The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship makes a return to The Big Apple for the New York City E-Prix Rounds 11 & 12 of Season 8 around the streets of Brooklyn, in the shadow of the unmistakable Manhattan skyline.
Formula E is gearing up for a fifth visit to Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighbourhood and the Brooklyn Street Circuit for a fifth double-header in the city. The fight for World Championship honours is now looking to be a four-horse race between three marques, four teams and as many drivers Edoardo Mortara (ROKiT Venturi Racing), Jean-Eric Vergne (DS TECHEETAH), Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes-EQ), and Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing).
WAYS TO WATCH: Where and how to watch every minute of Season 8
Mortara fired himself to the top of the Drivers’ World Championship last time out in Marrakesh, taking advantage of the qualifying misfortune which saw prior Drivers’ leader Vandoorne slip to 20th on the grid before a 12-spot recovery to eighth position come the chequered flag.
With Evans coming home third and Vergne fourth in Morocco, that reshuffle of the championship table means there are just 15 points splitting the top four drivers with six rounds of the season – each worth a maximum of 29 points – to come.
As it stands…
The Venturi driver’s third win of the season came under intense pressure from both DS TECHEETAH drivers, but neither polesitter Antonio Felix da Costa nor eventual second-placed finisher Vergne could knock the unflappable Mortara off his stride – remarkably meaning it’s still a blank in the wins column for the Frenchman in Season 8.
Vergne sits a close second in the running, though, and New York City is somewhere Formula E’s only double champion goes especially well. In fact, Vergne sealed both of those titles in sight of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty in both Season 4 and Season 5 – with a trip to the top step for good measure in 2018.
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Evans has made it to the top step of the podium on as many occasions as any driver this season, with a double in Rome and at Formula E’s first Jakarta E-Prix in June. Mortara is the only other driver to have three winners’ trophies from Season 8 in the cabinet and more silverware for Evans with third in Marrakesh ensures the Jaguar driver is right in the mix.
Vandoorne’s recovery was some spectacular damage limitation. Eleven pure overtakes was as much as could be expected in a field often spread by laptimes of no more than a second and the Belgian kept himself right in the hunt with valuable points for eighth.
Return to Red Hook
It's a favourite of the drivers, teams and fans alike, and the 2.320km, 14-turn Red Hook racetrack remains unchanged from its familiar layout.
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The circuit winds its way around the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal site in the heart of the Red Hook neighbourhood of Brooklyn. It's a real test; lined with miles of unforgiving concrete, with views across the Buttermilk Channel and over towards Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.
Drivers had a revised ATTACK MODE activation zone to negotiate last year, and will once again this time out, with the loop moved from the exit of Turn 5 to the outside of Turn 10.
Britain’s Sam Bird (Jaguar TCS Racing) is the most successful racer around the Brooklyn Street Circuit with three wins to his name – including a spectacular win-double on Formula E’s first visit to the city.
More than 20,000 people descended for New York’s first racing action since CART's PPG Cup back in the 1980s and the city's first all-electric street races.
Bird - then of Virgin - flew from fourth to take the win in the inaugural New York City E-Prix in 2017 before doubling up a day later; the Brit heading the field home from pole position.
Last time out, the Jaguar driver produced a storming recovery in Round 10 to seal points after an overzealous practice lap saw his car in need of a complete rebuild. He drove from 20th to ninth spot and with the car feeling good after his team’s hard work, the Brit felt good for race two on Sunday.
Sensing he potentially had the quickest car on the grid in Red Hook – especially with more time to hone setup for the second race – Bird saw an opportunity to put things right in the best possible way. Duly, he stormed to pole position and dominated Round 11 on the way to victory, at the time rejuvenating his and Jaguar’s championship hopes heading to their home race in London.
New York City's sustainability drive
The city has set a net-zero carbon emissions target for 2050, with an 85 per cent reduction on greenhouse gas emissions by the same date on 1990 levels enshrined into law.
To get there, New York is building upon $3.9 billion in investments across 67 large-scale renewable projects across the state which are set to create more than 150,000 jobs. The aim is 70 per cent reliance on renewable sources for the state's energy by 2030, with 1,800 megawatts of wind by 2024 and 1,700 per cent growth in solar since 2012.
FANBOOST: Have your say on the outcome of the New York City E-Prix! Vote now!
Governor Andrew Cuomo also announced the 'EV Make Ready' programme in 2020 to drive New York to its goal. This will see 850,000 zero emissions vehicles and 50,000 charging stations in the state by 2025.
New Yorkers consume less total energy per person than the residents of any other state in the US, except for Rhode Island.
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Follow live
Follow every lap from New York City as it happens in the Live Hub. Keep across Live Timing – including a real-time interactive track map and the ability to follow your favourite driver – plus detailed session reports, exclusive interviews, all the standings and results as well as reaction from the ground means fans won’t miss a moment.
New for Season 8, there’s a full race day rundown pulling together everything on-track with the best of social media and in-race clips – alongside the usual Live Hub experience that debuted in Season 7. Get involved using #ABBFormulaE.
The Formula E app allows fans to go behind the scenes and listen to Driver Radio for live reactions from the cockpit and the pit wall as the race plays out. To listen in, download now on iOS and Android.
Watch
Don't miss a minute of Season 8. Keep track of the best ways to tune in where you are at fiaformulae.com/watch.
Get involved
Formula E blurs the lines between the real and virtual worlds of motorsport and there are even more opportunities to engage with the championship in Season 8, even if you can’t be at an E-Prix in person.
Formula E is the only motorsport in the world that lets fans play an active role in influencing the outcome. FANBOOST for Round 11 opens on Tuesday 12 July, until 15 minutes into the race. To give your favourite driver an extra boost of power, visit FANBOOST and the Formula E app.
Can you predict the unpredictable? The Formula E Predictor puts you in the hot seat to predict each round of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.
It's free to play, and points are awarded for each correct prediction. Make your picks for five race outcomes - selecting from the 22 Formula E drivers that you think will win the E-Prix, clinch Julius Baer Pole Position, set the TAG Heuer Fastest Lap, be the first to use ATTACK MODE and be the driver to make up the most places in the race.