2018–19 Formula E Championship

The 2018–19 FIA Formula E Championship was the fifth season of the FIA Formula E championship, a motor racing championship for electrically-powered vehicles recognised by motorsport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for electric open-wheel racing cars.

Jean-Éric Vergne won his second Drivers' Championship, becoming the first Formula E Driver in history to win multiple Driver Championships
Techeetah won the Teams' Champions

The 2018–19 season saw the introduction of the all-new Gen2, second generation Formula E car, which boasted significant technological advances over the previous Spark-Renault SRT 01E chassis – its power output rose from 200 kW to 250 kW and top speeds rose to around 280 km/h (174 mph). The arrival of the Gen2 car also saw an end to the series’ mid-race car-swaps.[1]

Frenchman Jean-Éric Vergne entered as the defending Drivers’ Champion after securing his first title at the New York City ePrix,[2] while Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler returned as defending Teams’ Champions – having beaten Vergne's Techeetah team by a narrow two point margin.[3]

The 2019 Hong Kong ePrix was the 50th race of Formula E since its inception in 2014. Formula E has raced in 22 cities in 17 countries across five continents and has seen 13 global manufactures compete in the series. Four drivers have started every Formula E race; they are Lucas di Grassi, Sam Bird, Daniel Abt and Jérôme d'Ambrosio.[4]

The 2018–19 season was the first to have an official support category since Greenpower ran the Schools Series during Formula E's debut 2014–15 season.[5] The Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy featured at 10 of the 13 rounds of the calendar.[6]

After the first race in New York City, Jean-Éric Vergne secured enough points to become the Drivers' Champion, winning his second Formula E championship.[7] Techeetah won their first constructor's championship.[8]

Teams and drivers edit

All teams used the Spark Gen2 chassis.

TeamPowertrainNo.DriversRounds
Envision Virgin RacingAudi e-tron FE05[9]2 Sam Bird[10]All
4 Robin Frijns[11]All
Panasonic Jaguar RacingJaguar I-Type 33 Nelson Piquet Jr.[12]1–6
Alex Lynn[13]7–13
20 Mitch Evans[12]All
HWA Racelab[14]Venturi VFE055 Stoffel Vandoorne[15]All
17 Gary Paffett[16]All
GEOX Dragon[17]Penske EV-3[18]6 Maximilian Günther[19]1–3, 7–13
Felipe Nasr[20]4–6
7 José María López[21]All
Nio Formula E TeamNio Sport 0048 Tom Dillmann[22]All
16 Oliver Turvey[22]All
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler Formula E TeamAudi e-tron FE0511 Lucas di Grassi[23]All
66 Daniel Abt[24]All
Venturi Formula E TeamVenturi VFE0519 Felipe Massa[25]All
48 Edoardo Mortara[26]All
Nissan e.dams[27][28]Nissan IM0122 Oliver Rowland[29]All
23 Sébastien Buemi[30]All
DS TecheetahDS E-Tense FE 19[31]25 Jean-Éric Vergne[32]All
36 André Lotterer[33]All
BMW i Andretti Motorsport[27][N 1]BMW IFE.18[35]27 Alexander Sims[36]All
28 António Félix da Costa[36]All
Mahindra RacingMahindra M5Electro[37]64 Jérôme d'Ambrosio[38]All
94 Felix Rosenqvist[39]1
Pascal Wehrlein[38]2–13

Team changes edit

Driver changes edit

Mid-season changes edit

Calendar edit

The 2018–19 championship was contested over thirteen rounds in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, North America and South America.

