Motorsport Week brings you everything you need to know ahead of the return of the FIA Formula E World Championship this weekend in Sao Paulo.
It’s been a long time, FE fans, but it’s finally here – it’s race week!
Formula E returns to action this week in Sao Paulo after the unplanned six week break following the cancellation of the Hyderabad E-Prix, and all eyes will be on Jaguar TCS Racing following their brilliant start to the 2024 campaign. With three podiums in three – including a brilliant win in Saudi last time out – Nick Cassidy will be looking to tighten his stranglehold on the Drivers’ Championship, but with competition as strong as ever, there could be a myriad of teams that will be looking to blow the title race wide open.
THE CIRCUIT
Formula E is making its second visit to the city of Sao Paulo, with the city making its debut on the calendar last year. A derivative of the old IndyCar layout, the Anhembi Sambadrome circuit is 2.933km, with 11 corners, most of which are thrilling chicane sequences that are woven into three very long straights that will require much thought into energy saving, with Attack Mode situated at turn three.
WHEN
Action begins on Friday with FP1, with FP2, qualifying and the race all on Saturday. All times denoted below is in GMT.
15/03:
FP1: 19:25-20:15
16/03:
FP2: 10:25-11:15
Qualifying: 12:40:14:03
Race: 17:03-1800
WEATHER
Motorsport fans will know that Sao Paulo is notorious for changeable weather conditions, but early indications for this weekend are that the race will be slightly cloudy but dry with temperatures expected to reach around 33 degrees.
LAST YEAR
The race last time out provided a tight finish, with Jaguar ultimately dominating the podium, with Mitch Evans taking victory, with team-mate Sam Bird in third – setting fastest lap in the process – sandwiching the Jaguar customer Envision Racing of Evans’ current team-mate, Cassidy, in second, with the three drivers separated by only half-a-second.
NEWS OF NOTE
CHARLES’ PENSKE MOVE OFFICIAL
After much speculation in recent weeks, DS Penske have confirmed the recruitment of Jaguar’s former Technical Manager, Phil Charles, as Deputy Team Principal and Team President. One of the most respected and revered technical minds in FE, Charles is reconnecting with his old Toro Rosso F1 partner Jean-Eric Vergne, giving Jay Penske’s outfit a further boost after what has been seen by many as a somewhat unexpectedly competitive start to the year.
FE TO ENTER GAMING WORLD
Formula E is to make headway into the world of gaming with the announcement of their integration in to the Asphalt 8: Airbourne video game.
A GEN2 FE car with a neutral “asphalt” livery and the Sao Paulo circuit will be available to the game’s users between today, March 12th, and the 25th of March in conjunction with this weekend’s race. It is the first of three events that FE will appear in the game, with circuits available for both the Berlin and Shanghai rounds of the World Championship.
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