Метка: Formula-e

Muller aspiring to stay in WEC alongside FE after Porsche move


Outgoing Peugeot World Endurance Championship driver Nico Muller has aspirations to continue his sportscar career after joining Porsche for a Formula E campaign with Andretti.

Muller stressed that his focus in 2025 would be his drive with the Andretti Porsche customer team in FE, but he has outlined a desire to race in the WEC or to pursue other sportscar opportunities with the German manufacturer, which has signed him as a factory driver for next year.

“I would love to keep doing both,” said Muller at the Austin WEC round last weekend while on duty for Peugeot.

“The focus will be FE: that’s the first programme I’m committed to. But if there is any sort of chance to stay here and do WEC in Hypercar, that would be the dream scenario. The door is open to do other stuff besides FE.”

Muller, who joined Peugeot’s WEC squad for the final race of the 2022 season, insisted that discussions about a wider programme with Porsche had yet to take place.

“We haven’t talked about what the options are and how we are going to proceed,” he explained.

Nico Muller, ABT CUPRA Formula E Team

Nico Muller, ABT CUPRA Formula E Team

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

Porsche hinted that Muller could have a wider role above and beyond FE when it announced his signing and programme with Andretti in July.

“We will announce at a later date whether and in which other series Nico will also drive for Porsche,” said Porsche Motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach.

A full programme in WEC with the factory Penske Porsche Motorsport squad appears unlikely.

For 2023, Porsche required Antonio Felix da Costa to give up his long-standing sportscar programme with Jota to focus on his FE assault with the factory team.

There also remains one date conflict between the FE and WEC calendars: the Berlin FE round clashes with Interlagos in the WEC.

A one-off at the Le Mans 24 Hours could be a possibility for Muller if Porsche decides to run a third factory 963 LMDh at the French enduro for the third consecutive season.

“If you are asked to go back to Le Mans, you will say yes,” he said. “That is top of list.”

#93 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Jean-Eric Vergne, Mikkel Jensen, Nico Muller

#93 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Jean-Eric Vergne, Mikkel Jensen, Nico Muller

Photo by: Shameem Fahath

Outings with the privateer Proton team in the Hypercar class could be another option.

Muller also revealed a desire to expand his experience of the IMSA SportsCar Championship in North America, in which his only previous start came in LMP2 at the 2022 Daytona 24 Hours with the High Class Racing squad.

“IMSA has a lot of old-school tracks and is something I’d love to discover a bit more,” he said.

“There are similarities with FE because you are discussing a lot less about putting four wheels on the other side of white lines [because there is generally less run-off than at the Formula 1 tracks visited  by WEC].”

Racing Porsche’s 911 GT3-R is “also definitely an option”, according to a driver who enjoyed success at the wheel of GT3 machinery during his nine-year stint with Audi.

His credits in GT racing with Audi include victory in the Nurburgring 24 Hours in 2015 as well as a pair of podiums and a further two top-six finishes in the Spa 24 Hours.

The Nurburgring race clashes with the Jakarta FE round next year, but Muller would be free to do Spa, -the blue-riband round of the GT World Challenge Europe.

Muller also revealed that racing in the Supercars touring car series in Australia was on his bucket list.

“I would love to go down to Australia and try one of those Supercars,” he said.

“I definitely hope to do some cool stuff besides FE next year.”



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F1 a «closed chapter» for Porsche after failed Red Bull bid


Porsche’s aspirations to return to Formula 1 are now “a closed chapter”, the marque’s motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach has revealed.

Laudenbach’s assertion that Porsche has no plans for a comeback more than 30 years on from its last engagement as an engine supplier with Footwork in 1991 represent the manufacturer’s first comments about an F1 entry since the full unveiling of the 2026 regulations in June.

They follow nearly two years on from the breakdown of its prospective partnership with Red Bull Racing that would have involved it becoming a 50% owner of the team and its new powertrain division

At that stage, in September 2022, Porsche still talked about F1 as “an attractive environment” in the statement announcing that it was no longer pursuing the Red Bull option, but now Laudenbach has now stated that it is “not a topic for us”.

“It is off the table: right now F1 is not a task for us and we are not spending any energy on that,» he explained.

“We are only focused on what we do right now, and if you look at it, we have many different activities: we are well-occupied and extremely happy with what we do.”

