Formula E

Paddock Whispers: News ticker on all the important paddock topics from Formula E in Sao Paulo

Tobias Wirtz

Tobias Wirtz

Formula E kicks off its eleventh season this weekend with the Sao Paulo E-Prix. As always, you can find out what else is going on in the paddock in Brazil besides the action on the track in the latest edition of our popular "Paddock Whispers" series. We will update this news ticker regularly over the course of the weekend.

>>> Gen3 Evo around three seconds faster in qualifying

[07.12. | 17:50] The time gain from the introduction of the Gen3 Evo was more significant than most people expected: Pascal Wehrlein drove exactly 2.938 seconds faster in the final duel than on his pole position lap in March of this year. Formula E has posted both laps from an onboard perspective on social media so that they can be easily compared.

>>> Emerson Fittipaldi visites Sao Paulo E-Prix

[07.12. | 16:02] Two-time Formula 1 world champion Emerson Fittipaldi attended the Formula E race in his home city. Fittipaldi watched the qualifying session in the McLaren team's garage. He drove for McLaren in Formula 1 in the mid-1970s and won his second world championship title with the team in 1974.

>>> New Hankook tyres change qualifying strategy

[07.12. | 14:51] In the very first qualifying session with the Gen3 Evo cars, it was noticeable that the teams were adopting a different approach in qualifying. In the past, the drivers would do a fast lap on their first set of tires and then drive to the pits to change tires, but now a different approach could be observed: Most drivers did not drive into the pit lane after their fast lap, but instead put in one or two very slow laps to lower the tire temperatures before starting a new attempt.

The reason for this is the fact that the softer compound makes the tires significantly hotter on the one hand, but also causes significantly more wear on the other. Many drivers did not use the set of tires they wanted to use in the race at all in qualifying.

>>> New halo slogans at Porsche

[06.12. | 22:13] Porsche's popular slogans on the Halo system are back for the new season. This time it's: "A Future Painted Bold" und "A Legacy Build On Speed".

>>> Friday: Technical issues for Bird & Vandoorne

[06.12. | 21:56] McLaren driver Sam Bird only finished the FP1 session in Sao Paulo in 21st place. According to the colleagues at FE Notebook, the battery in the Briton's car initially failed to charge, and he later also had a problem with the break-by-wire-system and had to perform a reset. Stoffel Vandoorne in the Maserati already had a problem before the session: the battery had to be changed in the time between shakedown and FP1.

>>> LEDs light up in pink in attack mode

[06.12. | 21:19] New feature of the Gen3 Evo: Formula E is returning to using LEDs on the cars to indicate the activation of attack mode. The forward-facing light strips at the rear of the cars, which are normally light blue, now glow pink in this case. The same was done in the Gen2 era with the LED strip on the Halo system.

In addition, the driver's name in the results graphic now flashes pink when a driver has activated 350 kW mode with all-wheel drive.

>>> Dillmann & Eriksson remain reserve drivers at Jaguar

[06.12. | 20:54] Jaguar TCS Racing has extended the contracts with Tom Dillmann and Joel Eriksson: Both will continue to be the team's official test and reserve drivers in the new season.

>>> New TV intro for Formula E

[06.12. | 20:20] Formula E has a new intro for the TV broadcasts of the eleventh season. You can already take a look at it here.

>>> Shakedown with pit boost test divided into two groups

[06.12. | 18:50] The shakedown before FP1 was held in two groups of eleven drivers each. The reason: the teams were once again testing the quick-charging system known as Pit Boost. However, as each team only has one charger, the shakedown was split into two groups, with one driver from each team taking part.

>>> FIA suspends glove obligation

[06.12. | 16:26] As of this season, the International Sporting Code in Formula E stipulates that drivers must wear gloves with knuckles protection. This rule was introduced after various hand injuries following accidents in the Gen3 cars, including Sam Bird, Sebastien Buemi and Robin Frijns. However, the race stewards have suspended this rule for the Sao Paulo E-Prix. The reasons for this decision are not known.

>>> Andretti Team Principal Griffiths celebrates his birthday

[06.12. | 13:09] Roger Griffiths, Andretti Team Principal, celebrated his birthday in the paddock and was presented with a cake by the team. Congratulations!

>>> Race director Scot Elkins misses Sao Paulo E-Prix

[06.12. | 11:41] Formula E race director Scot Elkins will not be able to be on site in Brazil this weekend for personal reasons. The US-American, who has held his position for many years, will therefore be represented in Sao Paulo by Marek Hanaczewski from Poland. In Mexico City, however, Elkins will be back as usual.

>>> Nissan gets new high-tech simulator

[06.12. | 08:35] Nissan has signed a partnership with the company Dynisma. The team will receive a brand new racing simulator before the start of Season 12. With this, the team hopes to make virtual preparation for Formula E races even better and make progress in the areas of setup work, driver preparation and race performance.

>>> Pascal Wehrlein honoured as "German Driver of the Year"

[06.12. | 08:10] Formula E world champion Pascal Wehrlein was honoured as "German Driver of the Year" at the Axel Springer Motorsport Awards last weekend in Berlin. We say: Congratulations!

