Rome street circuit

It doesn’t have the catchiest of names, but what the Circuito Cittadino dell’eur lacks in that department it more than makes up for as a spectacle for Formula E racing.

The Rome venue’s 19-turn, 2.103-mile layout that appeared in 2021 is longer than the original track that hosted the all-electric series in 2018 and 2019.

But that fact doesn’t bother Lucas di Grassi, who labels it “a mini-macau”.

And since he’s the 2005 Macau Grand Prix winner, he should know.

“I would say Rome and Macau have very similar qualities,” says the 2016-17 Formula E champion. “You have jumps, different Tarmacs, different grips, high-speed and difficult braking, uphill, downhill. The current Rome track, the one we raced on last year, is not only my favourite but probably the most difficult we have in the world championship motorsport calendar.”

To di Grassi, Rome is “like an oldfashioned track” full of imperfections that make it considerably more challenging than the best-known on Formula E’s street circuit-heavy calendar: the ultra-smooth Monaco.

“People don’t realise, by being not perfect, it’s actually much more difficult to drive,” the Venturi driver points out. “In Rome you have corners with the asphalt going your way, asphalt that has no grip, then lots of grip. You have everything to make the track difficult. And it’s very highspeed, you reach over 240km/h [150mph] on the back straight in qualifying mode.”

Di Grassi says the old Rome track was one he “really enjoyed straight away”, claiming second on his first visit. “But the new Rome is better still,” he says.

To be fast on the circuit, with its quickfire series of corners, di Grassi says “you need to build up your confidence and the rhythm, it’s not just somewhere you can arrive and go flat-out”.

Last year, he was unfortunate not to win when his Audi’s driveshaft failed while leading with three laps to go. But it hasn’t dampened the Brazilian’s enthusiasm, not least because of his Italian heritage. “It’s almost like a little of my home race as well,” di Grassi reckons.

He doesn’t have long to wait before sampling it with his new team – Rome stages a double-header on 9-10 April.