The one staged in Saudi Arabia was a solo by Zuffenhausen’s powertrains. After monopolizing the first two steps of the podium in Mexico, Pascal Wehrlein and Jake Dennis simply dominated Diriyah’s two E-Prixes. Caution remains a must, also considering the analogy with Mitch Evans’ monologue in the double E-Prix in Rome last season which was not the prelude to a triumphal march. However, the extent of the Saudi success, the constant presence in the top two positions and the victory two weeks earlier in Mexico City suggest that Porsche is the manufacturer that has best interpreted the third generation regulations so far.
The goodness of a powertrain goes beyond just energy efficiency. In fact, it should be remembered that the manufacturers are free to design the carbon structure in which the motor, inverter and transmission are located, to which the rear suspension also designed by the teams is then coupled, with not negligible differences from one team to another. ‘other. Furthermore, the impression is that with the new cars the effectiveness of the mechanical set-up is even more rewarding. In this, the teams are faced with a compromise choice in preparing for the E-Prix, between a setup that ensures good mechanical grip and one instead able to quickly send the tires up to temperature. The Hankook tires are considerably harder and more difficult to warm up than the previous Michelins, so much so that Hughes was heard to complain after six laps of the race that a front still wasn’t working properly. With the Gen3s, race pace is much more important than qualifying pace, but it is still essential not to overdo the set-up choices, because if a comeback from the center of the group is still feasible, one from the back of the grid is much more prohibitive.
The picture that emerges after Diriyah is that Porsche-Andretti, both in terms of the goodness of the technical package and in terms of interpretation of the set-up, are the couple who currently have the best understanding of the new cars. The two teams are also lucky enough to have two other excellent interpreters of the insidious Gen3 behind the wheel. Right and therefore due to underline the merits of Pascal Wehrlein and Jake Dennis, capable of enhancing a package that their respective teammates are not able to exploit in the same way. Lotterer ended the weekend in a mere ninth place, while Da Costa leaves Saudi Arabia with zero points in his pocket. The only ones to keep up at the moment are Jaguar and Envision Racing, both with the powertrain of the jaguar, and an excellent McLaren that demonstrates all the value of a team that with Mercedes has been world champion for two consecutive times.
From now on, the priority for Porsche and Andretti is to realize as much of the current technical advantage as possible. Formula E will arrive in Hyderabad in two weeks and a fortnight to follow in Cape Town, two new tracks with a thousand unknowns as there is no previous data from past seasons. A long break will then follow before the trip to Brazil at the end of March and then another month before landing in Berlin. At that point, Formula E will be just beyond the first third of the championship, with six races to go and ten more to go. After the first string of five consecutive races from Mexico City to Cape Town, teams and manufacturers will finally have time to analyze the data and update the powertrain control software, as influential in Formula E as aerodynamic updates are in Formula 1. The race for development could therefore have important implications and rewrite the hierarchies seen in the first part of the season. Proof of this is how, according to Dennis and the chronometer, Maserati and DS were the points of reference in the Valencia tests, only to not express the same competitiveness a month later. Porsche treasured the pre-season, gaining important experiences, but it is said that the competition will not arrive at the same conclusions before the World Championship lands in Europe.
Meanwhile, Formula E can rejoice in a reliable Gen3 free from the reliability problems suffered during testing and feared on the eve of the championship. At Diriyah the new cars however were slower in qualifying than the previous generation, with Hughes’ pole in 1’08”693”’ over a second slower than De Vries’ 1’07”154”’ in 2022. In Saudi Arabia, lap times are closely influenced by the amount of sand on the track, but it cannot be overlooked how the more powerful and light Gen3 is strongly limited by a tire which, at the request of the organisers, was designed with a particularly hard and consistent compound. While on the one hand the lack of grip is pleasing to the eye due to the constant oversteer controls by the drivers, on the other it would be appropriate to ask whether this should actually take priority over regaining grip and performance. On the other hand, the times in the race are much closer to those of past seasons, a sign of a smaller difference in pace between the flying lap and the long distance. Bird’s best lap of 1’09”723” was just three tenths higher than the 2022 reference of 1’08”723”, against the second and a half difference recorded in qualifying. It’s a symptom of much more energy efficient cars that are less demanding on battery management, a new race dynamic that the organizers will have to evaluate. In particular, it will be necessary to decide whether this is an added value to be preserved at all costs or whether, by reducing the strategic aspect, it makes new corrective measures necessary.
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