in Rome.

    Last time here in 2022, we had a double winner, Mitch Evans who has been the most successful here in Rome with three wins to his name. He looks like he will be one of the strongest drivers this weekend due to his speed this year and the Rome record.

    The Circuit-

    As one of the longest tracks on the calendar, the Circuito Cittadino dell’EUR races around the Obelisco di Marconi, against the backdrop of the iconic Colosseo Quadrato.

    The Rome circuit features plenty of challenges for the drivers with undulations, lots of elevation changes, uneven surface and that jump – it’s a technical and fast track with long straights and a host of passing opportunities in the Eternal City.

    The 19 turn 3.385km Circuito Cittadino Dell’EUR is among Formula E’s longest and takes in the city’s Palazzo dei Congressi, Piazzale Marconi and the iconic Palazzo della Civilta Italiana, also known as the “Square Coliseum” while Ninfeo Park skirts the track.

    It’s a perfect mix of high speed runs and tight, complex sections and undulations with plenty of opportunities for overtaking at the hair pin and some 90 degree bends – peak Formula E and a big favourite of the drivers.

    rome-track-map-details

  • Aitken to make Envision return

    Envision Racing has announced that Jack Aitken will be jumping back into their car in Rome, with teams set to once again field rookies – this time in a Free Practice session.

    Aitken, completed 19 laps during his first run-out in Berlin, assisting the team as they continued to gather data and insights into the new Gen3 car.

    The British-South Korean racer will now have a further opportunity to test that machinery as the team’s season reaches a title-challenging climax.

    Teams can field someone who’s sampled Formula E machinery before but they must be drivers included on the Season 9 Entry List and they must not have competed in a Formula E race in their career before.

    The idea is to give the best young talent a pathway to race at the very top of the motorsport ladder with a taste of Formula E and the opportunity to impress prospective teams in the world’s leading electric race series.

    The choices the teams have put forward to Formula E and the FIA will be revealed in the lead up to Rome.

  • Round 5- Rome E-Prix

    Round 5- Rome E-Prix

    We were back on track for the final day of the Rome double header is here. Lets take a look at what went down.

    FP3-

    All 22 cars made it out for the final practice session of the double-header. Leading the way was former two-time champion DS Techeetah’s Jean-Eric Vergne, who set the pace with 1m 38.608s, followed by standings leader Edoardo Mortara and Jaguar TCS Racing’s Sam Bird.

    Finishing fourth fastest, Dan Ticktum who posted a 1m 39.257s in his Nio 333. The rookie compared the Rome street circuit to the Macau Grand Prix circuit, of which his win twice in his career.

    With 22 minutes left of practice, Andretti’s Oliver Askew clipped the chicane on Turns 12 and 14, resulting in a red flag whilst his stricken car was collected from track.

    With rain overnight, the track was damp in some places, especially under the trees that line some of the circuit. The cooler conditions this morning caught out Nick Cassidy who spun going into Turn 4.

    The top 10 were: P1: Vergne, P2: Mortara, P3: Bird, P4: Ticktum, P5: Wehrlein, P6: Lotterer, P7: Evans, P8: Da Costa, P9: Frijns and P10: Di Grassi.

    Qualifying-

    DS Techeetah’s Jean-Eric Vergne, leads the way into the final race of the Rome E-Pric as he defeated Andretti’s Jake Dennis in a blistering head to head on the streets of the Eternal City.

    Vergne claimed his 14th pole in Rome ahead of Round 5 as the former champion posted a 1m 38.268. O.221s faster than Dennis. Both Mercedes-EQ drivers didn’t get into the Semi’s, Nycks qualifying ended in the groups not progressing onto the quarters. Where as Vandoorne got into the quarters and it stopped there not the best qualifying from the team.

    The top 10 were: P1: Vergne, P2: Dennis, P3: Lotterer, P4: Evans, P5: Bird, P6: Frijns, P7: Wehrlein, P8: Vandoorne, P9: Da Costa and P10: de Vries.

    Round 5 – Rome E-Prix

    Jaguar TCS Racing’s, Mitch Evans stormed to victory once again in Rome, matching his win yesterday with another superb victory. Marking his third Rome victory, the driver led Poleman Vergne in 2nd and Robin Frijns in 3rd.

    The action started, and Dennis lost second but at the top of the hill and Turn 7, Dennis managed to reclaim it with Lotterer back to third. There was a collision between Mahindra’s Alex Sims and Max Guenther, the German driver retired to the pits. For the home race hero, it wasn’t meant to be as he stopped on track between Turn 8 and 9.

