Formula E is ready to return
Following a five-month hiatus, Formula E will return to racing today with Berlin’s Tempelhof track hosting a never-seen six-race showdown within nine days.
9 Days. 6 Races. 3 Tracks. 1 Champion. The most intense season finale in motorsport history. The FIA Formula E Championship is officially back! The sixth season of the fully electric championship was put on a hold at the end of February due to the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak.
Before the virus placed the world and the global motorsport scene into lockdown, five rounds were staged. Following a double-header event in Saudi Arabia, the field headed to Chile’s Santiago followed by a round in Mexico with Morocco’s Marrakesh playing host to the last race.
Interestingly, the driver line ups have changed for the season finale at several teams. Daniel Abt was suspended from Audi after he used a ringer during the "Race At Home" eSports series during the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. He was replaced by René Rast. In June Pascal Wehrlein has left Mahindra Racing with immediate effect. The German was replaced by Alex Lynn.
Ma Qinghua is not due to enter the final six races in Berlin due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. He is due to be replaced by Abt. New-Zealander Brendon Hartley left GEOX Dragon team with immediate effect in July 2020. He was replaced by Sérgio Sette Câmara.
Most of the races of the electric championship are staged in the heart of big cities which has made it very difficult to restart the action with the coronavirus still showing hotspots and sudden increase of cases globally. The organisers then decided to create a bubble at Berlin’s Tempelhof circuit that is a closed facility, allowing the championship to set up a safe environment.
The championship has defined three different layouts for the three double-header events in order to avoid that the races become predictable or dull. The first double-header will take place on the reverse layout of the track that has been used in previous years.
During the 8/9 August event, divers will compete on the traditional version of the Berlin Tempelhof circuit before the curtain falls on the sixth season of the futuristic championship on a brand-new layout featuring more slow-speed corners.
