Hyderabad: Shakedown with full power - to test LED colors?

At 10 o'clock (CET) on Friday morning, the 22 Formula E drivers drove onto the new race track in Hyderabad for the first time - for the obligatory shakedown with normally severely limited power. Not so in India. Formula E had previously issued an official document to the teams that defined a few exceptions for the Hyderabad shakedown.

• The shakedown was extended from 20 to 30 minutes. The duration was thus equivalent to a regular free practice. However, there was no public timing.
• The limitation of a maximum number of laps was removed.
• The regular power (normally max. 110 kW in the shakedown) was increased to 300 kW, so to the race mode. In addition, all drivers received one "push lap" with the full power of 350 kW. This power level was thus also equivalent to a free practice session.
• The number of usable tires has not changed as a result of the changes. The use of "transport tires" was excluded.

Background was apparently a test of the LED system on the Gen3 car. The LED system should be integrated into the so-called CAN bus, so that it can be controlled electronically. Possibly the Formula E reacted with it to the criticism to make no more distinction by means of LED colors between the different performance modes. We'll keep you posted on whether the cars actually light up differently in Attack mode in India.