New York: hot race at the end – more sports

Formula E in the Big Apple

Storms and thunderstorms were announced before the last Formula E race in New York. But at the beginning, the weather had calmed down again. But he went on the track all the more heated. Jean-Eric Vergne, after his victory on Saturday to the new world champion, and André Lotterer wanted to bring the private team Techeetah necessarily to the team standings. But it was the intention of the dethroned champion Lucas di Grassi and his colleague Audi, Daniel Abt.

Great scenery: The New York skyline was the mark Form E.

© imago

Ironically, the former factory driver Audi helped with a restarting start, which was punished with a ten-second penalty The team of ################################################################################# Audi triumphed despite Vergne's second victory this weekend, with Di Grassi second and Abt third to clinch the necessary points. "We were shivering until the end," said team leader Allan McNish. It was so exciting at the end, was due to a bumpy start to the season. This di di Grassi recalled again. The Brazilian had failed several times with technical problems. After five races, he had only three points in his account, was last in the table. After that, however, he began by climbing the podium seven times. Twice he was agitated as the winner. That made it to second place with 144 points. Teammate Abt finished fifth with 120 points.

Thus finished the first season of Audi as a successful factory team. The same goes for the concept presented by Alejandro Agag five years ago for the first series of all-electric races. The Spanish wanted to do a lot different in Formula E than in other racing series. After the fourth season have now more manufacturers interested in the new series than in Formula 1 Although Renault, from the beginning, but withdraws its starting place at the sister company Nissan from. Citroën, Jaguar, Mahindra and Audi stay with us. In the next season BMW and HWA come in as Mercedes-vanguard. The company with the star then follows in season six, with Porsche. "We have more builders than Formula One and the American Indycar series," proudly said former World Champion Lucas di Grassi during the season finale in New York.

Ender of the 1st phase – Generation 2 cars on the approach

With the last race of the season 2017/18 the first phase ends. Departing from Riyadh in mid-December, completely new vehicles will be used. The batteries of Generation 2 cars will then have sufficient capacity for races to proceed without changing vehicles. "Next year, we have a new format with the 45-minute race", promises Sébastien Buemi, also a former champion. This serious change is judged differently. On the one hand, technical progress is highlighted. "We also want to send the signal that we can drive a car from start to finish," said André Lotterer, three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans: "It's the relevance we're showing." For BMW and its motor sports director, Jens Marquardt, this improvement was the prerequisite for the deployment of the Munich factory.

Others see this as a unique feature of the E formula disappearing. This includes Daniel Abt. "I think it's a shame," says the Audi driver, "for me, the vehicle change was interesting, both in terms of strategy and on the tension in the surface." That said the 25-year-old, although he dropped out last season in the Uruguay race due to loose straps after the change. And he lost important points. But security preceded. Lotterer does not deny that this race from one car to another was an asset to the show and the races. The Techeetah pilot did not like the sprint. "Getting on and off was not very good for me," he says. This is not because of his age of 36, but because of his height of 1.84 meters. In this respect, smaller pilots like Abt (1.79) or even Nick Heidfeld (1.68) made it much easier

The Desire for Exclusivity

Another Approach to the Founder of the Series Agag was the Club of Emotions. At the price of 1400 €, all the pilots and the team leaders met representatives of politics, culture and business in a noble atmosphere. It was the alternative to the glass and shiny castles of Formula One teams. But with the multitude of manufacturers, the desire for exclusivity grows because they can serve their guests. In Berlin, there were already the first separate salons. "The danger exists in any case that the series changes," says Abt. Far from the family character to calm down. He puts a lot of emphasis on the boss. "Alejandro Agag and his team are able to show the builders their limits," he says, "who say: we play according to our rules, not us after yours." Could desires be avoided? It can still be stormy in Formula E.

Klaus-Eckhard Jost