YIKES! Hard to believe that I've been sitting
upon this topic since 'Twenty-eleven when the news was first divulged regarding
the FIA's newest racing series known as Formula E, which is set to debut this
coming weekend in Beijing, China, where ten two-car teams will face off against
each other for the glory of being the inaugural Formula E winner...
Thus, it seems like a long time ago indeed
when noted F1 Journo' James Allen was cranking out bits 'N bobs over the new
series in;
While the widely respected former French Formula 1Aerodynamicist Jean-Claude Migeot, best known
for his work on the radical Tyrrell 019 raised nose F1 chassis, along with the
unsuccessful Ferrari F92A "Twin Floor" racecar, made his thoughts
upon what ultimately has become Formula
E in;
And I've since then found this story upon the
Sparks derived Formula E chassis;
New FormulaE Spark-Renault SRT 01ERacing Car revealed
2014-15 FORMULA E
COMPETITORS
Below alphabetically is the ten teams plus drivers
contesting the inaugural 2014-15 Formula E series championship, with six
countries represented by a wealth of Open Wheel talent, as I'll try to give my (somewhat)
brief, somewhat non-biased opinions upon each of the teams plus drivers slated
to take the green flag at Beijing on September 13th...
AMLIN AGURI
COUNTRY:
UNITED KINGDOM
Surely the name Aguri Suzuki is familiar to Y'all,
after all being first a "Journeyman" F1 driver making 88-starts with
his best finish being third at the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix. Then turning his attention
towards being a Team Boss, first in the Indy Racing League with 'Yo Adrian!
(Fernandez) and lastly as the man behind "Super Best Friends," nee
Super Aguri in Formula 1, as Amlin-Aguri became the first Formula E team to sign
a female driver...
Antonio Felix da Costa; Portugal
This relatively young Portuguese racing
driver first came to prominence upon winning the 2009 Formula Renault 2.0 NEC
(North European Cup) championship for Carlin Motorsport before making a true
name for himself by winning the prestigious Macau Grand Prix in 2012, also for
Carlin, their first victory since Takuma
Sato's win in 2001.
Da Costa then became a Red Bull Junior
Academy driver, replacing the uncompetitive
Lewis Williamson, quickly
storming to four wins in the final five races of the 'Twenty-twelve Formula
Renault 3.5 (World Series by Renault) championship, with another hopeful
Formula 1 aspirant named Robin Frijns winning
the title, with Da Costa finishing fourth overall.
Thus Da Costa and Frijns seemed
destined for F1 stardom, with both taking part in the F1 Young Drivers
test at Abu Dhabi for the 'BIG BULLS, (Red Bull Racing) with Da Costa widely
tipped to debut at Scuderia Toro Rosso this season, before then Russian
teenager Daniil Kvyat instead took the
vacated Daniel Ricciardo seat.
Thus, Antonio was given a dubious lifeline by
being named a Red Bull "Simulator Jockey" (Test/Reserve Driver) this
year alongside another spat-out Red Bull driver, Sebastien Buemi,
as ironically both Red Bull talents will
try to show their wares in the newly formed all electric series beginning this
fall by hopefully becoming the series inaugural champion.
Katherine Legge; UK
"Thy Leggy 'Juan" burst onto the
Open Wheel Racing scene 'Wayback in 'Twenty-oh-Six as Champ Car's answer to Queen
Danica, (Patrick) racing for two seasons before joining the DTM series before
making her single seater return at Dragon Racing's IndyCar operation in 2012
where she earned her rookie stripes and contested that year's Indy 500 before
team owner Jay Penske gave her a nasty Valentine's Day surprise the following
year. As Legge's since gone onto co-pilot the revolutionary Delta Wing chassis
in ALMS competition and now comes full circle once again with her Formula E
debut this September...
ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT
COUNTRY:
UNITED STATES
Ex-CART championship driver and son of the
'legendous 1969 Indy 500 winner Mario, Mikey' Andretti's simply got his hands
on all things motorsports these days, with his championship winning IndyCar
team, which includes this year's Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Mikey's also a promoter, with his company Andretti Sports Marketing running the
famed Milwaukee Mile event along with the just announced Grand Prix of Louisiana
IndyCar race in 2015. Andretti also runs
an Indy Lights and Global Rallycross team and
will be the promoter of the Formula E Miami race...
Franck
Montagny; France
Frank "The Tank" Montagny
briefly raced in Formula 1 for "Super Best Friends" (Super Aguri)
after the FIA denied Yuji Ide further inclusion,
nee mandatory Superlicense in F1 for seven races before being replaced by
another Japanese driver, Sakon Yamamoto in 2006.
Montagny has since gone
onto racing Sports Cars at Circuit de la Sarthe, most notably becoming a factory "Works" (Sports
Car) Ace for the since disbanded Peugeot
team which quit racing in 2012.
Montagny has also made a few
unheralded starts Stateside in Indy Cars
for Andretti Autosport, and hopes to bring further success to boss Michael this
season...
TBA
AUDI SPORT ABT
COUNTRY:
GERMANY
Was totally unawares' of this operation's
involvement in Formula E, or the fact that Abt is the "AMG" tuning
haus of Audi and VW brands, as surely Audi's inclusion gives some credence to
the series...
Lucas
di Grassi; Brazil
Having finished runner-up to 2007 GP2
champion Timo Glock, along with third place overall finishes in 2008-09 behind
title winners Giorgio Pantano and Nico Hulkenberg, and runner-up's Bruno Senna
and Vitaly Petrov respectively, di Grassi then made his debut for the brand new
Virgin F1 team in 2010, contesting the entire season before disappearing from
the Formula 1 landscape, and naturally, as a
current Audi Sport Team Joest "Works" driver competing in the World Endurance Championship
makes a perfect choice for Formula E.
Daniel Abt; Germany
Virtual unknown racer who's been plying his
trade in the GP2 series since 2013, first with ART Grand Prix and then switching
over to Hilmer Motorsport this season,
having amassed some 40-starts in the premiere Formula 1 feeder series with
largely uncompetitive results - hence, joining the family run Formula E team
this season...
CHINA RACING
COUNTRY:
CHINA
Know absolutely nothing about this team, albeit
they've previously competed in A1 GP and the Superleaggue formula and most
interestingly are operated by Campos Racing, as in Adrian Campos, the original
founder of what became the short-lived Hispania F1 team...
Ho-Pin Tung; China
Pretty sure that Ho-Pin was the first Chinese
driver to sample a Formula 1 racecar, when taking part in some of the F1 Young Drivers tests, first
for Williams, along with being named as a Test Reserve Driver with both BMW
Sauber and Lotus-Renault GP, which eventually became the current Lotus F1 team.
Ho-Pin also attempted becoming China's first
ever Indy 500 participant with Dragon Racing in 2011, yet crashed heavily
during practice and was forced to sit out the race, of which neither of
Dragon's other drivers Scott Speed or Patrick Carpentier qualified. As Tung
subsequently made his IndyCar debut at Sonoma later that year and has since
been contesting the GP2 series.
Nelson Piquet, Jr; Brazil
Not really sure what to say 'bout Nielsen
Ho', other than he's the son of three-time world champion Nelson Sr. and has a
storied single seater career, most
notably the driver who was instructed to
purposely crash in Singapore to help Renault F1 team leader Fernando Alonso win
the race under Flavio Briatore's orders! Thus effectively ending his F1 career
when reporting Flavour Flavs' instructions to the media.
Piquet Jr. then moved Stateside and raced as
a PickemUp Trucks racer in 'RASSCAR and now drives for Andretti Autosport in
the FIA's Global Rallycross series where he leads the point standings. Yet, for Mwah, "Nelson
Pickett" fell out of favour with me after his stupendous Gay slur gaff!
