FE | Season 10: New wheel grants more configurations

2023 was the year of technical revolutions in the world of Formula E, especially thanks to the arrival of Gen 3, the new generation single-seater which represented a technological leap in terms of efficiency and energy recovery. Improvements are also possible thanks to the work carried out behind the scenes by the engineers who collaborated on the creation of the car and the various suppliers, who in turn contributed to the production and development of the elements, such as the battery and motor generators.

However, not all the innovations of Gen 3 made their debut immediately in Season 9 of the electric series, thanks to some setbacks that delayed the adoption. The case in point is the one linked to Attack Charge, i.e. the procedure with which Formula E wanted to reintroduce pit stops to quickly recharge the battery with a quantity of energy that would then be exploited on the track thanks to the activation of a mapping which guaranteed greater kW to the car.

Due to some reliability problems and the difficulties in obtaining all the equipment from suppliers, it was then decided to postpone the Attack Charge to Season 10, although an official deadline has not yet been provided. But the fast charging procedure was not the only innovation that did not make its debut with the new generation single-seaters, given that problems were also found in the functioning of the LEDs which until Season 8 indicated the activation of the boost of power in qualifying and in the race with Attack Mode.

Changing the steering wheel is a common choice

Added to this is another innovation that was initially postponed, but which should have made its debut together with the Gen 3 cars, namely the adoption of the new standard steering wheel. Behind the scenes, in fact, the Federation is working to create instruments that are more accessible to all drivers, including not only the steering wheel, but also the position of the pedals and the configuration of the cockpit. In fact, it was the FIA ​​itself that worked on these modifications in collaboration with not for small changes necessary to adapt to the needs of the category.

Formula 3 was the first to adopt the new instrumentation during the 2022 season, while for Formula 2 the introduction of the new generation of single-seaters was awaited, which should make its debut in the championship that will start shortly . On the occasion of the launch of the 2024 F2 single-seater, the organizers underlined the work of the FIA ​​on this issue: “We worked on the steering wheel, because we had female drivers with fingers a little too short to grip the wheel well, so now we have the possibility to have a thinner steering wheel to make sure they can grip it.”

The new steering wheel, which however presents some changes necessary to adapt to the needs of the electric category, such as a greater number of selectors to guarantee greater options in managing the Powertrain, should also have made its debut in Formula E at the beginning of last season. The pilots themselves had actually had the opportunity to try it both on the simulator and in some private test sessions during the development of Gen 3. However, even in this case it was then decided to postpone its debut by a year, postponing everything to 2024.

Photo by: Gianluca D'Alessandro

The wheel used in Season 9, the same one used during Gen 2

The first tests with the new instrumentation

Precisely in anticipation of this “revolution”, a first collective test was carried out during the shakedown of the last stage of the 2023 world championship in London, i.e. in the Friday session preceding the first free practice session. For the rest of the weekend it was instead decided to continue with the old version, so as not to insert an element of unpredictability into a decisive appointment for the awarding of both titles. An aspect that, not surprisingly, many riders criticized, underlining the importance of that weekend.

However, the pilots had the opportunity to become familiar with the modified grip and the new design, both revised compared to the previous generation. Furthermore, the test also gave the FIA ​​and the teams the opportunity to verify that the communication and connection systems and related software were working as expected, in order to have time to resolve any problems during the summer break.

In London, in fact, we did not run with a complete configuration, given that not all the buttons were yet active, but with a provisional test mode, useful precisely for checking the basic fundamental systems.

Photo by: Gianluca D'Alessandro

The new steering wheel making its debut in Season 10

New shapes, but also more configurations

The new steering wheel has a revised shape compared to the past, primarily due to its dimensions. To make it more accessible to all pilots, it was decided to reduce its width and modify the handle, which is now thinner, which however required a reconfiguration of the button layout. In fact, on the external part, the two rotary wheels have been removed which allowed certain elements to be quickly configured, such as the braking distribution or the modes of use depending on the preferences of the teams and drivers.

Those two rotaries have been incorporated into the four selectors which are now located in the lower part of the steering wheel, albeit with an important change. If previously the rotaries found in the spokes could only be used to modify a specific parameter, such as braking distribution or modes of use, the new selectors guarantee greater freedom of maneuver. Depending on the preferences of the teams, each position of the selector can manage a different parameter, thus increasing the possible adjustments.

At the same time, the layout and number of buttons has also been changed, which goes from 10 to 12, with two additional elements placed in the lower part next to the selectors, which will be dedicated to secondary functions as they are not within reach of the finger, such as for example to report an aspect or behavior of the car to be reviewed via telemetry. In the upper part, however, you can find the most commonly used ones, such as the button for activating Full Course Yellow, Attack Mode, braking adjustment, the pit limiter and the radio.

Photo by: Porsche

The new steering wheel from Porsche

On the subject of radio communications, it is interesting to point out that in Formula E the ICAO aeronautical alphabet is used, in order to be clearer in the instructions given to the drivers, which does not happen for example in Formula 1.

Another important difference in terms of shape is that the new steering wheel is now developed in height rather than width, which also required changing the position of the screen, higher than the previous generation. For the data management and visualization software, however, the teams have total autonomy, being able to modify it at will also to adapt to the pilots' requests. Finally, the dimensions of the levers have also been revised at the rear, including the one necessary for activating the regen phase to recover energy.