Hot and humid title fight: Your questions about the Formula E race in Jakarta 2023 answered

High temperatures, even higher humidity: The Jakarta E-Prix is likely to be one of the biggest challenges for the men and machines in Formula E in 2023 as well. But the title contenders must not be distracted by the extreme distractions. With seven races to go before the end of the season, any misstep could cost them dearly.

Porsche got off to the best start in the new Gen3 era of Formula E, taking several wins in the first third of the season together with their own customer team Avalanche Andretti. However, since the Sao Paulo E-Prix at the latest, Jaguar has also fully arrived in the title race. At the top of the world championship, however, sits Nick Cassidy, a driver from Jaguar's customer squad Envision, of all teams.

Can Pascal Wehrlein and Antonio Felix da Costa finally strike back after the disappointing weekend in Monaco? And why are two teams starting the Jakarta weekend with reserve drivers? We answer the most important questions ahead of the E-Prix in Indonesia.

Where exactly will the Formula E race in Indonesia take place?

With 34 million inhabitants, the "Special Capital Region Jakarta" is the second largest metropolitan area in the world. The political, economic and cultural center of Indonesia is located just a few meters above sea level in the north of the island of Java. Heavy rainfalls during the tropical monsoon cause flooding again and again.

Since the twelfth century, Jakarta rose to become an important hub for spice trade. In 1619, the trading center was burned down by Dutch troops and refounded as the capital of the colony of the Dutch Indies. Colonial rule ended in the 1940s, when Japanese forces first conquered the city during World War II and President Sukarno finally declared Indonesia's independence on August 17, 1945.

Fast Facts | Jakarta

• There was already a street circuit for formula racing in Indonesia in 2009. The Herrmann Tilke-designed Lippo Village International Formula Circuit was to be used by the A1GP series, but was never homologated. Today, the site is used as a parking lot and shopping area.
• In its history, Jakarta had many different names. In the 14th century, the settlement on the Java Sea was called Sunda Kelapa, later Jakartaya, Batavia or Jakarta Betshu Shi Shop. In total, the city changed its name 13 times.
• New York is the "Big Apple" - and Jakarta the "Big Durian". At least that's what many Indonesians say about the city. Durian is a thorny, tasty fruit from Southeast Asia, but it smells so bad that it is banned in many public places.
• Lake Toba in Indonesia is the largest volcanic lake on earth. It was formed during a massive eruption 70,000 years ago, which is believed to have killed most of the people living at the time. The lake is 500 meters deep, 100 kilometers long and 30 kilometers wide.
• The flags of Monaco, the host country of the last Formula E race, and Indonesia are almost identical. There is only one difference: the flag of Indonesia is wider. The Indonesian flag has a 2:3 format, while the Monaco flag is 4:5.

Who will broadcast the Formula E race in Jakarta on TV & Livestream?

The Jakarta E-Prix is one of a total of five "double-header" weekends in the 2023 Formula E season, meaning that there will be a race on both Saturday and Sunday. In addition, as usual this season, Free Practice 1 will already take place on Friday. Due to the time difference to Europe, a large part of the sessions will take place in the (early) morning for European viewers.

* all timings in Central European Time Zone (CEST)

In Germany, as usual, ProSieben will broadcast the Formula E race from Indonesia. Qualifying will be streamed on ran.de. All Free Practice sessions can be followed as usual on the livestream page of e-Formula.news. Eurosport 2 and Discovery+ will also be showing the E-Prix in full. In Austria, fans can watch the race on ORFsport+ or in ORF-TVthek, while in Switzerland the race will also be shown on the pay-TV channel MySports Edge.

Track facts: What makes the Jakarta circuit so special?

The "Jakarta International E-Prix Circuit," or JIEC for short, was specially designed for Formula E. The semi-permanent track includes a total of 18 corners and is 2.37 kilometers long. Some corners are sweeping and comparatively wide, while others are rather sharp and narrow.

Overtakes are particularly likely to happen at the end of the 600-metre long start/finish straight in turn 1. But position changes could also be possible in turns 7, 13, 16 and - with a little courage - 18. On the outside of the slightly banked turn 16, there is also the attack zone, where drivers will have to activate their 350 kW mode twice during the race.

What has happened since the last race in Monaco?

The three weeks since the Monaco E-Prix have been comparatively hectic by Formula E standards. Not only did the series' CEO, Jamie Reigle, announce his resignation as of June 5. Formula E also directly presented his successor. Starting next week, Brit Jeff Dodds will take over as championship's chief executive.

And there were some sporting news as well. Avalanche Andretti had to replace Andre Lotterer, who is traveling to Le Mans due to contractual obligations with Porsche's WEC team. The team's official reserve driver, David Beckmann, steps up in his cockpit. And there's a change at Mahindra as well, with Oliver Rowland relinquishing his cockpit for the remainder of the season; in Jakarta, he will be replaced by former F1 racer Roberto Merhi.

In what order will the drivers go into qualifying?

In Formula E, qualifying takes place in two parts: Group Stage and Knockout Stage. For group qualifying, the field is first divided into two halves, with all drivers in the odd championship places (places 1, 3, 5, 7, etc.) competing in Group A, and those in the even places in Group B.

The four drivers who were able to set the fastest lap times in their group after twelve minutes will then move into the quarter-finals, where they will duel it out for the best grid positions from then on. For the Jakarta E-Prix, the qualifying groups will look as follows.

What will the weather be like in Jakarta?

Indonesia lies in the middle of the tropics. Accordingly, it is likely to be muggy at the E-Prix in Jakarta. Temperatures of 26 to 34 degrees Celsius are possible, as are short, violent thunderstorms in the afternoons. Accurate weather forecasts are rare in this region of the world, however - even more so about a week before the event.

Who are the favorites?

The title fight in the 2023 Formula E season is slowly but surely entering its hot phase. Thanks to his streak of successes, which he recently crowned with a victory in Monaco, Nick Cassidy (Envision) travels to Indonesia as the world championship leader. He will certainly be a force to be reckoned with, but so are his his three Jaguar colleagues Sebastien Buemi, Mitch Evans and Sam Bird.

The Jaguar powertrain's winning streak is also putting pressure on Germany's Porsche team. Pascal Wehrlein, Antonio Felix da Costa and Jake Dennis need to regain a stronger presence in the races to have a say in the title fight. Rookie David Beckmann, for his part, could hope for a top-10 result - that would be quite an achievement already.

This weekend, all drivers and teams get two attempts thanks to the double-header nature of the E-Prix. Should teams such as DS Penske, McLaren or Maserati, which generally belong to the circle of potential candidates for victory, make mistakes on Saturday, they could iron them out straight away on Sunday. It will most certainly remain exciting right to the end. We're looking forward to the Jakarta E-Prix!