Laudenbach pointed to Porsche’s wide motorsport portfolio, describing it as “nearly the perfect fit for the brand”.

Pascal Wehrlein, Porsche, Porsche 99X Electric Gen3

Pascal Wehrlein, Porsche, Porsche 99X Electric Gen3

Photo by: Andreas Beil

“We are engaged in customer racing from track days, GT4, one-make series up to professional GT racing [in GT3],” he explained.

“On top of that we are racing in the two most important endurance racing series [the World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship with the 963 LMDh] with our partner Penske.

“The third part, since electrification of our brand is very important, is our engagement in Formula E, which is the only full-electric series on a high level.

“I think we are really well served.”

Laudenbach also stated that Porsche had no interest in joining the IndyCar Series as an engine supplier.

Volkswagen announced in April 2022 that both its Porsche and Audi brands were pursuing F1 entries and that plans were in the “final evaluation phase”.

For Porsche those evaluations involved a link-up with Red Bull that ultimately foundered because, it said, the partnership it sought based on an “equal footing” could not be achieved.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner subsequently said that there was a “strategic non-alignment” and that the team didn’t want to diminish its “values and virtues”.

The Milton Keynes-based squad subsequently agreed a deal with Ford for 2026 to badge the new 2026 engine produced by Red Bull Powertrains.

Audi announced its intent to enter F1 for the first time in ’26 as an engine supplier in August ’22 and then took a minority stake in Sauber early last year before completing a 100% takeover this spring.

Porsche won a single world championship race during its first stint in F1 for the opening two years of the 1.5-litre formula starting in 1961, with Dan Gurney triumphing at the 1962 French Grand Prix at Rouen driving a Porsche 804.

Porsche was commissioned by McLaren to build the 1.5-litre turbo engine that ran with TAG (Techniques d’Avant Garde) badges and claimed the 1984, ’85 and ’86 world titles.

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F1 a «closed chapter» for Porsche after failed Red Bull bid


Porsche’s aspirations to return to Formula 1 are now “a closed chapter”, the marque’s motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach has revealed.

Laudenbach’s assertion that Porsche has no plans for a comeback more than 30 years on from its last engagement as an engine supplier with Footwork in 1991 represent the marque’s first comments about an F1 entry since the full unveiling of the 2026 regulations in June.

They follow nearly two years on from the breakdown of its prospective partnership with Red Bull Racing that would have involved it becoming a 50% owner of the team and its new powertrain division

At that stage, in September 2022, Porsche still talked about F1 as “an attractive environment” in the statement announcing that it was no longer pursuing the Red Bull option, but now Laudenbach has now stated that it is “not a topic for us”.

“It is off the table: right now F1 is not a task for us and we are not spending any energy on that,» he explained.

“We are only focused on what we do right now, and if you look at it, we have many different activities: we are well-occupied and extremely happy with what we do.”

Laudenbach pointed to Porsche’s wide motorsport portfolio, describing it as “nearly the perfect fit for the brand”.

Pascal Wehrlein, Porsche, Porsche 99X Electric Gen3

Pascal Wehrlein, Porsche, Porsche 99X Electric Gen3

Photo by: Andreas Beil

“We are engaged in customer racing from track days, GT4, one-make series up to professional GT racing [in GT3],” he explained.

“On top of that we are racing in the two most important endurance racing series [the World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship with the 963 LMDh] with our partner Penske.

“The third part, since electrification of our brand is very important, is our engagement in Formula E, which is the only full-electric series on a high level.

“I think we are really well served.”

Laudenbach also stated that Porsche had no interest in joining the IndyCar Series as an engine supplier.

Volkswagen announced in April 2022 that both its Porsche and Audi brands were pursuing F1 entries and that plans were in the “final evaluation phase”.

For Porsche those evaluations involved a link-up with Red Bull that ultimately foundered because, it said, the partnership it sought based on an “equal footing” could not be achieved.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner subsequently said that there was a “strategic non-alignment” and that the team didn’t want to diminish its “values and virtues”.

The Milton Keynes-based squad subsequently agreed a deal with Ford for 2026 to badge the new 2026 engine produced by Red Bull Powertrains.

Audi announced its intent to enter F1 for the first time in ’26 as an engine supplier in August ’22 and then took a minority stake in Sauber early last year before completing a 100% takeover this spring.