>>> Formula E announces extended FIA "Girls on Track" programme

[06.12. | 07:24] Formula E has announced that it will further expand the FIA "Girls on Track" programme in the new season. A total of 120 girls and young women will take part in the programme at each of the ten Formula E race locations in the 2024/25 season. In addition, 50 more female participants will be given exclusive access to the races, plus there will be e-karting events and, at most races, publicity in schools and universities.

>>> Stellantis junior driver Nico Pino tests Gen3 Evo

[06.12. | 21:03] The Stellantis Group's young Chilean driver, Nico Pino, had the opportunity to test the DS E-TENSE FE25 that Max Günther and Jean-Eric Vergne will be driving this weekend in Sao Paulo. Pino has been part of the Stellantis support programme since April this year and was able to take part in eight days of testing with the DS Gen2 car. The 20-year-old will also be part of the junior programme next year.

>>>Extreme H: Prince Albert drives "Pioneer 25" through Monaco

[05.12. | 20:28] While we have been waiting for around three months for Extreme E and Extreme H to announce how the racing series will continue in sporting terms after the cancellation of its fourth season, the development of the hydrogen-powered buggy seems to be going uphill. Prince Albert of Monaco was allowed to drive the vehicle, known as the Pioneer 25, around Monaco last week. The racing series subsequently published a video of the test drive on social media.

>>> Formula E tops Global Sustainability Benchmark in Sports

[05.12. | 19:57] For the third time in a row, Formula E takes first place in the Global Sustainability Benchmark in Sports (GSBS) ranking. The racing series scored 85 out of a possible 100 points. Second place went to Borussia Dortmund with 80 points, tied on points with another football club, FC Porto. These were the only three awards in the second-highest Gold category. No awards were presented in the platinum category.

The second best result in the motorsport sector was achieved by Dorna Sports, the parent company of the Motorcycle World Championship, with 75 points (silver), tied with Motorsport UK. Formula 1 was only in last place in the motorsport sector with 54 per cent (no award), behind Extreme E (66 per cent, bronze).

>>> After budget cap breach: Jaguar is looking for cost cap analysts

[05.12. |19:21] The reigning world champion team is looking for a cost cap analyst to strengthen the team, according to an advert on the job board "Motorsport Jobs". In and of itself, a job advertisement is of course not worth an entry in the Paddock Whispers - were it not for the fact that Jaguar TCS Racing was fined €100,000 a few weeks ago for breaching the cost cap and banned from driving for three hours in the first session of pre-season testing.

"Too late", some of you may be thinking right now. But it is interesting to note that the official employer in the job advert is neither Jaguar TCS Racing nor Jaguar Landrover, the parent company of the racing team. Instead, the new cost cap analyst will be employed by Fortescue Zero - the company formerly known as Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE), which developed and built the batteries for the Gen3 cars. If you are interested, you can still apply until 20 December.

 
 
 
 
 
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>>> Nicki Shields is promoted to Formula E lead presenter

[06.12. | 19:00] Nicki Shields will take on the role of lead presenter of Formula E on the English-language World Signal in the new season. The Brit has been involved since the first season and missed a few races, mainly due to three maternity breaks. Together with her, Billy Monger and Catie Munnings will present the broadcasts. Tom Brooks will provide the English commentary and will be supported by a rotating cast of experts, including David Coulthard, Karun Chandhok, André Lotterer, James Rossiter and Allan McNish. Reporting from the pit lane will be Saunders Carmichael-Brown and Alexa Randell.

>>> Dieter Gass no longer Formula E consultant

[05.12. | 18:28] Dieter Gass will not continue his involvement as a technical and sport consultant in Formula E after two seasons. The former Head of Audi Sport can therefore concentrate fully on his role as Team Principal at Jota in the World Endurance Championship (WEC).

"My contract with Formula E expired on 20 August this year," Gass says at Motorsport-Magazin. "Both sides would have liked to continue the collaboration, but ultimately no agreement was reached. From today's perspective, this is a good thing, because the Cadillac works involvement with Jota means that I am currently facing more than was previously the case."

>>> Gaming: 3 new racetracks in Trackmania

[05.12. | 18:03] Formula E has announced three more tracks for the game Trackmania from Ubisoft: Sao Paulo, Diriyah and Miami. The circuit in Brazil has been available since Wednesday 4 December. This brings the number of Formula E courses in Trackmania to six: Tokyo, Berlin and London were already available last season. There are also twelve new car designs, including team skins and a special Formula E design.

Players have a new game mode at their disposal, which also features attack mode and energy management. A live race with prize money of €1,000 each will be held on each of the six courses as part of a championship. In addition, €4,000 will be divided among the top five players at the end of the season.

>>> Valencia: Track operation resumed

[05.12. | 17:35] Around five weeks after the devastating storms in the Valencia region, the Circuit Ricardo Tormo resumed racing on Thursday. Those responsible for the circuit announced that an event organised by the German company Bike Promotion was held there on Thursday. Access to the circuit was via an alternative route, as the main access road is still closed to vehicles.

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