The BMW i Andretti Motorsport team is contesting its first season in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship. The engineers gain more experience with every race weekend and incorporate their new findings in the further development of the BMW iFE.18 and its preparations for the coming races. In our series “Three lessons learned”, we present three of the findings made by BMW i Andretti Motorsport after each race. This time: the Geox Rome E-Prix (ITA).
1. Overtaking is becoming increasingly difficult, even on wider tracks.
It comes as no surprise that overtaking is difficult on the street circuits that host the Formula E races. However, we saw in Rome that, even on a relatively wide track, it is still only possible to pass other cars by taking a big risk – even with ATTACK MODE and FANBOOST. That is further confirmation of just how hugely important qualifying is. A good grid position remains key to a good race result and will remain the focus on at the coming races in Paris (FRA) and Monaco (MON).
2. Energy management was even more important than expected.
The efficiency of the Formula E drive technology – one of the strengths of the BMW i powertrain – proved to be even more important in Rome than the BMW i Andretti Motorsport engineers had expected. Virtually all the cars were down to just one per cent of energy remaining on the final lap of the race. That led to the leaders slowing down on the previous lap and monitoring the remaining race time to avoid having to complete another lap. As such, energy management was an important factor in any success.
3. Heavy strain on the Formula E cars.
In terms of robustness, the circuit in Rome is the biggest challenge of the season for Formula E cars. As predicted by the BMW i Andretti Motorsport engineers, the track was very uneven with lots of bumps, making it very demanding for the chassis and power unit. The cars actually left the ground over one crest. While Alexander Sims (GBR) struggled with technical issues in qualifying, the BMW iFE.18 of António Félix da Costa (POR) withstood the stresses.
