FORMULA MARKE E 36
FORMULA MARKE E 36 THE JAGUAR
FORMULA E PHOTOGRAPHY: SPACESUIT, LAT TEAM BY TEAM THE DRIVERS PANASONIC JAGUAR RACING Adam Carroll (26/10/82) Born in Northern Ireland, 34-year old Adam Carroll brings a wealth of experience to the team including F1-testing duties for BAR-Honda. Adam has also raced in IndyCar and the DTM, won no less than five races in the F1-feeder series GP2 and was the 2009 A1GP winner. Mitch Evans (24/6/94) Mitch Evans is the protege of F1 legend Mark Webber. Just 22 years old he started racing karts in his native New Zealand at the age of six, won the New Zealand Grand Prix at the age of just 16 and the GP3 title just two years later. He’s also raced and won in GP2. ABT SCHAEFFLER AUDI SPORT Lucas di Grassi (11/08/84) Brazilian Daniel Abt (3/12/92) German MS AMLIN ANDRETTI Robin Frijns (7/8/91) Dutch António Félix da Costa (31/8/91) Portuguese DS VIRGIN RACING Sam Bird (9/1/87) British José María López (26/4/83) Argentinian FARADAY FUTURE DRAGON RACING Jérôme D’Ambrosio (27/12/85) Belgian Loïc Duval (12/6/82) French MAHINDRA RACING Nick Heidfeld (10/5/77) German Felix Rosenqvist (7/11/91) Swedish NEXTEV NIO Nelson Piquet Jr ( 25/7/85) Brazilian Oliver Turvey (1/4/87) British RENAULT E.DAMS Nico Prost (18/8/81) French Sébastien Buemi (31/10/88) Swiss TECHEETAH Jean-Éric Vergne (25/04/1990) French Ma Qing Hua (25/12/87) Chinese VENTURI Stéphane Sarrazin (2/11/75) French Maro Engel (27/8/85) German Jaguar’s hot-shot youngster Mitch Evans (left) had already proved a hit on #fanboost It proved to be an impressive collaboration; up to 200kW of power – equivalent to 270bhp – and weighing under 900kg, the Formula E car is capable of reaching 60mph in under three seconds, as fast as the world’s most extreme hypercars. To get the championship up and running and keep costs down, all 10 teams ran exactly the same car in Season One. Hence the immediate competitiveness of the series. By Season Two, Formula E had started its journey to becoming an open championship, with manufacturers allowed to develop anything from behind the battery; motor, gearbox, battery inverter as well as the rear suspension. Back in Beijing 2015 for Season Two, the sophisticated Renault e.Dams cars looked racey and it was Buemi who dominated. He became the first Formula E driver to take home maximum points by taking pole position, setting fastest lap and winning the race. It looked like the competitiveness of Formula E we loved, could be over. Unfortunately for Buemi that turned out not to be the case. The final race in London eight months later saw Buemi and old rival Lucas di Grassi tied on points. The lights went out, but as both cars sped towards turn three di Grassi braked late and ran into the back of Buemi. That’s when things turned bizarre. Until the launch of the next generation, longer range batteries in Season Five, each driver has two cars and changes mid-race. Following the accident both Buemi and di Grassi were able to limp home to the pits and change to the second car. Neither driver could actually win the race however with just one car, so instead the championship turned into a fight against the clock – who could set the fastest lap and claim the two bonus points? After waiting in the pits for a clear track, Buemi prevailed, claiming both driver and team titles. Season Three kicked off at a new track in Hong Kong in October; the circuit had to be one of the most stunning locations in racing history running along the Central Harbour past landmarks like the Central Star Ferry Pier and City Hall. From then it was on to Marrakesh (I told you we visited the world’s coolest cities). Season Three resumes in Buenos Aires in February. I love the racing and can’t wait to get back to the track, but let’s not forget the real mission of Formula E; to redefine the image, develop the technology and create widespread use of electric cars. Sure enough, electric cars are at centre of new car development and sales are growing exponentially; cumulative global sales of plug-in electric vehicles passed 1.5 million in May 2016. Jaguar made it clear when it announced its entry that the race programme had to drive forward the development of its electric road cars, but I don’t think anyone imagined it would happen this quickly. The reveal of the I-PACE concept however confirmed what all of us there on that dramatic day in Beijing in 2014 thought – Formula E has the power not just to electrify its fans, but to change the way we think about cars for good. THE JAGUAR 37