Since Antonio Felix da Costa and DS TECHEETAH lifted the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championship trophies in Berlin and the final chequered flag fell on the 2019/20 campaign back in August, preparations have been in full swing up and down the pit-lane ahead of Formula E’s first season as an FIA World Championship.
Today, testing gets underway at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, with 12 teams and 24 drivers looking to rack up the mileage, prove their powertrains and acquaint themselves with their 2020/21 cars.
Schedule
The championship makes its fourth visit to Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain, between Saturday November 28 and Tuesday December 1.
Testing will take place every day with the exception of Monday, November 30, with all teams and drivers together for the first, and last time before the trip to Chile that marks the start of the 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship proper.
The first two days’ running are broken into a morning session between 09:00 and 12:00, with an afternoon session taking place between 14:00 and 17:00. Session 5 on Tuesday December 1 will run between 09:00 and 15:00.
Set-up day on Friday proved to be a wash-out, though the forecast for the weekend looks to be much improved. Plenty of run-time with two three-hour session on each of three days, starting today.
The most competitive line-up in Formula E history
Teams are signing off their driver line-ups for the forthcoming campaign and it’s shaping up to be the championship’s most competitive grid yet, comprising 12 teams, including 10 manufacturer outfits, and 24 of the best drivers in world motorsport.
With five different champions and 17 different race winners in six seasons of Formula E to-date, the only thing that will be predictable in 2020/21 is unpredictability.
Here's the drivers that will be in-car at Valencia, with the second DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT seat home to Nico Mueller, though the Swiss is yet to be officially confirmed by the squad for the forthcoming campaign.
Track changes
Each of the three visits the championship has made to Circuit Ricardo Tormo so far have seen a chicane added to its layout.
This season, a decision was made in close collaboration with teams that the chicane would not be used this time around, instead being replaced by track limits sensors.
“With a short turnaround time between the test and Round 1 in Santiago, it was decided that this would be the best way to go, as the risk of damage to cars and the potential need for replacement parts and repairs is reduced,” explains Fred Espinos, Formula E Sporting Director.
“For the first time, we’ll be using a track limits system as there are several corners at Valencia where the limits weren’t traditionally respected. It’s important for the batteries’ operating temperatures that limits are adhered to and this system will ensure that.
“It also means that because we head straight to Santiago for Round 1 in January, that we can lessen the risk of damage to the cars by removing the chicane.”
Follow LIVE!
The Live Hub at fiaformulae.com is your one-stop shop for all the live action from the official Formula E test at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. All the live timing, session reports, news stories and more in one place, as the field assembles for the first time ahead of the 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.