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The return of Formula E to the streets on Monaco brings the all-electric racing series back to Europe. After a drawn-out start to the 2016/17 Championship, the action now comes thick and fast for the rest of the summer.
After a season’s absence from the calendar, the return of the Monaco race brings with it familiar surrounds to the many drivers who live here or raced here before in their career. So with that in mind, here are the key action points to be aware of this weekend.
Beware the Buemi bounce back?
In the Season 1 Monaco ePrix, Sebastien Buemi became the first driver in Formula E to win a race from pole position, leading every lap in the process. It was a dominant performance – the kind he would become synonymous with during Season 2 and the first part of Season 3.
But last time out in Mexico City, his performance was oddly muted: off the pace in qualifying, delayed in the pits during the car changes, spinning out of the points as he battled Antonio Felix da Costa for position in the race.
But neither he nor the Renault e.dams team stays down for long, so expect to see him back as the front challenging for the win again.
Will those that raced here in Season 1 have an advantage?
Of the 20 drivers who took the grid for the inaugural Monaco ePrix, 12 are still active in the series. While all the drivers on the grid – with the exception of Maro Engel – have raced at Monaco before in their earlier career, the unique Formula E layout will be new to them.
While the hard right at Ste Devote, and the run down behind the pits before rejoining the track near the exit of the tunnel, is not a massive step into the unknown, it does mean that they’ll still have to do a few sighting laps to understand the track surface and grip levels before they’ll be able to fully commit.
Will this allow the more seasoned hands to gain an advantage in terms of set-up? We’ll find out after qualifying!
Watch out for the first lap pile up
The sight of Bruno Senna flying over the back of Daniel Abt on the opening lap of the previous Monaco ePrix became one of the enduring images of Season 1.
The narrow track, tight corners and difficulty to make up places means that a frenetic opening lap is practically guaranteed. The Season 1 race featured a record low 13 finishers, with the majority of those seven retirements accounted for in that opening-lap skirmish.
The odds are firmly stacked in favour of the Qualcomm Safety Car making an appearance at some point, so will someone roll the dice and try a different strategy – it worked for di Grassi last time out in Mexico, so why not again this weekend?
Can Venturi raise its game at home?
Panasonic Jaguar Racing’s maiden Formula E points in Mexico meant it leap-frogged Venturi in the team’s standings, sending the Monaco-based team to the foot of the standings.
Venturi’s return of just three points this season doesn’t reflect the pace of the package but it needs a trouble-free event if it’s to make a significant addition to that tally.
There could scarcely be more motivation, with all the team, plus friends and family in attendance. Now it just needs to turn that into a strong showing on track. Engel made his first Super Pole shoot-out in Mexico, so if that form can be repeated, a decent points haul will follow.
Will FanBoost make the difference to a key overtake?
Passing at Monaco is traditionally difficult. And that applies to Formula E too. The heavy braking points into Turn 1 and Turn 3 present the best opportunity to make a move, but even then the chasing driver needs to have nailed his exit from the previous turn while hoping the driver in front was compromised.
In this scenario, an additional 100kj of energy could be just the boost needed to make that exit super sweet and let the driver get alongside his rival.
To help your favourite driver be one of the three FanBoost winners, vote now fiaformula.com/fanboost