A few days ago, the electric single-seater series revealed details of the South Africa E-Prix, and now announced modifications to the London circuit, in order to protect the safety of the drivers and improve the show.

The ExCeL Arena of the English capital will undergo some changes for this campaign, but the significant alterations will be made for season 9, when the third generation (Gen3) is scheduled to be included.

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The unique partially covered layout was criticized by many in 2021 for its narrow confines and a double hairpin turn, known to track designers as the ‘e’ section of the circuit on the second sector of the 1.39-mile track.

This was the scene of multiple incidents throughout the races with several penalties handed out for contact. Now, subject to homologation approval from the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the track will receive additional space, although this has not yet been confirmed by Formula E.

What will the Changes be?

Expansion work at the eastern area of the ExCeL venue is expected to accommodate a lengthening and widening of some aspects of the circuit.

According to a report from The Race, an additional 21,000 square feet of exhibition and conference space is planned in the scheme that was approved last October by Newham City Council’s strategic development committee.

These adjustments are expected to offer much more development potential just before the cars re-enter the corridor for the final turns of the lap.

What do drivers think?

Mahindra Racing’s Alexander Sims believes that removing the two steep corners would be a good start. “If you went down the inside, you couldn’t turn an inch more. If the other car stayed on the outside, you were in the locking bumps with no other option than driving them into the wall because you couldn’t turn any tighter.”

Sims points out that he would ideally like to avoid those corners in order to have a bit more control and not push an opponent into the side and cause accidents.

Stofel Vandoorne, Mercedes driver, also referred to the British track and the energy use required by the cars to perform on the day. “The teams did calculations last year that if they wanted to run on a season average, for a lift-to-cost ratio, then we would have had to use like 38 kilowatts or something.”

Along those same lines, the champion team’s racer added, “We still had too much power basically for it to be a proper power run and that meant that all the straights were almost full throttle. If you wanted to make a move, you basically had to have contact to make it.”

The London E-Prix, one of the events that have now become a Formula E tradition, will be held on the weekend of July 30-31.

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Mahindra Racing’s Alex Lynn won pole position and seemed to have the numbers to win the race. However, Dennis made a great recovery at the Attack Mode zone and snatched first place from his countryman, who finished third.

After the great overtaking, the rookie knew how to control the race timing to win his season’s second E-Prix, sealing a great start on his journey through the electric category and ranking second in the standings. It was also the second win for both BMW and Andretti in the past three races, after Maximilian Gunther’s success in New York.

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Nick De Vries, Mercedes driver, reached the podium by escorting Dennis. It is a good result, considering the adverse streak over the last few races for the German manufacturer.

Sébastien Buemi took fourth place, his best result with Nissan e.dams. André Lotterer and Rene Rast followed the Swiss on the final grid.

The championship leader, Sam Bird, had to retire on the first lap due to an incident damaging his Jaguar’s suspension. 

Despite his retirement, the Briton remains at the top of the World Championship with 81 points, followed by Dennis, who was fifteenth before the race, placing second with 79 points, one ahead of Da Costa and two over De Vries.

Antonio Felix da Costa, one of the drivers with a good chance of winning the championship, took advantage of Fan Boost and was able to move up one position to finish ninth. The Portuguese driver scored two points, although it does not give him the championship lead, but moves him closer to Sam Bird, and just one point behind Dennis.

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Audi is one of the teams whose drivers attend the event with a real chance of glory. Both Lucas di Grassi and Rene Rast are under the spotlight of a season in which 15 drivers are only 27 points away from each other. The race format enables them to accumulate 30 points in just one perfect race day, enough to define the championship.

Rast is in seventh place and di Grassi in twelfth place on the standings. On the teams’ table, Audi is fourth with one of the most consistent performances on tracks. Both scored 14 points in eleven races, more than any other manufacturer.

Related content: Drivers and teams pressure Formula E to change format in London

“We have already experienced many exciting moments in our London history,” said Di Grassi. “The series’ origin is based here, as it is with many teams and drivers. Formula E is coming home”, he remarked about the electric category’s return to English territory.

Di Grassi emphasized that “it’s the first time that a circuit is both partially open and covered”. “The layout is not particularly fast overall. It has low power consumption, many curves and, at first glance, offers few overtaking opportunities, which makes it quite different from other circuits,” he explained.

