São Paulo, Venturi, Michelin and Batteries: The Latest News from Formula E

The São Paulo ePrix canceled, Punta del Este takes its place:

The fifth race of the season, which was supposed to take place on March 17 for the first time in São Paulo, will not occur this season. Indeed, Anhembi Parque, where the ePrix was to be held, is undergoing privatization but will not be completed in time to allow the organization of the race in 2018. The city’s mayor has specified that the project will remain viable for the future.

This has therefore forced the Formula E leaders to find an alternative solution in order to maintain a schedule with 11 rounds. The choice has fallen on the Uruguayan city of Punta del Este, which has already hosted two Formula E races in 2014 and 2015. The race will take place on March 17, the originally scheduled date for São Paulo. However, this will not currently allow maintaining an 11-race calendar due to the final cancellation of the Montreal ePrix announced a few days ago.

Venturi announces its partnership with Mercedes’ HWA structure:

The Monegasque team has managed to sign a partnership with Mercedes’ HWA subsidiary, which will provide engineers to the team for technical support. This structure, created in 1998, is a spin-off of Mercedes’ high-performance division, AMG, and develops components used by Mercedes AMG and Daimler in their cars. HWA is best known to motorsport enthusiasts for fielding Mercedes in the DTM, securing no less than seven driver titles. The structure is also involved in the star brand’s GT program and manufactures the Mercedes engines used in Formula 3 Europe and Britain.

This will allow Venturi to benefit from the technical input and knowledge of HWA’s engineers. This is actually one of the reasons for the recruitment of Edoardo Mortara, who drives in DTM for Mercedes like Maro Engel, by the way. This partnership is very likely a way for Mercedes to get a foothold in the championship before fully joining it in two years.

.@VenturiGP announce partnership with HWA> https://t.co/5KAE5e8CqQ #FormulaE #HKEPrix pic.twitter.com/xXu1BeEiMx

— FIA Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) 30 novembre 2017

Michelin will continue to supply Formula E tires at least until 2021:

The Clermont-Ferrand brand, which has been the sole tire supplier for the championship since its creation in 2014, has extended its contract with Formula E until 2021. The tires provided by the tricolor brand are unique in that they are grooved tires capable of performing in all conditions. Only one compound is available and must last for the entire duration of an ePrix. Michelin also introduced an evolution of its 18-inch tires last year to lighten them by one kilogram each. The brand is already working on developing a new tire for the next season, when the single-seaters will be able to complete the races in their entirety.

#FE – @Michelin_Sport has renewed its partnership as Official Tyre Supplier of the @FIAFormulaE, continuing to provide innovative high-performance all-weather tyres as part of a multi-year agreement until the end of 2021https://t.co/N1FY9McpgF

— FIA (@fia) 1 décembre 2017

Manufacturers will not be able to develop their own batteries before 2024:

The batteries used in Formula E are currently of a single type and have been supplied by Williams Advanced Engineering since 2014. The supply contract for the second generation of cars, which will be introduced next season, was won by McLaren Applied Technologies. Although it was planned to open this sector to competition starting from the third generation of cars scheduled for the 2021-2022 season, Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag insisted that this third generation of batteries should not be developed by the manufacturers.

The idea behind this freeze on developments is to avoid an explosion of costs due to opening this part of the single-seaters to competition. This blockage is unanimously supported by all the teams in the championship. The championship plans to focus instead on introducing four-wheel drive, energy recovery through the front axle, and brake-by-wire in the near future. As a reminder, currently all the constructors in the championship can develop the engines, gearbox, and converter.