Porsche won a single world championship race during its first stint in F1 for the opening two years of the 1.5-litre formula starting in 1961, with Dan Gurney triumphing at the 1962 French Grand Prix at Rouen driving a Porsche 804.

Porsche was commissioned by McLaren to build the 1.5-litre turbo engine that ran with TAG (Techniques d’Avant Garde) badges and claimed the 1984, ’85 and ’86 world titles.



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Vote to allow Formula E drivers with WEC Spa/Berlin clash to race rejected


An electronic vote was put to all 11 Formula E team principals during the Sao Paolo E-Prix event this weekend to determine whether an FIA regulation that would prevent certain drivers from racing in Berlin could be bypassed.

The unique situation comes as the first of two Berlin Formula E races, due to be held across the 11-12 May, will clash with the WEC’s Six Hours of Spa.

Seven drivers are running dual campaigns this season and in theory it would have been possible for those racing in Belgium on the Saturday to travel across to Germany to race in the all-electric championship on the Sunday.

However, an FIA regulation means that the Berlin E-Prix double-header is considered a sole event despite two races being held, currently making it so teams cannot switch drivers between the races unless the decision was unanimously agreed by all 11 teams.

A statement from the FIA ahead of the vote read: “As the Berlin E-Prix is a competition comprised of two races as set out in Article 5.5, a change of driver after the end of the administrative checks is not authorised except in case of force majeure and with the authorisation of the stewards in accordance with Articles 19.1 and 24.15.

“Therefore, it is necessary to grant these drivers special authorisation and the unanimous agreement of competitors is necessary.”

Sebastien Buemi, Envision Racing, Robin Frijns, Envision Racing

Sebastien Buemi, Envision Racing, Robin Frijns, Envision Racing

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

Motorsport.com understands that at least one team rejected the proposal, with seven of the 11 teams not fielding any drivers with WEC commitments.

The decision ultimately means those drivers who race at Spa will not be permitted to also race in Berlin the next day.

The drivers this could apply to includes both Envision racers Sebastien Buemi and Robin Frijns, both DS Penske drivers Jean-Eric Vergne and Stoffel Vandoorne, Nyck de Vries and Edoardo Mortara from Mahindra, as well as Abt’s Nico Muller.

Both Vergne and Vandoorne confirmed they would prioritise Formula E over WEC in the event of the clash, while it’s understood that Mortara will also commit to the Berlin double-header.

Although not confirmed, it’s believed Toyota WEC drivers Buemi and de Vries, as well as BMW’s Frijns and Peugeot’s Muller, will prioritise the WEC meaning they will be forced to miss both races in Germany.

None of the affected teams have yet to formally announce which reserve drivers will participate in the Berlin E-Prix double-header.

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Formula E pre season 2024 testing in Valencia DAY 3

On Friday, October 27, Nick Cassidy, the driver of the Jaguar TCS Racing team, retained the lead as the Formula E pre-season tests in Valencia were completed.

Aleksandr Seregin

Chief Editor

Daniel Ballarin

Photographer

PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
ХРОНО

The New Zealander set the best time — 1 minute 24.617 seconds, taking first place in the last 20 minutes of the final day of the test.

Those who followed the tests could feel the tension of the last hours of the test week. Maximilian Gunther of Maserati MSG took the lead in the last hour of the tests. However, he didn’t last that long, because twenty minutes later he was already pushed by Mitch Evans from Jaguar. A little more and Gunther again headed the line of the test protocol. But again not for long, because Nick Cassidy has already decided to put the final point before the start of the new 10th anniversary season of Formula E.

PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO

Nevertheless, the best time of all her tests was shown by Mitch Evans from Jaguar on Tuesday in the first laziness of the tests. Perhaps this is due to the fact that after the fire in the boxes on Tuesday afternoon, according to some reports, the power of electric installations on the cars was significantly reduced as a precautionary measure.

Robin Frines from Envision Racing was fourth fastest on Friday, his car, by the way, is also equipped with a Jaguar electric motor. In this connection, there was a situation when the entire top four fastest pilots showed their results on an electrical installation from Jaguar. Somewhere we have already seen this…

PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO

Pascal Wehrlein rounded out the top five ahead of Norman Nato from Andretti Global, who was 0.094 seconds faster than his teammate and current series champion Jake Dennis.

PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO

Oliver Rowland from Nissan and Jake Hughes from NEOM McLaren shared a pair of pilots from Andretti Global, and DS Penske pilot Stoffel Vandoorne became the fifth at the end of the last day of tests ahead of Sebastian Buemi, who in turn went the longest distance relative to the normal pilots with an indicator of 127 laps.

PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO

Because the Mahindra team’s boxes suffered the most from the fire on Tuesday. Nick de Vries took over the only remaining Mahindra car and became, according to the results of the tests, only 17th in speed, ahead of Nico Muller Abt Cupra with a Mahindra engine by 0.059 seconds. Thus, the tests for Mahindra ended in the most unsuccessful way.

During Friday’s test session, tests were conducted to simulate a 27-lap race. At the same time, pit stops with new fast charging of power plants and starting procedures were also worked out.

PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
ФОТОРЕПОРТАЖ

Автор обзора: А. Серёгин, АВИА ИМАДЖЕС, 2023 / ФОТО: ДАНИЭЛЬ БАЛЛАРИН

Третий день тестов Formula E в Валенсии 2023/2024

В пятницу 27 октября Ник Кэссиди пилот команды Jaguar TCS Racing сохранил лидерство по мере завершения предсезонных тестов Формулы E в Валенсии.

Александр Серёгин

Главный редактор

Даниель Балларин

Фотограф

Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
ХРОНО

Новозеландец установил лучшее время — 1 минуту 24,617 секунды, заняв первое место в последние 20 минут завершающего все тест дня.

Те, кто следил за тестами могли прочувствовать напряженность последних часов тестовой недели. Максимилиан Гюнтер из Maserati MSG захватил лидерство в последний час тестов. Однако продержался не так долго, поскольку через двадцать минут его уже подвинул Митч Эванс из Jaguar. Еще немного и Гюнтер снова возглавил строчку протокола тестов. Но опять ненадолго, поскольку уже Ник Кэссиди решил поставить финальную точку перед стартом нового 10-го юбилейного сезона Формулы Е.

Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО

Тем не менее, лучшее время всех ней тестов показал именно Митч Эванс из Jaguar во вторник в первый лень тестов. Возможно, это связано с тем, что после пожара в боксах во второй половине дня вторника по некоторым данным мощность электрических установок на болидах была существенно снижена в качестве меры предосторожности.

Робин Фрайнс из Envision Racing был четвертым по скорости в пятницу, его болид, кстати, также оснащен электродвигателем Jaguar. В связи с чем, сложилась ситуация, когда вся первая четвёрка быстрейших пилотов показала свои результата на электроустановке от Jaguar. Где-то мы такое уже видели…

Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО

Паскаль Верляйн замкнул пятерку лучших, опередив Нормана Нато из Andretti Global, который был на 0,094 секунды быстрее своего товарища по команде и действующего чемпиона серии Джейка Денниса.

Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО

Оливер Роуленд из Nissan и Джейк Хьюз из NEOM McLaren разделили пару пилотов из Andretti Global, а пилот DS Penske Стоффель Вандорн стал дестым по итогам последнего дня тестов опередив Себастьяна Буэми, который в свою очередь прошёл наибольшую дистанцию относительно достальных пилотов с показателем в 127 кругов.

Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО

Поскольку больше всего от пожара во вторник пострадали боксы команды Mahindra. Ник де Врис взял на себя единственную оставшуюся машину Mahindra и стал по итогам тестов только 17-м по скорости, опередив Нико Мюллера Abt Cupra с двигателем Mahindra на 0,059 секунды. Таким образом, самым неудачным образом завершились тесты для Mahindra.

Во время пятничной тестовой сессии прошли испытания по симуляции гонки на 27 кругов. При этом были отработаны и пит-стопы с новой быстрой зарядкой силовых установок, стартовые процедуры.

Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
ФОТОРЕПОРТАЖ

Автор обзора: А. Серёгин, АВИА ИМАДЖЕС, 2023 / ФОТО: ДАНИЭЛЬ БАЛЛАРИН

Formula E pre season 2024 testing in Valencia (PHOTOREPORTAGE)

On the eve of the 2024 season in Spain, pre-season tests are being held at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia as part of the Formula E championship.

