Formula E: 5 things we learnt at the 2024 pre-season testing in Madrid

18,512 kilometres, 4,731 laps, 21 hours of track time: despite the logistical challenge of relocating from Valencia to Madrid, the eleven Formula E teams were largely able to complete their programmes and prepare for the new season. The total of seven sessions at the Circuit del Jarama provided initial insights into the balance of power in the new Gen3 Evo era, technology and driver talent.

In this article, we have summarised the five most important lessons learned from the Formula E pre-season test in Madrid. Let's start with a real tour de force of the electric series.

Formula E like in the good old start-up days

Following the heavy rainfall in Valencia, Formula E has shown that it can also be operationally fast. With a masterpiece of planning and logistics, Chief Championship Officer Alberto Longo and his team managed to reschedule an entire week of testing within just a few days and transport more than 100 tonnes of material from the Mediterranean coast to Madrid, 355 kilometres away. 38 lorry journeys were necessary for that.

This meant that the test week started a day later than planned, but the fact that the four days of testing went largely according to plan deserves the utmost respect. Formula E rediscovered its positive start-up spirit from the early years of the championship and worked together as a team.

"It was a challenging week for many reasons, but I am very proud of how our entire ecosystem came together to make this test in Madrid possible," summarised Longo. In addition to that, the series donated 50,000 euros to the Valencia flood region.

"Pit Boost" works (for the most part)

Despite the logistical difficulties, the race simulation with fast-charging pit stops was also able to take place on Thursday afternoon. The Attack Charge was officially renamed "Pit Boost" - presumably because the Attack Mode could still be activated on the track independently of charging. All drivers had to complete a pit stop with a minimum duration of 34 seconds in order to recharge ten per cent of energy.

Almost everything went smoothly, but there were also minor problems: According to information from e-Formula.news, DS Penske had to deal with a defective cable on their charger. After the first car failed to charge, the team nevertheless tried again with the second car to rule out a problem with the car. Max Günther therefore came into the pits a second time and this time successfully used the FIA's charger. By the way, this is also to be the failure solution in the races.

In addition, there was apparently a minor problem with Nissan's plug, which caused Norman Nato to lose almost ten seconds during his pit stop. Regardless of this, the pit stops felt quite long, as expected. To visualise the status of the charging process, the LEDs on the car pulsed at an ever-increasing frequency, as the video below shows. In general, Formula E wants to use the LEDs on the cars more to indicate yellow or red phases, among other things.

Attack Charge is alive! ⚡️#FormulaE #ABBFormulaE #FEtesting pic.twitter.com/O3ZVy1sF4q

- ⚡️ e-Formula.news (@eFORMULAnews) November 7, 2024

The FIA and Formula E are currently analysing the race simulation data in order to make a final decision on the extent to which the pit boost will be used in the coming season. According to our information, the most realistic option is that the fast-charging pit stops will be used in the second race of each of the five "double headers". The debut would therefore be the Jeddah E-Prix on 14/15 February. However, there is also the option of using it at the race beforehand in Mexico (11 January).

Gen3 Evo makes a good impression

Optically, the Gen3 Evo is a true evolution. Especially in the different team liveries, the electric racing car is a real eye-catcher compared to its predecessor. The drivers are delighted with the new all-wheel drive, which accelerates the car from 0 to 100 km/h in 1.86 seconds at the start, in Attack Mode and in qualifying duels.

The new tyres from standard supplier Hankook also contribute to this leap in performance. They are significantly softer than before, which leads to improved grip. However, they also wear out more quickly. According to the drivers, they already degrade slightly after just one lap at the full 350 kW output. However, the maximum power will only be used in a few situations. It remains to be seen to what extent the tyre strategy will change over the course of an E-Prix weekend in future.

Old acquaintances at the front - and Kiro

In sporting terms, it looks as if Jaguar and Porsche will continue to be the ones to beat. Although things have been rather mediocre for team world champion Jaguar over the week, Mitch Evans set the fastest lap of all on Friday morning shortly before the end. "There's still a lot to learn in terms of performance," says Evans. "But (...) I think we've got the car in the right window. We've made good progress."

Surprisingly, Kiro (formerly ERT) was second in Madrid. Dan Ticktum was just 1.5 tenths of a second off the best time of the week, and surprise tester David Beckmann also impressed in fourth place overall behind world champion Pascal Wehrlein. The young German has probably put himself in a good position for a regular cockpit.

The Porsche powertrain in the rear of the two Kiro racing cars, which has actually been retired, appears to be just as fast as the new Gen3 Evo unit with which Porsche and Andretti are racing - at least on one lap. In the race, however, efficiency will be the most important factor, and in this respect not much can yet be said about the comparison of the Porsche powertrains.

The Nissan and Stellantis cars also made a strong impression during the test week. Basically, however, it can be said that all six manufacturers were within one second of each other. The losers of the pre-season test were probably the customer teams Andretti and Envision, who did not finish higher than 16th and 19th respectively. The eleventh Formula E season is likely to be very competitive once again.

Abbi Pulling draws attention to herself

The women's test on Friday afternoon was certainly a good addition to the pre-season test, as for the first time all teams were forced to put at least one female driver in the car. This gave the women a good platform to showcase themselves, albeit only for three hours. Britain's Abbi Pulling did this best, with her Nissan more than three tenths of a second faster than three-time W-Series champion Jamie Chadwick - and than all the other women.

"I think there was more time to extract at the peak of the tyre, but overall I'm happy with the performance," Pulling analysed. "The lap times were strong, which is very pleasing. I hope to have the opportunity to drive the car again in the future!"

In the end, the time gaps between the women were much wider than for the men. Only four riders were within one second of each other. In addition to Pulling and Chadwick, these were Bianca Bustamante and Miki Koyama.</p

Comparing the lap times between men and women, the men's best time in the first session of the week was "only" 1.6 seconds faster. However, while Antonio Felix da Costa was able to draw on ten years of Formula E experience, it was Pulling's first ever session in an electric racing car.

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