DRAGON RACING
COUNTRY:
UNITED STATES
Another personality with a chequered'past is team
owner Jay Penske, who essentially began his Open Wheel Racing ownership role by
running what effectively was a
"Satellite 'B-Team" for his father 'el Capitano, nee Roger Penske at Mother Speedway for Ryan
Briscoe in 2007, before going thru various guises of his own "true" team
ownership, which ultimately evolved into Dragon Racing
Unfortunately Jay seems to enjoy his celebratory
lifestyle more than his racing team's success, having first garnered media
Attenzione by 'Shagging the former Mrs. Melloncamp Elaine Irwin, and then his
not so smooth pissing affairs which included
the contentious firing of driver Katherine Legge!
 |
| Ultra BAD ARSE 'Twisty Specialist Mike Conway's autographed "Hero Card" obtained at this year's Go Pro Grand Prix of Sonoma. (The Tomaso Collection) |
Have become a fan of Mike "Ice-Ice,
Baby!" Conway's ever since his return to IndyCar racing as a Non
Oval-track specialist beginning in 2013. As the Brit who's won series
championships in the lower formulae's, including the 2006 British Formula 3
title for Raikkonen-Robertson Racing, plus victories in the prestigious Macau
Grand Prix and GP2 series switched to
IndyCar racing initially in 2009, signing with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and
suffered a horrendous fence climbing accident at Indianapolis in 2010.
Returning from back and leg injuries, Conway
won his first IndyCar race for then Andretti Green Racing at Long Beach in 2011
and then moved to A.J. Foyt Enterprises the following year, where ultimately he decided to not race at
Fontana upon informing 'Ol 'SuperTex he no longer wished to race on Ovals,
which I amongst many thought surely was the end of his IndyCar career.
Yet since then, Conway's supplemented his
Sports Car racing nicely while being a
'Twisty (Road/Street courses) Hired Gun, notching his second IndyCar victory
for the Minnowesqe Dale Coyne Racing
team at Detroit's Belle Isle in 2013 and
then being inked as Ed Carpenter Racing's 'Twisty driver, which paid off
handsomely with another win at Long Beach and
Toronto this season, along with almost scoring a third win this
year at Sonoma, leading with 3-laps remaining before first
being passed by eventual race winner Scott Dixon and then running out of Ethanol on the final lap! Thus you'd
have to be inclined that Conway should win at least one race this season in Formula E.
Jerome
d'Ambrosio; Belgium
Although I didn't see I-T, my most current
memory of D'Ambrosio is his deputizing
for Romain Grosjean at Renault; Err Lotus at the Italian Grand Prix after
Grosjean's one-race ban for his racing shenanigans at the prior round at
Spa-Francorchamps in 2012. While D'Ambrosio
did contest the entire 2011 F1 season for Marussia Virgin Racing and then was
subsequently part of Lotus's "Rat
Pack's Simulator Jockey's," while I tend to recall that he was also
under Eric Boullier and Gravity Sport Management's guidance...
E-DAMS
COUNTRY:
FRANCE
Very successful championship winning F3000, GP2 and
Formula Renault 3.5 team known simply as DAMS, which I never knew its name originally
stood for its collaboration between founders Jean-Paul Driot and ex-Formula 1 driver Rene
Arnoux, who's subsequently departed, while the new Formula E venture is a
co-effort between Driot and four time
F1 world champion Alain Prost...
Nicolas Prost; France
Naturally, with "Daddy" being part
team-owner, the younger Nicolas was guaranteed inclusion in the squad, as all I
know about Nicolas is that he's been racing Sports Cars awhile now at Rebellion
Racing where I think one of his co-drivers was 'Quick Nick Heidfeld.
Sebastien
Buemi; Switzerland
As belabored here, Sebastien is
one of the countless drivers that the Red Bull Junior Academy
"Machine" has chewed-up in its
continuous search for the next Seb' Vettel... As Buemi
drove for the 'lil Bulls, nee Scuderia Toro Rosso for three-seasons (2009-11) before
making way for then Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne, having since become
a Toyota "Works" driver in the WEC...
