S. Garlick Sacha Fenestraz talks to his engineer at the Monaco E-Prix (Simon Galloway, copyright FIA Formula E)   The 2023 Formula E season has brought huge changes up and down the Formula E grid, but not least for Nissan, who took over the edams operation in 2022 and have built a fully manufacturer-led team. With Renault, edams were the dominant team of the Gen1 era, however Gen2 was more frustrating for Nissan overall - a rapid twin-motor powertrain built for the then-new cars was outlawed after one season, losing the team its speed advantage and putting it back in the development race ..read more

Stuart Garlick (picture: Mahindra Racing)   The first time members of the public got the chance to see the Gen3 Formula E car, it was at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in June. Nick Heidfeld revisited the hillclimb course where he had set the fastest time back in 2000 in a Formula One McLaren, and drove the Mahindra-powered test car up the hill. The reaction since has been a microcosm of the discussion over Formula E’s future.  The first problem, arguably, was the choice of venue. The sort of spectator who goes to Goodwood is likely to be older, and potentially conservative in outlo ..read more

Stuart Garlick (copyright FIA Formula E)   In Formula E, there are two kinds of team lead at trackside. There is the former driver, brought on board as much as a figurehead as for their proven skill in getting the best out of their staff. There is also the career engineer, required to use their technical nous to get the most out of the time on-track at the short race weekends. Russell O’Hagan, enjoying his first season in charge at Formula E team NIO 333, is one of the latter. Starting out as a teenager, fixing up touring cars as a technician, O’Hagan now finds himself steering a manufac ..read more

(Unsplash) Here is a podcast I intended to post on the main feed, but did not, owing to not being able to use my usual mic. However, the conversation, with Ryan Erik King and concerning Tesla’s arguably problematic Full Self-Driving beta-test, was too good not to post, so I’ve made it a subscriber exclusive. Enjoy ..read more

Stuart Garlick (copyright FIA Formula E)   “It’s no surprise to me he’s doing well.” Dan Ticktum has cut this writer off, and to be fair, considering the observation made, it’s hard to argue with him doing that. The point had just been made, that a lot of people had not thought Jake Dennis would be the success he has been in Formula E, given his background in GTs.  “Every driver on this grid is bloody good, to be honest, but Jake is very, very good,” Ticktum responded. The Formula E grid is famously open to new arrivals, and there are plenty of people willing to give them a warm wel ..read more

Stuart Garlick (copyright: Extreme E) This week at the time of writing, Jean-Eric Vergne launched his first NFT. The token, which was termed a car-generator for the multiverse, created as much consternation as excitement online, a response which reflected a sense of disappointment that one of the three most successful drivers in Formula E by most metrics was willing to jump on a bandwagon, seemingly in spite of its environmental impact. It was time to bring cars on the Blockchain… I’m proud to announce my first NFT project with you guys : @v_racenft ?. The First Metaverse Car Maker ! #NTF #M ..read more

Stuart Garlick (copyright FIA Formula E)   Nissan e.dams come out of the Diriyah E-Prix with a lot of work to do. Their best finish on the opening weekend was 12th from a best grid position of 9th. It’s not what the manufacturers of formerly the best-selling electric car in the world wanted to see from the season-opener, and while in previous seasons it would be possible to plead bad luck, with the new qualifying format reducing the importance of a clean track to a high grid position, and track position being more about pure performance, Nissan are looking slow. Not only that, unlike Por ..read more

Stuart Garlick  An enigma The original driver hired by Formula E, but also a maverick who thinks on his feet. A controversial figure on and off the track, but also one of the most reliable frontrunners any team could ask for. It’s fair to say that, even though he’s one of the most quoted drivers who will line up on the grid this season, Lucas di Grassi remains an enigma to many in the sport. For the 2022 Formula E season, the Brazilian is also going to be part of a wholly new team for the first time since he took part in the first-ever race, in Beijing in 2014. With Audi having taken the ..read more