RoundePrixCountryCircuitDate
1Diriyah ePrix[51]  Saudi ArabiaRiyadh Street Circuit[52]15 December 2018
2Marrakesh ePrix  MoroccoCircuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan12 January 2019
3Santiago ePrix  ChileParque O'Higgins Circuit[53]26 January 2019
4Mexico City ePrix  MexicoAutódromo Hermanos Rodríguez16 February 2019
5Hong Kong ePrix  Hong KongHong Kong Central Harbourfront Circuit10 March 2019
6Sanya ePrix  ChinaHaitang Bay Circuit[54]23 March 2019
7Rome ePrix  ItalyCircuito Cittadino dell'EUR13 April 2019
8Paris ePrix FranceParis Street Circuit27 April 2019
9Monaco ePrix  MonacoCircuit de Monaco11 May 2019
10Berlin ePrix  GermanyTempelhof Airport Street Circuit25 May 2019
11Swiss ePrix[55][56]  SwitzerlandBern Street Circuit22 June 2019
12New York City ePrix Race 1  United StatesBrooklyn Street Circuit13 July 2019
13New York City ePrix Race 214 July 2019
Source:[57][58]

Calendar changes edit

  • The series returned to Monaco as the Monaco ePrix is run as a biennial event that alternates with the Historic Grand Prix of Monaco.[59]
  • Formula E made its debut in Saudi Arabia with the race to take place on a street circuit in the Ad Diriyah district of Riyadh.[52][60] The event replaced the Hong Kong ePrix as the opening round of the championship.
  • The championship was due to race in São Paulo for the first time. The race had originally been included on the 2017–18 Formula E season calendar before being delayed for one year and replaced with the Punta del Este ePrix.[61] However, the São Paulo race was not included on the provisional calendar published in June 2018 and the Punta del Este race was removed from the schedule.[57]
  • A new ePrix in Mainland China was added to the calendar with the Hainan resort city of Sanya named as the venue.[62] The series had previously raced in Beijing.[57]
  • The Santiago ePrix changed its location from Parque Forestal to a bespoke circuit in O'Higgins Park. The move was made following complaints by the residents of Barrio Lastarria, who argued against the original track layout.[53]
  • The Swiss ePrix was moved from Zürich to Bern after the former's city officials expressed concerns about the ability of the city's infrastructure to handle a series of large-scale events in quick succession. Organisers have the option to return to Zürich in future seasons.[63]

European Races edit

As Jean-Éric Vergne had scored the most podiums during the European leg of the season, he was awarded a trophy by the title sponsor voestalpine, thus becoming the first ever recipient of the trophy.

A separate competition within the overall Formula E Championship structure which includes all European cities that are part of the calendar has been included.[64] The driver who achieves the best podium finishes of all five races will be awarded a trophy produced by voestalpine.[65][N 2]

Changes edit

Technical regulations edit

Gen2 car of Edoardo Mortara at the 2019 Hong Kong ePrix showing the Halo LEDs light (in Attack Mode).
  • The Spark-Renault SRT 01E, which was used by the championship since its inaugural season, was replaced by a brand-new chassis.[67] The new chassis, which was also developed by Spark Racing Technology, is known as the SRT05e and eschews the conventional design of having a rear wing in favour of incorporating aerodynamic elements into the chassis and floor.[68]
  • The category used a new standardised battery produced by McLaren Applied Technologies and Atieva.[69][70] Each driver is only allowed to use one car per race, thus the battery life now lasts the whole race instead of half distance.[71]
  • The series introduced new brakes, as Spark Racing Technology chose Brembo as the sole supplier of the entire braking system for all the single-seaters: discs, calipers, pads, bells and tandem pump.[72][73]
  • The maximum power output of the cars increased to 250 kW.[74] Cars have a series of pre-set power modes which were introduced to encourage strategic racing without allowing a team to gain a competitive advantage through powertrain development.[75]
  • The series also introduced a system officially called "attack mode" or dubbed "Mario Kart mode" in which drivers receive an additional 25 kW of power by driving through a designated area of the circuit off the racing line. The duration of the boost mode and the number of boosts available was meant to only decided shortly ahead of each race by the FIA to stop teams from anticipating its use and incorporating it into race strategy.[76][77] However, this largely did not happen, with all events except the second race in New York having two attack mode activations of 4 minutes each, with the final race having 3 activations, also of 4 minutes each.
  • The "halo" cockpit protection device was introduced on the chassis to meet the FIA rules that the halo should be involved in all single seater series by 2020.[78][79]

