Following the criticism of the four-group format, which has often and willingly penalized the protagonists of the championship, forced to take to the track in the first, with the dirtiest track, Formula E will enter a new era in terms of qualifying in next season.
The new format features two groups of 11 drivers, one per team, with the top four qualifying for a knockout tournament to determine the top four rows of the grid.
In the simulation carried out today in Valencia, all the drivers present in the knockout phase were involved, pairing those who had obtained the same position in their respective groups.
The first to compete were the rookies Dan Ticktum and Antonio Giovinazzi, last in the groups. Ticktum got the better of him at the table, because the Italian did not show up in the pitlane in time.
Nyck de Vries, on the other hand, won head-to-head with Stoffel Vandoorne’s twin Mercedes, with Alexander Sims beating Oliver Turvey and Maximilian Gunther over Sergio Sette Camara for just six cents.
Other “family” challenges saw Jack Dennis excel over the new teammate in Andretti Oliver Askew, and Pascal Wehrlein beating Andre Lottere at Porsche.
Antonio Felix da Costa subsequently beat Sebastien Buemi, setting what was the provisional best time of the session, while Oliver Rowland had an easy time with Nick Cassidy as the latter interrupted his lap.
Jean-Eric Vergne won in the challenge with Robin Frijns, who had been the fastest at the end of the normal test day, in the challenge reserved for the two Jaguars Mitch Evans instead set the best time of the afternoon in 1’26 “426 beating box mate Sam Bird.
The last duel saw the two Venturi riders opposing, with Edoardo Mortara who folded Lucas di Grassi thanks to an excellent time in the last sector.
The tests in Valencia will continue tomorrow, while the third day, which will also be the final one, is set for Thursday.
Jean-Eric Vergne, DS Techeetah, DS E-Tense FE21
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
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