Ultimate Challenge

“The London circuit is definitively different to anything we’ve seen before, but that’s what Formula E is all about,” said Audi director Allan McNish.

“It’s a new challenge for all engineers and drivers. We are preparing intensively to go into first practice as orderly as possible, but it will still be a journey into the unknown,” he said.

Rast, noted, “I’ve never driven on a circuit like London in my career. The layout and the environment are all completely new territory for all of us and something very special. It promises to be a great adventure.

The English track’s innovation has generated mixed reactions among drivers and teams, due to the unique nature of Formula E’s presentation. In addition, being the final round of the campaign has generated a higher level of expectation.

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According to simulations made by teams, after the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) provided the layout details, it appears that a conventional race in the electric category requires drivers to recover between 30% and 35% of energy to reach finish line, but in this case it could drop up to 5%.

Due to scenario characteristics, several team representatives consider that with no lift and slide, as it is, the lack of different strategies will create stagnation and a very flat, processional race.

Related content: Formula E Unveils London track, Grand Finale scenario

A survey carried out by Autosport with the protagonists points this out, who also note that if drivers do not need to save energy before an overtake, they predict a crash-filled event.

Rules and track details

“Clearly, as a general rule, this is a championship where we work on energy management. We can never have enough,” stated Audi director Allan McNish. 

He compared the scenario to 2018-19 season, before an amendment to rules, which meant that no energy was deducted after a safety car intervention. That gave drivers time to build up an energy buffer during their neutralized period, this then created a sprint to the finish.

“In season five, when we didn’t have the reductions after a safety car and it became a sprint to the finish, there was a plateau. It wasn’t really that interesting. We should learn lessons from that,” McNish explained.

Mercedes driver Stoffel Vandoorne noted about it, “It’s something Formula E needs to look at because a flying lap and an energy-saving lap are basically the same thing”.

“If that’s going to be the case, these cars are not made for that. Without brakes, they may be overheating, the race is not going to be good because there’s no economy. There’s going to be collisions when people try to overtake. It’s going to be quite complicated if nothing changes,” he warned. Vandoorne proposes that “the easiest solution is to do an energy reduction to make sure everyone has to save.”

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Finally, James Barclay, Jaguar Racing team principal, assured that the changes to be made are vital for the spectacle: “Yes, we have to adjust it, I’m sure we’ll work together to find the best compromise to make a great race”.

London returns to Formula E’s calendar for the first time since the 2015-16 season finale at Battersea Park, for a double-header at the all-new ExCeL Center in Docklands.

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Through its Twitter account, the category revealed the track, located in the ExCel London convention center, with some adjustments to its original version.

The circuit will see the drivers run along the Thames River promenade and, with the emissions-free nature of Gen2 cars, the single track makes its way both inside and outside the complex, an innovation for high-level international motorsport.

Modifications Made

The changes take place mainly in the second sector of the track, where a sequence of two sharp curves was reversed. In the third one, a complex of medium-speed curves was replaced by a longer straight, followed by another sharp curve. The pit-lane also changes: originally planned to be outside ExCeL London, the section is now inside, as is the main straight.

The stage has a total length of 2.252 kilometers on which the drivers will run for 45 minutes. If there are no last-minute changes, the final battle in the British capital will take place with the audience present. This has already been the case in the Monaco and Puebla races, taking advantage of an ever-improving situation in the fight against COVID-19.

The competition will be sponsored by Dutch beer brand Heineken, which, as part of the agreement, will launch an eco-friendly innovation during the weekend to underline its commitment to sustainability in motorsport.

Triumphant Return

The series’ return to London marks its first race in the city after five years and the first at the Excel Centre, which was previously also used as a hospital to treat COVID-19 patients in 2020.

“After such a hiatus, we are very excited to bring world championship emission-free racing to London,” said Jamie Reigle, Formula E CEO.

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“With seven drivers, several teams and Formula E’s own operations based in the UK, it’s a seedbed for motorsport and the most anticipated event on the calendar,” he added.

Reigle explained that the event “is also a key opportunity for us to bring climate change to the forefront of people’s minds, as well as marking the 100 days until COP26, and the London Borough of Newham has the highest air pollution concentration in the city, something we all need to work together to address.”

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