Formula E Season 11 Preview
Key points:
- All-women test in pre-season testing, encouraging female talent - maybe we’ll see some of these in the in-season rookie tests
- Jaguar vs Porsche battle continues
- Team changes - ERT -> Kiro, Maserati new lineup, Gunther to DS, Nato back to Nissan
- GEN 3 CAR
Formula E’s 11th season is swiftly approaching and it's set to be just as exciting, if not more so, than the previous 10! To kick things off Formula E are bringing an updated version of their current Gen3 car, aptly named the Gen3Evo, which features an altered appearance, more robust bodywork, all wheel drive, and the capability to go from 0-60mph in just 1.82seconds – that’s faster than an F1 car! The Gen3 car has featured in the previous two seasons of the all-electric series, steered to championship glory by Andretti’s Jake Dennis and Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein during that time, and pre-season testing will be the first time fans get to look at the full fleet of Gen3Evo cars, before that is eventually replaced by the Gen4 in 2026.
Source photo @FIAFORMULAE
Testing will take place on the 4th-7th November 2024, before the season commences with the Sao Paulo E-Prix on the 7th December. Aside from the usual testing schedule of 3 hour sessions broken up by lunch breaks, including the traditional race simulation that everyone likes to read into the results of far too much, there will be a historic moment as at least 11 women will take to the track for Formula E’s first ever ‘all-women’ test session. Teams have to run one car for the session, however they are being encouraged to field two women for the test to maximise their testing hours and increase the number of participants. The likes of Abbi Pulling, Sophia Floersch, Jamie Chadwick, Chloe Chambers, and Marta Garcia are set to take to the track amongst many others.
Testing is also the perfect opportunity to see drivers in their new teams and the fresh blood for the first time, and there has been plenty of shuffling during the off season.
THE CHANGES
To start things off, two teams have undergone major changes with Abt Cupra switching from Mahindra powertrains to become Lola-Yamaha Abt, joining forces with two motorsports giants for their season 11 campaign, while the underdog ERT Formula E team has become Kiro Race Co.
Maserati MSG Racing have opted to completely wipe their lineup, dropping Maximilian Günther and Jehan Daruvala in favour of Stoffel Vandoorne and Jake Hughes. Günther has done a direct swap with Vandoorne, taking the Belgian’s old spot at DS Penske, meanwhile Daruvala has not been so lucky and will not be racing in Formula E’s 11th season. Norman Nato has returned to Nissan after a tough season at Andretti, with this move coming at the expense of fan favourite driver Sacha Fenestraz, who also finds himself without a drive. The seat vacated by Nato goes to Nico Müller, who also switches his endurance racing commitments from Peugeot to Porsche in order to support this shift to the Porsche powered Andretti, in turn his Abt seat goes the way of rookie driver Zane Maloney. Jake Hughes’ old McLaren seat lands in the lap of Taylor Barnard, who made history in season 10 by becoming the youngest ever driver to start an E-Prix when he replaced an injured Sam Bird in Monaco, before he became the youngest points scorer at the following round in Berlin.
Elsewhere on the grid, the likes of Porsche, Jaguar, Envision, and Mahindra have opted to keep their lineups - after all, why change what’s perfect?
Source photo @FIAFORMULAE
The calendar has also had an overhaul, with the season start moved back from January to early December, and Mexico City giving up its slot as the season opening location to Sao Paulo. The Brazilian street track has only been present since season 9 in 2023 but already it has cemented itself as a fan favourite track – the season 10 edition of the race, held in early 2024, treated fans to a last lap overtake for the race lead – as well as a Jaguar stronghold, with their powertrains taking a clean sweep of the podium positions in 2023 while their driver, Mitch Evans, took pole and p2 in 2024.
Mexico City is the second city on the calendar with a track F1 fans will recognise from the Mexico Grand Prix, however a shortened layout of the circuit is used in the all-electric championship. Following this, the series hosts its first double header in a new location, switching from the traditional Saudi Arabian setting of the Diriyah Street Circuit in order to visit another F1-famous location: Jeddah. After a weekend at an alternate layout of the high-speed Jeddah Corniche Circuit the 5th slot on the calendar is currently to be confirmed, however rumours suggest a race in Thailand or a return to Cape Town is on the cards.Having previously raced on the streets of Miami, Long Beach, Brooklyn, and the Portland International Raceway, the 6th round of Formula E’s 11th season takes them to their 5th US venue with a visit to the Homestead Miami Speedway. Monaco comes next, utilizing the same layout as Formula 1, and for the first time ever the principality will host a double header weekend, with races being held on both the Saturday and Sunday – this also marks the halfway point of the season. Another E-Prix to be promoted to a double header status for season 11 is the Tokyo E-Prix, with the highly anticipated event having made its debut during season 10.
Find the Formula E collection
The championship will stay in Asia for the 11th and 12th rounds, making a return to the Shanghai International Circuit in China for the weekend, before a trip to Indonesia for the return of the Jakarta E-Prix – an event that was absent in season 10 – at the end of June. Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport Circuit hosts the penultimate round of the season before the series heads to the London Excel – for potentially the final time – for the final round.
Jaguar and Porsche are once again expected to battle for the title, however with Stellantis (DS Penske, Maserati) and Nissan snatching a few wins in season 10 there may be more drivers in the title battle than anticipated. Pascal Wehrlein will be looking to defend his title but will have to fend off his teammate, Antonio Felix da Costa, who ended the previous season on a high, as well as the intensely strong Jaguar duo of Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy – both of whom were incredibly close to winning the title last season!
Article porwered by Formulawah