MAHINDRA RACING
COUNTRY:
INDIA
Another racing organization I knew nothing about
until embarking on this long winding preview... As I was totally unawares' that
Mahindra not only was the first Indian team to contest the FIM's then 125cc
class, now known as Moto3, but; also the first Indian racing team to win an
international championship. Taking the Italian national motorcycle racing's Constructors
Cup in 2012-13 most impressively upon their own manufactured 'Scooter! As
Mahindra & Mahindra, part of the Mahindra Group's umbrella of automotive
related products, is one of India's largest producing automobile manufacturers,
while supposedly their farm tractors rank number one worldwide...
Karun
Chandhok; India
Not to be 'Cornfuzed with whom ex-HRT F1 Boss
Dr. Colin Kolles nicknamed "The Speediest Indian," nee Narain
Karthikeyan; Hya! Nope Karun Chandhok garnered the
moniker "Cowboy" by then SPEED's Bob Varsha due to his Mum' living in
Austin, Texas Me Thinks? As Chandhok's
Formula 1 career was brief, but then again what could you really expect from
the underperforming Hispania's? As I'll always concur that even with suitcases
'O Moohlah, you've still got to have talent to become a Gran Primo Piloto! As
perhaps Karun can finally show
what he's made of in the all electric spec series, eh?
Bruno Senna; Brazil
The Sir-name says I-T all, as in Bruno's the
nephew of the legendous' triple F1 world champion Ayrton... As Bruno did make
his way to the pinnacle 'O motorsports,
nee Formula 1 briefly, ironically spending his
rookie season in 2010 at Hispania F1 alongside Indian rookie driver Karun
Chandhok...
Next, Bruno replaced Nick Heidfeld at Renault
beginning at the 2011 Belgian Grand Prix for the remainder of the season,
scoring his debutant Formula 1 points at the following round at Monza.
then in 2012,Senna most notably flew the Brazilian
colours at Team 'Willy, nee Williams Grand Prix Engineering as Pastor
Maldonado's team-mate, ironically when the team was powered by Renault, the
very same condition his uncle last raced under before Black Sunday at Imola, May 1st, 1994.
And before Y'all think Bruno simply rode his
uncle's coat tails to F1, he did finish runner-up in GP2 to Giorgio Pantano in
2008, and definitely has talent, scoring
a career best sixth-place finish at the Malaysian GP in 2012 before being
dropped by Sir Frank for somebody named Valtteri Bottas!
Hence, Bruno's since been plying his trade in Sports
Cars for the Aston Martin factory team in the World Endurance Championship, while Formula E will
surely benefit from having that bright yellow Senna trademark "crash-bucket"
(helmet) on the grid during its inaugural season...
TRULLI GP
COUNTRY:
ITALY
Will be interesting to see how this outfit fairs overall, being a relatively late entry upon
having taken over the Dreyson Racing grid slot upon Lord Drayson's still unknown
departure from the series...
Jarno Trulli; Italy
Really don't have a whole lot to say about
thee "Trulli Scrumptious," other than he had a pretty star-crossed 'N
chequeered Formula 1 career, really never living up to his potential with one
solitary win for the dominant Renault F1 "Factory" team, before soldiering along at Toyota and finally
flaming out at what eventually became Caterham. As Trulli's always got his
Vino' business to fall back on when he tires of Formula E.
Michela
Cerruti; Italy
Know absolutely nothing 'bout this Femme Fatale racing driver other than becoming the first
female to win an AutoGP race, and it'll be interesting to see if she can
outperform her vastly experienced Boss?
VENTURI GRAND PRIX
COUNTRY:
MONACO
This team is a collaborative venture between
Venturi Automobiles owner Gildo
Pallanca Pastor and 'Mega movie star Leonardo
DiCaprio...
