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Written by Vijay Pattni
"Formula E is by far, not the fastest car I"ve ever driven," explains reigning Formula E champion and Audi Sport driver Lucas Di Grassi. "Nor is it the most powerful. Nor does it have the most downforce. Or grip."A pause. "But it"s one of the most difficult to control."The 2017/2018 Formula E season kicked off last weekend in Hong Kong, and we downloaded Di Grassi"s vast knowledge bank to discover just what it feels like to pilot a 240bhp (in race trim), lightweight electric go-kart.Turns out, it"s actually a lot harder than the speed might suggest"First, the format of the championship [makes it difficult]," he tells us. "It"s only run on street tracks, so you run between concrete walls. If you have a mistake and touch the wall, that"s your weekend over. It"s like racing in Monaco, but all the time."Then you have very little time in the car. You only get one hour for practice, one lap for qualifying [where the cars are turned up to 270-odd bhp), and you have to adapt quickly," he adds. Take, for example, a perfectly manicured, dedicated race circuit. "It"s smooth, the kerbs are in the right place and the corners are perfectly calculated," Di Grassi says."Hong Kong city centre is not like that," he adds with a laugh.Then there"s the difficulty of running two power setups for qualifying and the race itself. "Qualifying you go as fast as you can, but in the race you go as fast as you can, with a limited amount of energy. Which has to be controlled by you. You have to follow specific energy consumption, via a target on the steering wheel."Which means you also have to adapt your braking point." This raises another interesting aspect. "When you"re driving a car where you have to lift and save energy, you arrive at the corner at a different speed, so your braking point differs.
Date written: 8 Dec 2017
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 10226
"Formula E is by far, not the fastest car I"ve ever driven," explains reigning Formula E champion and Audi Sport driver Lucas Di Grassi. "Nor is it the most powerful. Nor does it have the most downforce. Or grip."A pause. "But it"s one of the most difficult to control."The 2017/2018 Formula E season kicked off last weekend in Hong Kong, and we downloaded Di Grassi"s vast knowledge bank to discover just what it feels like to pilot a 240bhp (in race trim), lightweight electric go-kart.Turns out, it"s actually a lot harder than the speed might suggest"First, the format of the championship [makes it difficult]," he tells us. "It"s only run on street tracks, so you run between concrete walls. If you have a mistake and touch the wall, that"s your weekend over. It"s like racing in Monaco, but all the time."Then you have very little time in the car. You only get one hour for practice, one lap for qualifying [where the cars are turned up to 270-odd bhp), and you have to adapt quickly," he adds. Take, for example, a perfectly manicured, dedicated race circuit. "It"s smooth, the kerbs are in the right place and the corners are perfectly calculated," Di Grassi says."Hong Kong city centre is not like that," he adds with a laugh.Then there"s the difficulty of running two power setups for qualifying and the race itself. "Qualifying you go as fast as you can, but in the race you go as fast as you can, with a limited amount of energy. Which has to be controlled by you. You have to follow specific energy consumption, via a target on the steering wheel."Which means you also have to adapt your braking point." This raises another interesting aspect. "When you"re driving a car where you have to lift and save energy, you arrive at the corner at a different speed, so your braking point differs.
Date written: 8 Dec 2017
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 10226