Aleksandr Seregin

Chief Editor

Daniel Ballarin

Photographer

PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
SEASON 2023/2024

On the eve of the 2024 season in Spain, pre-season tests are being held at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia as part of the Formula E championship.

The Electric Formula Championship was formed in 2014. Consequently, the upcoming 2024 season will be the 10th anniversary.

These days, Spanish photojournalist Daniel Balarin Lopez is working at the race track in Valencia. He provided his photo material specifically for the agency Asppa Images. A large photo gallery with Daniel’s material is already available on our website, which is updated as photos are transferred.

Tests Formula-E Day 1

The first day of tests on October 25 turned out to be hot, in the truest sense of the word. But about everything in order!

Two series of test runs were planned for this day.

The first session took place and was held in a fairly measured and normal mode. The pilots left the pits, ironed the race track, which is configured these days with the use of temporary fences, specifically for tests of the electric Formula. After returning to the pits, engineers already entered the work, who removed the received information from the onboard devices of racing electric formulas. The mechanics made edits to the configuration of the cars, and the pilots went back to the track to test the changes made. Quite tedious, painstaking, but generally interesting, and most importantly necessary work.

PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO

Among the teams participating in the electric Formula championship there are such names that once sounded loudly on the race tracks of the world series and US races: Jaguar, Porsche, Andretti, Penske. In the case of the last two, these are quite active teams from the world of American Indycar, which are part of global divisions. The Andretti family renamed their electric team Andretti Global.

By the way, Andretti Global has also changed the livery of its cars for the 2024 season. Fans of Formula 1 Andretti cars were reminded of the recent appearance of HAAS cars.

PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO

As for the results of the first session, although they themselves say little in the context of the upcoming 2024 championship, but nevertheless.

Mitch Evans of Jaguar TCS Racing was the fastest, clocking 1 minute 24.474 seconds closer to noon. His best result was 0.143 seconds faster than the result of Antonio Felix da Costa from Porsche, and the champion of the 2nd season of Formula E Sebastien Buemi from Envision Racing showed the third result.

Eduardo Mortara from Mahindra rose only to the fourth line of the test protocol. Next to him is the former Formula 1 driver, and now the current Porsche team driver Pascal Wehrlein.

As for the newcomers of the championship debutants. First you need to say that «beginners» is a conditional term in the case of the Formula—E. Experienced drivers from a wide variety of racing series come to this championship: Formula 1, Formula 2, Indycar, DTM and other series.

PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO

Russian fans will rather be interested to know that Robert Schwartzman took the place of Belgian and former Formula 1 driver Stoffel Vandoorne in DS Penske. Zane Maloney replaced the current champion Jake Dennis in Andretti Global, Taylor Barnard took the place of Sam Bird, who signed a contract with the new McLaren, while Luca Giotto and Victor Martins took the place of Oliver Rowland and Sasha Fenestraz in the team of the Japanese Nissan corporation.

PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO

Barnard made an impression by showing the fastest result shortly before the second hour of the three-hour session. As a result, he ended up seventh in speed, behind Maximilian Gunther from Maserati MSG.

Nico Muller (Abt Cupra) and Sergio Sette Camara (ERT, formerly NIO) were next, and Nick Cassidy rounded out the top 10 in his first race for Jaguar.

FIRE IN BOX

After the end of the first test session, the pilots went for a well-deserved rest and lunch. However, it was at this time that the unexpected happened. And this case, by the way, again hits the reputation of the electric Formula in the most painful way.

A fire started in the garage of the battery supplier Williams Advanced Engineering, the paddock was partially covered with acrid smoke. When the smoke cleared and the fire was extinguished by the emergency services, it became clear that the source of the fire was the battery on the car of the Russian Robert Schwartzman from the American team DS Penske, which was removed after the car stopped on the track during the morning session.

PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO

It is worth saying that the press service of the championship quickly informed all participants of the tests about what happened. It was also reported that this incident was not related to the new fast charging systems that were first used on the track ahead of their debut in the new season.

PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO

The result was a small damage to property, and one WAE employee was taken to a local hospital for a preventive examination.

“During a break between training sessions, a fire was detected in the pit lane and in the garage, which was localized,” Formula E said in a statement. “The Incident Response Team immediately took measures to localize the incident, while the main building of the circuit and the boxes were quickly evacuated.

