Formula E returns to racing on a permanent track two years after the bad performance in Valencia, this time with a much better result. The Safety Car is king in Portland, but unlike the previous outing in Spain, the mechanism of extending the race distance prevents the risk of the cars not having enough energy to reach the finish line. In Valencia in 2021, however, the regulation provided for the subtraction of a quantity of energy based on the duration of the neutralization. Two years later, the different outcome of a similar situation demonstrates how the organizers have dealt with the various critical issues, a process still ongoing. The Portland E-Prix has certainly not bored, proposing a cycling race full of action and strategy, which will surely have made someone turn up their noses.
Formula E increasingly flexible
Portland Autodrome represents for Formula E what Monaco embodies for Formula 1. An atypical track and out of the ordinary canons, which requires different characteristics from those that were the objectives of these cars. The fast American track is in fact predominantly limiting for the front axle, shifting attention away from the slower city circuits, which with their numerous restarts place the emphasis on traction and stability at the rear. The teams were therefore called upon to validate slightly different set-ups than usual, probably also studying some precautions on the regeneration management software, to favor the rotation of the car when entering corners at the end of braking, contrary to the straight braking sections of urban tracks.
The dynamics of the races observed from Berlin onwards perfectly embody the objectives declared by Formula E for the fourth generation of 2026. With the Gen4, the championship aims to diversify the nature of the individual E-Prix, alternating between classic races and more strenuous races, before moving on to the opposite extreme with battery management races. In recent months there have been the traditional Monaco E-Prix, which was followed by the double outing in Jakarta, experienced as two sprint races with poor management. Finally there was Portland, which like Berlin offered a “cycling” race, in the name of exploiting the wake to save the battery.
Everyone will express their preferences, but group rides like those in Berlin and Portland offer something completely new, and are enjoyable as long as they are limited in number, without becoming the standard. However, the latest E-Prix offers two food for thought for this type of racing in the future. The first is the removal of Attack Modes in races dominated by the wake effect, this being a penalty rather than a real tool, in a race that is already very strategic in itself. Secondly, with Formula E studying various interchangeable aerodynamic kits for the Gen4, whether we think of a simplification of the wing appendages to reduce the number of pieces scattered around the track, in a type of E-Prix where the contacts are all ‘agenda.
The E-Prix
The Portland race certainly didn’t get boring. Organizers gave the teams 38kWh of usable energy over 90km, while in Jakarta on Sunday it was two less over a very similar distance. Not only, however, was the US runway much faster and more energy-intensive, but it also lacked hard braking where to recharge the battery, with the exception of turn 1. The result was a group race, with constant changes in the lead so as not to lead the race in open air. Watching the pilots fight each other to stay in the top parts of the standings like a group sailing regatta is certainly a source of entertainment that is different from the usual. But be careful to label the numerous position swaps as overtaking, being a completely different type of action.
As often seen in the past, the Cassidy-Envision duo have been very aggressive with the strategy. The New Zealander immediately invested energy to move to the upper parts of the group and, after having promptly unmarked Attack Mode, he defended the position conquered in the opening bars. Wehrlein’s race, on the other hand, was diametrically opposed, with the Porsche wall focusing on the late activation of the Attack Modes. The same tactic had worked in São Paulo, allowing the German to recover positions as the competition went off the trajectory, to then in turn unmark the Attack Modes in the final when the peloton had disbanded. In Portland, however, the peloton remained compact until the end, costing the Porsche driver numerous positions when he had to activate his extra 50 kW. The luck of the Stuttgart house was having Da Costa, who scored important points in terms of constructors.
Jaguar is finally saved. Evans did not take part in qualifying due to a battery problem which required its replacement, after having already had to give up FP2, wasting precious preparation time. However, the points won keep Evans in the group of four riders who will fight for the title in July. The next appointment will be the double E-Prix in Rome, a track that is a friend of the New Zealander from Jaguar.
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