CLEAN MACHINES
Fast and furious – and possibly even a little bit green – Formula E returns to Hong Kong this month for the city’s major annual motor sport event. Jon Wall previews the action
Unlike with other forms of motor sport, when the Formula E circus arrives in Hong Kong on March 10, the Central Harbourfront won’t resound with the rasp of racing engines, nor will the city’s air be heavy with the odour of high-octane petroleum. Indeed, it might just be a tad cleaner and possibly even marginally quieter than usual.
That’s not to say, however, that the 2019 HKT Hong Kong E-prix will be lacking in sensory overload and certainly not in excitement. The fifth in an international 13-race calendar that began in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh on December 15, 2018, and ends in New York on July 14 this year, the event pits 22 top-flight drivers – in electrically powered cars that resemble single-seat Batmobiles – against one another on a narrow and tortuous 1.85km circuit through one of the world’s most exhilarating cityscapes. And with ingredients such as those, the opportunities for drama are boundless.
Since its beginnings in 2014, the world’s premier series for electric racing cars has flourished to the extent that it now encompasses events in major cities across five continents, and has attracted the involvement of nine major automobile manufacturers, including Audi, BMW, Jaguar and Nissan. Among the drivers taking part are several with experience at the very highest levels of motor sport, including recent series recruit Felipe Massa, the Brazilian who missed winning the 2008 Formula 1 world driver’s championship by a single point, and the three-time Le Mans 24-hour race winner André Lotterer.
Perhaps most important, though, is the introduction of an entirely new Gen2 car for the series’ 2018-19 season, featuring a distinctive single-seat chassis built by French-based Spark Racing Technology in association with the Italian Dallara company, as well as a Mclaren- developed 54kw battery that’s capable of lasting the entire 45-minute race duration (in previous Formula E seasons, drivers were forced to swap one car for another halfway through each race). Looking rather like a cross between a traditional open-wheel racer and Le Mans-style sports prototype, the Gen2 car also has a “halo” cockpit protector, much like a Formula 1 machine. However, each two- car team has the option to use a power unit of its own design or one provided by another manufacturer. Either way, the car and driver together must weigh a minimum 900kg – including the 385kg battery – and with motors offering around 200kw (270bhp) of power in race mode, which means a power-to-weight ratio of 300bhp per tonne, speeds are high (0 to 100km/h in 2.9 seconds and a maximum of 280).
Competition is intense too, which has been the case from the outset. Since 2014, 10 drivers from nine teams have scored wins, the most successful driver being Switzerland’s 2015-16 champion, Sebastien Buemi, who has 12 race victories under his belt, while the team with the most wins is France’s Renault e.dams outfit ( now renamed Nissan e. dams), which not only has 15 first-place finishes to its credit but also a trio of team championships.
As Formula E heads to the streets of Hong Kong, the season looks wide open, with wins by different teams and drivers in each of the first four races and just eight points separating front-runner Jérome d’ambrosio of Belgium, who won in Marrakech, and Sam Bird, the British driver who took the honours at Santiago in Chile and currently places third in the drivers’ championship. As explained above, rather than covering a fixed number of laps, the race will last for 45 minutes; drivers will also be able to call on an extra 25kw of power at various times during the race and for limited durations, though to prevent teams from employing this advantage as part of their race strategy, these will only be decided close to the start.
When last Formula E came to town for a pair of races in early December 2017, Sam Bird of DS Virgin Racing and Mahindra’s Swedish driver Felix Rosenqvist were the conquering heroes. As to who’s likely to occupy the top spot on the podium on March 10, well, that’s anyone’s guess – but we can all be certain that a fierce and spectacular battle on the Harbourfront track is pretty much guaranteed.