    After a short Safety car period after recovering Mahindra’s Sims car was recovered as he spun at Turn 14. There was 5 minutes and 15s of extra time added on to extend the race. Saving his Attack Mode until the end of the race, Evans took the boost with less than eight minutes of the race remaining, he went for Lotterer in front of him before taking the lead on the hill up Turn 7.

    The top 10 were: P1: Evans, P2: Vergne, P3: Frijns, P4: Lotterer, P5: Vandoorne, P6: Wehrlein, P7: Turvey, P8: Di Grassi, P9: Buemi and P10: Ticktum.

    We are back with Formula E in a few weeks time for the Monaco E-Prix on the 30th April.

  • Round 4- Rome E-Prix

    Round 4- Rome E-Prix

    Round 4 of the Formula E season has took place today, so lets take a look at how it is gone.

    FP1-

    Championship leader, Edoardo Mortara led the way in the first practice session with a time of 1m 40.022s, whilst Jaguar’s Mitch Evans came close behind in second followed by reigning champion, Nyck de Vries in third.

    All 22 cars made it out for the session, while Nick Cassidy spent time in the pits after only competing two laps with a suspected driveshaft issue, the Brit made it out towards the end to complete 6 laps in total.

    With the cool morning temperatures impacting breaking, a lockup from Jake Dennis saw the Brit avoid a narrow miss through the chicane. With seconds to go, Rowland suffered damage after contact was made with Jean-Eric Vergne, sent him into the wall on the chicane through Turns 12 and 13.

    The top 10 were: P1: Mortara, P2: Evans, P3: de Vries, P4: Da Costa, P5: Frijns, P6: Vandoorne, P7: Lotterer, P8: Sims, P9: Bird, P10: Sette Camara.

    FP2-

    The DS Techeetah and former Rome winner, Jean-Eric Vergne topped the timesheets in the final practice ahead of qualifying with a 1m 39.082s. Ahead of Pascal Wehrlein in second and Sam Bird who went third fastest.

    More problems for Mahindra’s Oliver Rowland, as he wrestled with his car sliding through Turns 12 and 13- the same spot he crashed earlier on. That same chicane stopped the running of Andre Lotterer as he clipped the inside of Turn 13 causing him to stop on track before a red flag came out.

    The top 10 were: P1: Vergne, P2: Wehrlein, P3: Bird, P4: Dennis, P5: de Vries, P6: Evans, P7: Da Costa, P8: Mortara, P9: Vandoorne and P10: Frijns.

    Qualifying-

    Stoffel Vandoorne claimed his 7th Formula E pole, as he lined up against Robin Frijns. Heading down in Turn 3, Frijns lost time in the final, handing the lead to the Mercedes-EQ driver. Despite his best effort to catch him, Frijns failed to make up for lost time.

    The pole marks Mercedes-EQ third Pole in four rounds, as the Mercedes power train continues to prove its dominance in the electric series. Could Stoffel turn the pole into a win? He already has a win here in the Eternal City last year, so it could very much be possible.

    The top 10 are: P1: Vandoorne, P2: Frijns, P3: de Vries, P4: Da Costa, P5: Vergne, P6: Dennis, P7: Wehrlein, P8: Lotterer, P9: Evans and P10: Rowland.

    Round 4-

    Jaguar TCS Racing, Mitch Evans takes victory on the streets of Rome for the second time in his career. Evans dominated, pulling away from the field to lead Envision’s Robin Frijns in 2nd and Mercedes EQ’s Stoffel Vandoorne in third.

    Despite starting on pole, Vandoorne let his lead slip on the streets, giving way to a determined Mitch who stormed to victory after starting ninth. For the reigning champ, it wasn’t all good though, the Mercedes driver failed to finish the race, retiring after slowing on track and slipping down the order.

    Home here, Antonio Giovinazzi, finished 18th after a steady race at the back of the grid- still adjusting to the challenging nature of driving on street circuits, Giovinazzi will be looking to make more of an impact in tomorrows race.

    Nudged from behind early on in the race, Edoardo Mortara behind, Oliver Rowland hit the barrier on Turn 7, with the cars behind being backed up. Shortly after this, Max Guenther crashed into the barrier on Turn 11- the safety car was brought out whilst his car was recovered.

    Times for tomorrow-

    Free Practice 3: 07:30am – 08:00am (BST), Qualifying: 09:40am – 10:55am (BST), Round 5: 14:00pm – 15:00pm (BST).