Sporting regulations edit

  • Races were no longer run to a set number of laps. Rather, they ran for forty-five minutes and complete an additional lap once the time limit has expired.[77]

Results and standings edit

ePrix edit

RoundRacePole positionFastest lapWinning driverWinning teamReport
1 Ad Diriyah António Félix da Costa André Lotterer António Félix da Costa BMW i Andretti Motorsport[N 1]Report
2 Marrakesh Sam Bird Lucas di Grassi Jérôme d'Ambrosio Mahindra RacingReport
3 Santiago Sébastien Buemi[N 3] Daniel Abt Sam Bird Envision Virgin RacingReport
4 Mexico City Pascal Wehrlein Pascal Wehrlein Lucas di Grassi Audi Sport Abt SchaefflerReport
5 Hong Kong Stoffel Vandoorne André Lotterer[N 4] Edoardo Mortara[N 5] Venturi Formula E TeamReport
6 Sanya Oliver Rowland Jean-Éric Vergne Jean-Éric Vergne DS TecheetahReport
7 Rome André Lotterer Jean-Éric Vergne[N 6] Mitch Evans Panasonic Jaguar RacingReport
8 Paris Oliver Rowland[N 7] Tom Dillmann[N 8] Robin Frijns Envision Virgin RacingReport
9 Monaco Oliver Rowland[N 9] Pascal Wehrlein Jean-Éric Vergne DS TecheetahReport
10 Berlin Sébastien Buemi Lucas di Grassi Lucas di Grassi Audi Sport Abt SchaefflerReport
11 Bern Jean-Éric Vergne António Félix da Costa[N 10] Jean-Éric Vergne DS TecheetahReport
12 New York City Sébastien Buemi Jean-Éric Vergne[N 11] Sébastien Buemi Nissan e.damsReport
13 Alexander Sims Daniel Abt Robin Frijns Envision Virgin Racing
Source:[80]

Drivers' Championship standings edit

Points were awarded to the top ten classified finishers in every race, the pole position starter, and the driver who set the fastest lap, using the following structure:

Position 1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th  7th  8th  9th  10th  Pole  FL 
Points25181512108642131
Pos.DriverADR
MRK
SCL
MEX
HKG
SYX
RME
PAR
MCO
BER
BRN
NYC
Pts
1 Jean-Éric Vergne25Ret13131146131157136
2 Sébastien Buemi68*Ret*21†*Ret*8*5*15*5*2*3*1*3*119
3 Lucas di Grassi9*7121*215†*7*4Ret19*5*18†*108
4 Robin Frijns122511314†4117†13RetRet1106
5 Mitch Evans4967791166122216105
6 António Félix da Costa1*Ret*Ret*2*10*3*9*7*DSQ*4*12*3*9*99
7 Daniel Abt8*103*10*4*5*18†*3*15*6*6*6*5*95
8 André Lotterer56135144227Ret1417Ret86
9 Sam Bird113196Ret111116†948485
10 Oliver Rowland715Ret20†Ret261228Ret14671
11 Jérôme d'Ambrosio3110*4Ret6817†11171391167
12 Pascal WehrleinRet*26Ret*71010410Ret71258
13 Alexander Sims184714RetRet17Ret137114257
14 Edoardo Mortara191343113RetRetRet11RetRetRet52
15 Felipe Massa17*18*Ret8510Ret9*315*816†1536
16 Stoffel Vandoorne16*Ret*Ret*18*Ret*Ret*3*Ret*9*5*10*13*8*35
17 Maximilian Günther1512Ret19†5Ret145Ret19†20
18 Alex Lynn12Ret8Ret7Ret1710
19 Gary PaffettRetRet14168RetRet812161711109
20 Oliver Turvey13168129111314Ret181610137
21 José María LópezRet1191711Ret161310*20DSQ12Ret3
22 Nelson Piquet Jr.101411RetRetRet1
23 Tom Dillmann1417Ret15121215Ret141915Ret140
24 Felipe Nasr19RetRet0
Felix RosenqvistRet0
Pos.DriverADR
MRK
SCL
MEX
HKG
SYX
RME
PAR
MCO
BER
BRN
NYC
Pts
Source:[81]
ColourResult
GoldWinner
SilverSecond place
BronzeThird place
GreenPoints finish
BlueNon-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
PurpleRetired (Ret)
RedDid not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
BlackDisqualified (DSQ)
WhiteDid not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
BlankDid not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)

Bold – Pole
Italics – Fastest Lap
* – FanBoost

† – Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance.