Nick Heidfeld; Germany
'Quick Nick never truly got his shot in
Formula 1, as I first became a fan of
his 'Wayback in 'Twenty-oh-One when he was partnered by some precocious Finn'
named Kimi! As in the true "Iceman," nee Kimi Raikkonen, who Heidfeld
actually outperformed during their tenure at Sauber.
Yet whilst the 'Kimster went onto fame 'N
fortune, first at McLaren and then becoming Ferrari's latest F1 world champion
in 2007, Heidfeld struggled on in mediocrity before his Grand Prix career
finally flamed out as "the Krakow Kid's" (Robert Kubica) replacement
in that illustrious forward facing flame thrower Renault R31! As Heidfeld's
since gone onto Tintop racing in Sports Cars and DTM, and probably looks
forward to another fling in single seaters this year.
Stephane
Sarrazin; France
Primarily a Sports Car 'Ace, most notably
first for the factory Peugeot team before switching to Toyota "Works"
status in the WEC, having finished as 24 Heurs du Mans runner-up three times,
most recently in 2013.
Yet Sarrazin does have single seater
experience, actually contesting one Grand Prix for Minardi a zillion years ago, the 1999
Brazilian Grand Prix, along with extensive testing duties for both the Prost
and Toyota Formula 1 teams, before carving
out a career in endurance racing...
VIRGIN RACING
FORMULA E TEAM
COUNTRY:
UNITED KINGDOM
Not to be 'Cornfuzed with the former Virgin Racing
F1 team which ultimately morphed into Marussia Racing, Sir Richard Branson has
apparently taken his "Piggybank" to
Formula E, presumably as partly a marketing ploy, i.e.; the ubiquitous
GREENWASHING 'O Formula E's "Clean, Green Energy" banner, and also
presumably, it's costing less than Formula 1!
Sam Bird; UK
Promising British GP2 racer who never quite made the series top-step, albeit
finishing a fine runner-up to 2013 GP2 series champion Fabio Leimer
on the back of five wins for Russiantime Racing, which helped them win the
Teams title.
Jaime
Alguersuari; Spain
The ex-Scuderia Toro Rosso prodigy became
Formula 1's youngest ever driver when making his F1 debut at the Hungaroring in
2009 at the age of 19yrs, 125-days old, a mark that will be surpassed next year
when 17yr old Max Verstappen makes his Formula 1 debut for Toro Rosso Down
Under at Albert Park.
Alguersuari raced for Toro
Rosso alongside Sebastien Buemi for two and one-half seasons before the pair were thrown out like dirty
bath water at the end of the 2011 season... Something Verstappen's hopefully
aware of, while Alguersuari tries
rekindling his racing career at the
tender age of 24!
And Jaime
isn't NO slouch behind the wheel of a single seater, having become Formula 3's
youngest ever champion at 18yrs for Carlin Motorsport in '08 upon besting
fellow competitors Brendon Hartley, Oliver Turvey
and 'Checa, nee Sergio Perez. With Hartley now being a Porsche Factory WEC
driver, Turvey an ex-McLaren F1 tester
and current GP2 racer, while Perez currently races for Force India in Formula 1.
As Jaime's always got his DJ career to fall back upon if the Formula E Gig'
doesn't work out...
MEDIA
Interestingly, four-time IndyCar champion
Dario "REO Speedwagon" Franchitti will be the series expert colour commentator, with Fox Sports One (FS1)
airing the entire season on its primarily A-L-L things 'RASSCAR motorsports
programming, having let Formula 1 be picked up by rival cable TV network NBCSN.
While another notable Open Wheel Racing talent named Gil de Feran has taken up
the role as Formula E Ambassador.
Yet, not everybody's onboard with the new
Formulae, which I'd come across the following yarn on Motorsport.com, which
sadly I can NO longer read due to their ridiculous decision to GOOBER their
website in order to go A-L-L Touch Screen Smartfone "Palm Pilot friendly; BARF!