Automobiles At Its Best: FiA Formula-E World Debut @ Putrajaya, Malaysia: The Future Is Electric, Speed Is Silent...

Words & images by Brennell Christian Tan

Car Number 23, Nick Heidfeld of the Venturi Racing Team

"Drive The Future" & "The Future Is Electric", those are the two taglines of the all new Formula-E Championships. The year 2014 welcomes the debut of the FiA Formula-E Championships, the highest level of auto racing amongst electrically powered racing cars. The series was conceived in 2012 with the inaugural championship taking place in Beijing, China on 13 September 2014.

ePrix @ Putrajaya...

Silent speed.... The FiA Formula-E Championship is the highest level of racing amongst electrically powered racing cars. Last Saturday (22 November), Virgin Racing's Sam Bird took first place at the inaugural Putrajaya ePrix. The Englishman finished ahead of the Beijing race winner Lucas di Grassi. Sebastien Buemi for e.dams-Renault came in third place completing the podium. A driver worth notable mention is Jerome D'Ambrosio who received a penalty for exceeding the maximum power usage, raced from last position and finished 5th.

Official Safety Car Of The FiA Formula-E Championships,
BMW i8

The excitement began just as the five lights went out. The tyre's of the cars on the starting grid screeched away hitting 0 to 100km/h under three seconds. A crash occurred on the very first lap as the only two female drivers on grid collided, Amlin Aguri's Katherine Legge and Michela Cerruti from Trulli. The BMW i8 safety car was dispatched as soon as the crash occurred.

Nelson Piquet's Wrecked Car
Being Transported Back To The Pits

Later, Nelson Piquet Jr collided with Jarno Trulli Heading into the first corner, causing Piquet to retire from the race. Further into the race session, Mahindra's Bruno Senna, the nephew of the legendary F-1 racer Ayrton Senna had a severe crash during his pursuit of Sebastien Buemi for the final position on podium.

In Depth... The FiA Formula-E...

Jerome d'Ambrosio & I During Our Short Meet Up

The Crew Of Dragon Racing Team Seated Alongside Me

After the race, as I was granted access to the paddock and pit area. I met Dragon Racing Team's technicians and their driver ex-Formula One racer Jerome D'Ambrosio. A short chat with the team explained that Formula-E isn't as simple as just some electric cars racing about....

Formula-E largely emphasises on driver skill. Set in narrow street circuits without any run-off areas, the skill of every driver is pushed to their limit. Strategies for overtaking on a normal track can no longer be applied as the roads aren't as wide as they are on a usual circuit. With sharp turns and high kerbs, teams have to adjust their suspension setting to adapt to city centre streets.

There is only one type of tyre for both wet or dry conditions provided by Michelin, with teams being supplied with five new front tyres and five new rear tyres for each event and one front and rear tyre must come from the previous event. Pit stops are allowed but only for car changes, tyre changes are not permitted. Two cars are allocated to each driver, during a race a driver must make a mandatory pit stop to change cars.

Michelin, The Official Tyre Supplier
For The FiA Formula-E Championships

Unique strategies have to be applied as drivers have access to full power during practice and qualifying sessions but not race sessions. The 'FanBoost' also plays a major role as spectators can vote for their favourite driver with the top three drivers with the most votes receiving a five second power boost.

Race Winner Sam Bird's Car Being Pushed To The Pits

For an added challenge, each and every one of the cars competing in the event are completely identical. Teams are allowed to adjust their suspension settings to suit both the track and their driver. The car is known as the Spark-Renault SRT_01E and is a result of a 10 month collaboration between Spark Racing Technologies, McLaren Electronic Systems, Williams Advanced Engineering,

Teams And Their Respective Drivers

Dallara and Renault. Being an electric car, lithium ion battery cells power the car. The batteries also known as the Rechargeable Energy Storage System(RESS), are designed by Williams Advanced Engineering and the power is connected to a five-speed sequential gearbox via a Motor Generator Unit (MGU) provided by McLaren Electronic Technologies initially developed for the McLaren P1 road car. It is important to mention that the maximum power output can only be used during practice and qualifying sessions. During a race, power is regulated from maximum power @ 270bhp/200kw down to 202.5bhp/150kw.
The chassis is designed and built by Dallara, consisting of lightweight materials such as aluminium, carbon fibre and kevlar. These materials ensure that excess weight is kept to a minimum whilst providing high levels of structural rigidity. The chassis fully complies with the latest FiA crash tests, the same used to regulate Formula One. The total weight of the car is 888 kilograms.

Conclusion... The Future Is Electric...

With emission regulations getting stricter, electric power is the way to go. To date, all new Formula One cars had their engines downsized from a 2.4 litre naturally aspirated V8 to a 1.6 litre turbocharged V6, due to economical reasons. With a 0 to 100 km/h acceleration time almost identical to a standard Formula One car, battery power provides the ability to reduce emissions while going fast. This racing series, the FiA Formula E promotes a sustainable future with clean energy with no emissions. FiA Formula E, Drive The Future...

This spectacular series will offer both entertainment and a new opportunity to share FIA's values for clean energy, mobility and sustainability. The FIA is definitely looking to the future! Words of Jean Todt, President of FiA