Voestalpine European races Trophy edit

European Races standings[65]
Pos.DriverRME
PAR
MCO
BER
BRN
Podiums(total)
1 Jean-Éric Vergne1461312013
2 Jake Dennis11661221102
3 André Lotterer227Ret140202
4 Sébastien Buemi5155230112
5 Robin Frijns4117†13Ret1001
5 Lucas di Grassi74Ret191001
6 Oliver Rowland61228Ret0101
7 Stoffel Vandoorne3Ret95100011
7 Daniel Abt18†315660011
7 Felipe MassaRet931580011
Jean-Éric Vergne has won the trophy.

Teams' Championship standings edit

Pos.TeamNo.ADR
MRK
SCL
MEX
HKG
SYX
RME
PAR
MCO
BER
BRN
NYC
Pts
1 DS Techeetah2525Ret13131146131157222
3656135144227Ret1417Ret
2 Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler Formula E Team5897121215†74Ret19518†203
668103104518†3156665
3 Envision Virgin Racing2113196Ret111116†9484191
4122511314†4117†13RetRet1
4 Nissan e.dams22715Ret20†Ret261228Ret146190
2368Ret21†Ret851552313
5 BMW i Andretti Motorsport27184714RetRet17Ret1371142156
281RetRet210397DSQ41239
6 Mahindra Racing6431104Ret6817†111713911125
94RetRet26Ret71010410Ret712
7 Panasonic Jaguar Racing3101411RetRetRet12Ret8Ret7Ret17116
94967791166122216
8 Venturi Formula E Team191718Ret8510Ret9315816†1588
48191343113RetRetRet11RetRetRet
9 HWA Racelab516RetRet18RetRet3Ret951013844
17RetRet14168RetRet81216171110
10 GEOX Dragon61512Ret19RetRet19†5Ret145Ret19†23
7Ret1191711Ret16131020DSQ12Ret
11 Nio Formula E Team81417Ret15121215Ret141915Ret147
1613168129111314Ret18161013
Pos.TeamNo.ADR
MRK
SCL
MEX
HKG
SYX
RME
PAR
MCO
BER
BRN
NYC
Pts
Source:[82]

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ a b BMW i Andretti Motorsport raced in Riyadh under a British license.[34]
  2. ^ The original plan was to award the driver who has collected the most points in all the European races.[64][66]
  3. ^ Lucas di Grassi set the fastest time but was excluded for driving infringement.
  4. ^ Point for Fastest Lap awarded to Sam Bird as Lotterer did not finish inside the top 10.
  5. ^ Sam Bird and Envision Virgin Racing were initial winners but was given 5-second time penalty for causing a collision.
  6. ^ Point for Fastest Lap awarded to Sebastien Buemi as Vergne did not finish inside the top 10.
  7. ^ Pascal Wehrlein set the fastest time but was excluded for a technical infringement.
  8. ^ Point for Fastest Lap awarded to Robin Frijns as Dillmann did not finish inside the top 10.
  9. ^ Oliver Rowland set the fastest time and received three points for pole position and the award but had a three-place grid penalty for colliding with Alexander Sims in the Paris E-Prix. Therefore, he started in fourth place while Jean-Éric Vergne started in pole position.
  10. ^ Point for Fastest Lap awarded to Sam Bird as da Costa did not finish inside the top 10.
  11. ^ Point for Fastest Lap awarded to Daniel Abt as Vergne did not finish inside the top 10.

References edit