Formula E

Paddock Whispers: News ticker on all the important Formula E topics in Misano

Tobias Wirtz

Tobias Wirtz

Nissan (X)

The 2024 Formula E season continues: just two weeks after the Tokyo race, the European leg of the racing series begins this weekend (12 to 14 April) in Misano. In the latest edition of our popular "Paddock Whispers" series, you can find out what else is keeping the paddock in Italy busy alongside the track action. We will update this news ticker regularly throughout the weekend.

>>> Modlinger after Felix da Costa penalty: "Don't have the feeling that all teams are treated equally"

[14.04. | 13:20] Things still seem to be simmering at Porsche following the disqualification of Antonio Felix da Costa on Saturday evening. Before the start of qualifying, Porsche team boss Florian Modlinger commented on Weltsignal that Porsche felt unfairly treated and that the penalty for Felix da Costa was too harsh. "We have the impression and the feeling that not all teams are treated equally," he says. "In the FIA, a world championship, it must be guaranteed for the future that all teams are treated equally. This is a big loss for us, but also for the sport and Formula E in general, because these consequences are really tough."

The statements suggest that Modlinger assumes that there could be other cars in the field with this component or a similar rule violation that have not yet been noticed. As Roger Griffiths confirmed this morning, this applied to Jake Dennis last season and the colleagues at motorsport.com report that Pascal Wehrlein is said to have been driving with the same spring up to and including yesterday evening.

>>> Dennis & Andretti in championship year 2023 apparently also with wrong throttle spring!

[14.04. | 08:23] During the 3rd free practice session on Sunday morning, Andretti team principal Roger Griffiths was asked about the disqualification of Antonio Felix da Costa's sister car the previous evening in the official Formula E livestream. Felix da Costa's Porsche was still fitted with a non-compliant throttle spring from the Gen2 era.

Griffiths asserted that Andretti had replaced the throttle spring on both of its customer Porsches "right at the start of the season" - so it was actually also a year too late. However, e-Formula.news has learnt that the spring was still permitted last year due to supply bottlenecks at Spark. It was only after the test drives in Valencia that the spring is said to have been removed from the list of authorised parts, without this being communicated in any way.

>>> Puncture for Norman Nato

[13.04. | 20:56] Nick Cassidy, Pascal Wehrlein, Sam Bird and Robin Frijns were not the only drivers to suffer damage to their cars as a result of contact with another driver. Andretti driver Norman Nato also complained after the race that he had spent almost half of the race with a damaged tyre.

>>> Mitch Evans grumbles about Max Günther

[13/04 | 20:34] Jaguar driver Mitch Evans was anything but happy about the driving style of several of his rivals after the race. In particular, he harshly criticised Maserati driver Max Günther and accused him of having cost him a podium finish.

"Racing guys like Günther is just ridiculous," Evans grumbled to Total-Motorsport.com after the race. "I didn’t have as much energy as Oliver (Rowland) and Antonio (Felix da Costa), so there was compromise with that but a podium was possible if it wasn’t for Günther. It was just dirty driving. A shame."

>>> Felix da Costa jumps into the pool - again

[13.04. | 20:27] Antonio Felix da Costa celebrated his (supposed) victory in Misano by jumping into a pool. He had already done the same in 2021 when he won in Monaco. Formula E has shared a video of the action afterwards.

>>> Jake Dennis crashes while driving onto the grid

[13.04. | 20:05] Jake Dennis had a "special" experience before the race: According to FE Notebook, he lost control of his Andretti while driving onto the grid and hit the track barrier with the rear end. His mechanics repaired the car on the grid and made his recovery possible, which took him from 17th on the grid to second place. This also made Dennis the "Driver of Progress" on Saturday.

>>> Strategy pays off: Ticktum surprised

[13.04. | 19:38] Dan Ticktum achieved the best result of his Formula E career on Saturday with forth place. Afterwards, he was surprised that ERT's simple strategy paid off so well.

"Me and Sergio hung at the back, lifting 30 metres earlier on every straight and the concertina effect just brought us straight back up to them," he described to Autosport. "That simple really."

However, fans should not hope for a repeat performance in Sunday's race, which will be two laps shorter. "I don’t think it will be as powerful."

>>> David Coulthard: show run in a Maserati

[13.04. | 14:21] Ex-Formula 1 racing driver David Coulthard completed a lap of the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in a Maserati GranTurismo Folgore before the race. Formula E then showed a few clips of it on its social media channels.

>>> Maserati partners with Petronas

[12.04. | 19:53] Maserati MSG Racing has signed a multi-year technical partnership with Petronas. The Malaysian oil company will be the official fluid solution partner of the Monegasque Formula E team and will exclusively equip the team with its "thermally intelligent fluids for electric vehicles".