“One person was examined by doctors and taken to the hospital for preventive examinations.

“Formula E, the FIA and local fire authorities are investigating the cause and will provide further information shortly.”

Then the organizers announced the cancellation of the second training session. And even later it turned out that the fire affected the Mahindra Racing team.

“As a result of the fire, Mahindra Racing received damage to its property. The damage includes, but is not limited to, the team’s IT assets, engineering stations and both race cars,” the team explained in a statement.

PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
Test Formula-E, Day 2

The pilots returned to the track on Thursday.  This time, incidents off the track were avoided and the day passed positively.

Mitch Evans was the fastest again that day. Da Costa, who was second on Tuesday, reached the cockpit only in the afternoon, and the first part of the day his car was driven by the winner of the ADAC Prototype Cup LMP3 race Gabriela Zhilkova. Eduardo Mortaro of the Mahindra team finished third that day, setting his best test time, even despite the team’s difficulties caused by fire damage in neighboring boxes.

The results of the day can be found in the table.  The photo gallery of the third day will be available on the weekend.

PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin © ASPPA IMAGES ANO
RESULTS DAY TWO

TEXT AUTHOR: ALEKSANDR SEREGIN, ASPPA IMAGES, 2023 / PHOTO: DANIEL BALLARIN

PHOTOREPORTAGE

Предсезонные тесты электрической Formula E в Валенсии 2023/2024 (ФОТОРЕПОРТАЖ)

В предверии сезона 2024 года в Испании на автодроме Рикардо Тормо в Валенсии проходят предсезонные тесты в рамках чемпионата Формула-Е.

Александр Серёгин

Главный редактор

Даниель Балларин

Фотограф

Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
СЕЗОН 2023/2024

Чемпионат электрической Формулы был образован в 2014 году. Следовательно, предстоящий сезон 2024 года станет юбилейным 10 по счёту.

В эти дни на гоночной трассе в Валенсии работает испанский фотокорреспондент Даниэль Баларин Лопез. Он и предоставил свой фотоматериал специально для агентства Asppa Images. На нашем сайте уже доступна большая фотогалерея с материалом Даниэля, которая пополняется по мере передачи фотографий.

Тесты Formula-E, день 1

Первый день тестов 25 октября выдался горячим, в прямом смысле этого слова. Но обо всём по порядку!

На этот день было запланировано две серии тестовых заездов.

Первая сессия состоялась и прошла в достаточно размеренном и обычном режиме. Пилоты покидали боксы, утюжили гоночный трек, который сконфигурирован в эти дни с использованием временных ограждений, конкретно под тесты электрической Формулы. После возвращения в боксы, уже в работу вступали инженеры, которые снимали полученную информацию с бортовых приборов гоночных электрических формул. Механики делали правки в конфигурацию болидов, и пилоты снова отправлялись на трассу, тестировать внесенные изменения. Достаточно нудная, кропотливая, но в целом интересная, а главное нужная работа.

Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО

Среди команд участников чемпионата электрической Формулы есть такие имена, которые когда-то громко звучали на гоночных трассах мировых серий и гонок США: Ягуар, Порш, Андретти, Пенске. В случае с последними двумя, это вполне себе действующие команды из мира американского Индикара, входящие в состав глобальных подразделений. Семья Андретти так и переименовала свою электрическую команду в Andretti Global.

Кстати, Andretti Global к сезону 2024 изменила ещё и ливрею своих болидов. Фанатам Формулы-1 цвета окраса машин Андретти напомнили недавний вид болидов HAAS.

Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО

Что касается результатов первой сессии, хотя они сами по себе мало о чём говорят в контексте предстоящего чемпионата 2024 года, но тем не менее.

Митч Эванс из Jaguar TCS Racing был самым быстрым, показав время 1 минута 24,474 секунды ближе к полудню. Его лучший результат составил на 0,143 секунды быстрее относительно результата Антонио Феликса да Кошту из Porsche, а чемпион 2 сезона Формулы-Е Себастьен Буэми из Envision Racing показал третий результат.

Эдуардо Мортара из Mahindra поднялся лишь на четвёртую строчку протокола тестов. Следом за ним расположился бывший пилот Формулы-1, а ныне действующий пилот команды Porsche Паскаль Верляйн.

