Formula E: Emergency brake on Gen3 car ready for use in Saudi Arabia after first tests

The emergency braking system for Formula E developed after several accidents during tests is ready for use. According to information from 'The Race', both Jaguar and DS are said to have undertaken initial tests with the new system on the Gen3 car last week. A first functional test with all 22 cars of the racing series is expected to take place on Thursday in the extended shakedown session at the Diriyya E-Prix.

Instead of running over 15 minutes, the shakedown will be extended to 30 minutes before the "double-header" in Saudi Arabia, which is generally used to test basic functions at reduced power. The time will be used to test the functionality of the new rear braking system. The FIA World Automobile Federation will use telemetry to monitor the vehicles.

The development of the system became necessary after a technical problem caused several drivers to have difficulty slowing their cars sufficiently during testing. Mitch Evans also had an accident after the end of the 1st Free Practice session in Mexico, presumably due to a similar problem.

"Emergency brake" can only be used once

The background to this is a technical feature of the Gen3 cars, which no longer have hydraulic brakes on the rear axle, but are only supposed to decelerate here via energy recovery. In the event of a problem with the drive or the battery, however, the braking effect of the car is severely limited, as only the undersized front brake can provide support.

DS is said to have conducted initial straight-line tests with the newly developed system in France. No further details on the tests are known. Jaguar would not comment on the testing.

Meanwhile, new details about the system have become known. For example, it can only be used once and must then be reset. The FIA monitors the use of the system on all cars with telemetry systems from Magneti Marelli. The installation of the systems is scheduled to take place this Wednesday when the teams arrive at the Diriyya circuit.

Mortara: "I feel safer"

"Safety is always my top priority," Edoardo Mortara had said on 'The Race' back in December. "We should never compromise on technical solutions if it makes us less safe. They found this solution because it was simply necessary."

"We had some really violent incidents during the tests," Mortara described further. "That's something you don't want to see. I've already had two serious accidents (in Formula E). One of them because I had no brakes in Diriyya. I can say that was not a nice situation. I don't want to experience that again."

"I think it's a good solution," the Maserati driver says of the new emergency braking system. "It makes me feel safer in a way."

The Diriyya E-Prix shakedown will take place behind closed doors on Thursday at 1 p.m. German time. Fans will finally be able to see the converted cars for the first time in the 1st Free Practice session, which - also already on Thursday! - starts at 4 p.m. e-Formel.de reports with livestream and liveticker.