>>> Electric Legacy: Nissan publishes Formula E soundtrack

[12.04. | 18:49] Together with the German composer Matthias Rehfeldt, Nissan has released a Formula E soundtrack. Soundtracks were composed for selected cities on the racing calendar and enriched with AI-generated Formula E sounds. The two versions for Tokyo and Misano have already been released on Spotify.

Link to the Spotify playlist

>>> Misano show programme: Bradley Simpson will perform

[12.04. | 17:25] British musician Bradley Simpson will perform in Misano on Sunday and give a concert as part of the Misano E-Prix.

>>> Porsche with new halo slogans

[12.04. | 16:31] Porsche has once again come up with new halo slogans for the Misano E-Prix: This time, they are variations on lines from the 1982 song Felicita by Al Bano & Romina Power.

"Fe-licita, e una corsa a Misano", "Bliss and a race in Misano", is emblazoned on Pascal Wehrlein's protective bar, while Antonio Felix da Costa's "Fe-licita, non e andare piano", "Bliss not driving slowly", can be read.

>>> Gen3.5 presentation in Monaco?

[12.04. 16:04] According to rumours, Formula E will present the facelift of the current racing car called "Gen3.5" on Thursday before the Monaco E-Prix. The Gen3 car was presented to the public for the first time at the same venue two years ago.

>>> Nissan Formula E car(ved) out of cheese

[12.04. | 09:36] Nissan has had its Gen3 racing car immortalised in a piece of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese by Italian food artist (yes, there is such a thing) Vincenzo Scuruchi. The team shared a short video about the creation of the artwork on their social media accounts.

>>> "Track Limits" - FIA plans countermeasures

[12.04. | 08:10] To prevent drivers from deliberately leaving the track in Misano at certain points, race director Scot Elkins and his team are currently planning a number of measures. For example, additional kerbs are to be used in the chicane on the back straight, as reported by colleagues at FE Notebook. Additional tyre barriers in the run-off zones of the permanent racetrack are also being discussed.

>>> Oliver Rowland sick in hotel room

[11.04. | 17:44] Nissan driver Oliver Rowland spent much of the day in his hotel room on Thursday as he was feeling ill. However, he is expected to be back at the track on Friday and should also be able to drive in free practice in the afternoon (17:00). If Rowland wasn't able to drive in the end, Nissan would also have test driver Caio Collet on site, who will contest the rookie practice session in the early afternoon (14:30).

>>> Mahindra drivers become pizza bakers

[11.04. | 14:22] The two Mahindra drivers Edoardo Mortara and Nyck de Vries tried their hand at pizza baking in Italy and obviously had a lot of fun. Unfortunately, we don't know whether it was just as much fun to eat their creations afterwards.

>>> Müller, Vandoorne & Vergne test in France

[11.04. | 13:51] ABT Cupra driver Nico Müller and DS Penske team-mates Stoffel Vandoorne and Jean-Eric Vergne travelled directly from the Circuit Paul Ricard to Misano after testing the revised Peugeot hypercar, where they only arrived on Thursday morning, according to FE Notebook.

>>> Demo runs of Gen3.5 car & FIM E-Xplorer planned

[11.04. | 12:49] According to a detailed schedule of track activities, the Gen3.5 car, which has been revised for the coming season, will be taking a few laps on the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli on Friday evening for filming. Whether the public will be able to see any of this is questionable, however, as spectators will not be on site on Friday. After the final of the two qualifying sessions on Saturday and Sunday, the FIM E-Xplorer motocross series will also carry out its announced demo rides.

>>> Andretti drivers play golf

[11.04. | 10:13] Jake Dennis and Norman Nato used the time before the activities on the track for a round of golf. After all, the legendary Masters Tournament in Augusta (Georgia, USA) is scheduled for the coming weekend alongside the Misano E-Prix.

Well it's #themasters weekend, sooo ?‍♂️? pic.twitter.com/6d2O3Vu6Z2

>>> Season 11 may start in Sao Paulo

[11.04. | 10:10] As FE Notebook reports, the eleventh Formula E season could hold its first race in Sao Paulo according to current plans. The date under discussion is 14 December. The racing series could then travel to Mexico City and from there to the USA, possibly to Los Angeles. This would mean that the season would start at the end of a calendar year for the first time since 2019.

>>> India: Formula E cooperates with Sony

[11.04. | 09:31] Formula E has announced that it has signed a 3-year contract with Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI). Sony will show all Formula E races live on its Sony Sports Network. They will also be available on SPNI's streaming platform Sony LIV, as will free practice and qualifying. The electric series is expecting a boost in India as a result - now it just needs a race to take place there again...

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