Что касается дебютантов новичков чемпионата. Сначала нужно сказать, что «новички» — это условный термин в случае с Формулой-Е. Как раз в этот чемпионат приходят уже опытные пилоты из самых разных гоночных серий: Формула-1, Формулы-2, Индикара, DTM и других серий.

Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО

Российским болельщик скорее будет интересно узнать, что Роберт Шварцман занял место бельгийца и бывшего пилота Формулы-1 Стоффеля Вандорна в DS Penske. Зейн Мэлони заменил в болиде действующего чемпиона Джейка Денниса в Andretti Global, Тейлор Барнард занял место Сэма Берда, подписавшего контракт с новым McLaren, в то время как Лука Джиотто и Виктор Мартинс заняли место Оливера Роуленда и Саши Фенестраз в команде японской корпорации Ниссан.

Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО

Барнард произвел впечатление, показав самый быстрый результат незадолго до второго часа трехчасовой сессии. В итоге он оказался седьмым по скорости, уступив Максимилиану Гюнтеру из Maserati MSG.

Следующими были Нико Мюллер (Abt Cupra) и Сежио Сетте Камара (ERT, ранее NIO), а Ник Кэссиди замкнул топ-10 в своем первом заезде за Jaguar.

ПОЖАР

После окончания заездов первой тестовой сессии, пилоты отправились на заслуженный отдых и обед. Однако именно в это время произошло непредвиденное. И этот случай, кстати говоря, снова бьёт самым болезненным образом по репутации электрической Формулы.

В гараже поставщика аккумуляторных батарей Williams Advanced Engineering начался пожар, паддок частично заволокло едким дымом. Когда дым рассеялся, а пожар был силами экстренных служб ликвидирован, стало понятно, что источником возгорания послужил аккумулятор на болиде россиянина Роберта Шварцмана из американской команды DS Penske, который был извлечен после того, как машина остановилась на трассе во время утренней сессии.

Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО

Стоит сказать, что пресс служба чемпионата довольно быстро проинформировала всех участников тестов о произошедшем. Также было сообщено, что этот инцидент не был связан с новыми системами быстрой зарядки, которые впервые использовались на трассе в преддверии их дебюта в новом сезоне.

Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО

Итогом стала небольшая порча имущества, и один сотрудник WAE был доставлен в местную больницу для проведения профилактического осмотра.

“В перерыве между тренировками на пит-лейн и в гараже был обнаружен пожар, который был локализован”, — говорится в заявлении Формулы E. “Оперативная группа реагирования на инциденты немедленно приняла меры по локализации инцидента, в то время как основное здание автодрома и боксы были быстро эвакуированы.

“Один человек был осмотрен медиками и доставлен в больницу для проведения профилактических осмотров.

“Формула Е, FIA и местные пожарные власти расследуют причину и предоставят дополнительную информацию в ближайшее время”.

Затем организаторы объявили об отмене второй тренировочной сессии. А ещё позже выяснилось, что пожар повлиял на команду Mahindra Racing.

“В результате пожара Mahindra Racing получила ущерб своего имущества. Ущерб включает, но не ограничивается ИТ-имуществом команды, инженерными станциями и обоими гоночными автомобилями”, — пояснили в заявлении команды.

Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Тесты Formula-E, день 2

Пилоты вернулись на трассу в четверг.  На этот раз инцидентов вне трассы удалось избежать и день прошёл позитивно.

Митч Эванс снова стал самым быстрым в этот день. Да Коста, который был вторым во вторник, добрался до кокпита олько во второй половине дня, а первую часть дня его машиной управляла победительница гонки ADAC Prototype Cup LMP3 Габриэла Жилкова. Эдуардо Мортаро из команды Mahindra финишировал третьим в этот день, установив своё лучшее время тестов, даже несмотря на трудности команды, вызванные ущербом от пожара в соседних боксах.

С результатами дня можно ознакомиться в таблице.  Фотогалерея третьего дня будет доступна в выходные.

Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
Фото: Даниэль Балларин © АСППА ИМАДЖЕС АНО
РЕЗУЛЬТАТЫ

Автор обзора: А. Серёгин, АВИА ИМАДЖЕС, 2023 / ФОТО: ДАНИЭЛЬ БАЛЛАРИН

ФОТОРЕПОРТАЖ