After traveling to the Far East, Africa, and the Americas, the Formula E roadshow starts a four-race European swing this weekend, with the inaugural Rome E-Prix on Saturday.
The Track
At 2.84km (1.7 miles), the Cittadino dell’EUR is one of the longest circuits on the calendar — shorter only than Marrakech — and features 21 corners.
The start/finish line is located on Via Cristoforo Colombo, the longest district road in Italy, from where the drivers are taken around the Obelisco di Marconi, with the Colosseo Quadrato in the background.
With no real straights, and many tight corners, the circuit should favour drivers with more technical expertise, as opposed to raw speed.
The undulating Rome topography is another element the drivers need to contend with during their 33-lap tour of the Italian capital, with a substantial elevation change from the hairpin to the bottom section of the circuit.
These elements should make for interesting racing, although the length of the track means there will be little opportunity for strategically timed visits to the pits, as everyone is expected to do a ‘half-race, half-race’, instead of attempting an undercut.
In the news
The world’s only all-electric single-seater racing series continues to attract followers in the mainstream, with the big news story coming out of the Formula E paddock this week confirming that former Formula 1 champion Nico Rosberg will give Formula E’s ‘Gen2’ car its first public demonstration in May.
The announcement came with the additional news that Rosberg has become an investor in the all-electric series, something he believes has huge potential.
The influence of former F1 drivers in Formula E expanded further with the news that Pedro de la Rosa has joined the series-leading Techeetah team as a Sporting and Technical Advisor, while Vitantonio Liuzzi will serve as rivers’ advisor to the stewards.
Meanwhile, the FIA have revealed that motor manufacturing giants Mercedes and Porsche will join the series’ sixth season as manufacturers, starting towards the end of 2019.
Elsewhere, Audi’s e-tron Vision Gran Turismo concept car, which previously only existed in the PlayStation racing game with the same name, will be launched at the race in Rome this week.
The season so far
With two wins and multiple strong points finishes to his name, Techeetah driver Jean-Éric Vergne (109 points), has a commanding 30 point lead at the top of the Drivers’ Championship.
Mahindra Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist (79) is in second place, with Sam Bird (DS Virgin Racing) three points further adrift.
The Constructors’ Championship follows much the same trend, with Techeetah leading on 127 points, followed by Mahindra Racing (100) and DS Virgin Racing (93).
The Schedule
Saturday, 14 April (all times Central African Time)
08:00 – Free Practice 1
10:30 – Free Practice 2
12:00 – Qualifying
12:45 – Super Pole
16:04 – CBMM Niobium Rome E-Prix
17:05 – Podium Ceremony
http://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/23145380/formula-e-starts-european-swing-rome