  • A look into Rome

    Formula E is back this weekend and we are in Rome for Round 4 and 5 after a two month break! It’s also Antonio Giovinazzi’s home race too.

    Last time we were in Rome, Jean-Eric Vergne (DS TECHEETAH), picked his moments perfectly to drive from fifth to victory in the opening race of the Rome E-Prix double-header last season.

    We have had 3 different winners, in the past 3 rounds, will we see a 4th different winner or will one of our 3 be victorious again? Mortara sits at the top of the standings with 43 points, Nyck de Vries in second with 38 and Wehrlein in 3rd with 30.

    The Teams battle is very close with ROKiT Venturi Racing claiming the top spot with 68 points, Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team with 66 points and TAG Heuer Porsche has 60. There is then quite a big gap down to 4th is DS Techeetah with 39 points and Envision Racing with 39 and then Avalanche Andretti 3 points behind them.

    Circuito Cittadino dell’EUR-

    As one of the longest tracks on the calendar, the Circuito Cittadino dell’EUR races around the Obelisco di Marconi, against the backdrop of the iconic Colosseo Quadrato.

    The Rome circuit features plenty of challenges for the drivers with undulations, lots of elevation changes, uneven surface and that jump – it’s a technically and fast track with long straights and a host of passing opportunities in the Eternal City.

    The fastest lap of the circuit goes to Stoffel Vandoorne, Mercedes-EQ (2021)- 1:41.820.

    Past Winners:

    • 2018, Sam Bird
    • 2019, Mitch Evans
    • 2021, Jean-Eric Vergne
    • 2021, Stoffel Vandoorne.
    Rome E-prix track map

    Times-

    Saturday 9th-

    Free Practice 1: 06:15am – 06:45am (BST), Free Practice 2: 08:00am – 08:45am (BST), Qualifying: 09:40am – 10:55am (BST), Round 4: 14:00pm – 15:00pm (BST).

    Sunday 10th-

    Free Practice 3: 07:30am – 08:00am (BST), Qualifying: 09:40am – 10:55am (BST), Round 5: 14:00pm – 15:00pm (BST).

  • Maserati & Rokit Venturi to partner

    Maserati and ROKiT Venturi Racing have announced a multi year partnership, ahead of this weekends Rome double-header, which will see the Italian manufacturer and Monegasque Formula E team link up from Season 9 of the Formula E World Championship.

    When it joins the Gen3 era, Maserati will become the first Italian brand to compete in Formula E, as it ends a 60 year hiatus from single-seater motorsport.

    The marque will unite with ROKiT Venturi Racing for the series’ next generation, with the Gen3 set to be the fastest, lightest and most powerful but yet the most sustainable electric single-seat race car yet.

    ROKiT Venturi, have been in a partnership with Mercedes EQ since the 2019-20 season. Mercedes are leaving Formula E after this season, as they are going to concentrate on its works on motorsport activities in Formula 1.

    Uniting with Maserati marks the start of a new chapter and represents the best possible outcome for the team following our successful partnership with Mercedes-EQ. Being entrusted with the return of one of motorsport’s most recognisable brands to international single-seater competition underlines our success in recent seasons in which we have firmly established ourselves as a commercially viable, race-winning team that can seriously contend for championships.With this commitment, the team is now in a fantastic position to contest Formula E’s next generation of competition which will commence in 2023.

    Susie Wolff, CEO & Managing Partner, ROKiT Venturi Racing.

    Returning to motorsport with Formula E was a natural choice for Maserati. We are driven by our passion and innovation and we’re happy to share this adventure with a partner that abides by the same values as we do and is looking ahead to the future, just like us. We share with the ROKiT Venturi Racing team the same determination and desire to compete and win on circuits all over the world

    Davide Grasso, Maserati CEO.

    Partnering with Maserati for Gen3 is brilliant news. It’s excellent for the team, for Maserati and Formula E, but above all else, it’s fantastic news for the fans who will witness the return of an iconic marque to top-tier motorsport. Not only does this establish strong foundations for our long-term future in Formula E, but it also marks one of the most exciting stories in international sport in which a prestigious brand is returning to its roots by joining the most progressive and fastest-growing form of motorsport.

    Scott Swid, Chairman & Managing Partner, ROKiT Venturi Racing.

    My Opinion-

    Great move from Venturi! They knew they were going to be looking for a new partnership, as Mercedes were leaving. But it was also a great choice from Maserati too, Venturi have developed themselves into a race winning team, in which they can now fight to be championship contenders.