Formula E preview: what to look out for

Half a calendar still to come, teams and drivers promising title ambitions and a likely rookie sensation will make for stellar subplots in 2021

A pathological appreciation for data and a podium in Berlin aided the very easy case for Audi to retain Rene Rast for the full 2021 season. But the triple DTM champion had no idea he was effectively signing up for a one-year gig, with the marque quitting the series at the end of the campaign.

Likewise, that Audi has invested heavily in developing its new FE powertrain in-house for the first time suggests the race team was caught somewhat by surprise with the decision from above to exit. The same is true of the Andretti Autosport operation, with many staff only finding out its partner BMW was heading for the door when an email landed while they were waiting to check-in for their flight out of Valencia Airport. BMW AND AUDI’S LAST HURRAH

Audi will walk away having guided Lucas di Grassi to the 2016-17 drivers’ title. It also won the teams’ crown the following season. But with its final stint in the championship, it will look to that new powertrain to add to its 12 victories in FE after chalking up a first win-less campaign last year, having dropped from second down to sixth in the standings.

BMW has a habit of not sticking around in motorsport, regardless of its success – see GTE, top-flight sportscar racing and Formula 1. It doesn’t stand by its programmes to allow them to evolve sufficiently to get the results. After just two seasons of full factory backing, it’s ready to wave farewell to FE also. While that’s a reflection on some of the issues with the series at present, there’s little denying that BMW has yet to reach the heights. As Antonio Felix da Costa and Alexander Sims looking to pastures new in recent years shows, BMW doesn’t cultivate consistent results (and modest salaries play a part, too) to encourage its talent to stick around.

Maximilian Guenther, again the youngest driver on the grid, and rookie Jake Dennis will look to salvage the team’s form in 2021, after its genuine bid for the title last season crumbled in Berlin.

While Audi can look back on its titles, for both German marques there’s much to be done during their swansong seasons so they don’t depart

FE as recent high-profile underperformers.