Formula E Season 10 Goes Green
As the Formula E paddock arrives in Mexico City for round one of the 2024 season, the all-electric racing series will be marking ten years since the inaugural race at the Olympic Park in Beijing.
Now using the third generation of car which is faster, more reliable and produces better racing, the series has been on quite the journey since the five lights went out ten years ago as it continues to combine breathtaking racing with technological innovation.
This season there will be 16 races in ten countries and five continents including a new event in Tokyo as well as new venues in Italy and China — changing Rome for the Misano Circuit in Northern Italy and Formula E will now take to the Shanghai International Circuit for a double-header on its return to China.
A more diverse calendar away from purely street circuit venues is a reflection of the need to use more permanent racetracks as the performance of FE cars has increased since 2014. But the calendar still comprises an array of famous street circuit venues such as Monaco, London and Diriyah.
As well as changes to the calendar, there have been changes aplenty in the driver market since the last laps were raced in London last July.
Defending World Champion Jake Dennis remains with Andretti for another season and is joined by Frenchman Norman Nato at the Porsche customer outfit. Nato has tasted FE victory in the past driving for Venturi FE and showed flashes of brilliance last year while driving for Nissan. He will hope to replicate that form at the US outfit.
DS Penske has retained their star-studded World Champion lineup of Jean-Eric Vergne and Stoffel Vandoorne. Last season was a struggle for the pair but they continued to show flashes of brilliance throughout the season and will hope for more fortune in 2024.
NIO 333 is no more and ERT Formula E has taken over the outfit which started as China Racing back in 2014. While the team name has changed, the drivers remain the same with Dan Ticktum joined by Sergio Sette-Camara for season 10.
Defending Constructors Champions Envision Racing will contest the season with Robin Frijns and Sebastien Buemi. Buemi and Frijns infamously came to blows when Buemi was contending for the title with Renault, so it will be interesting to see how their relationship holds up throughout the season.
McLaren Racing have two Brits in their roster for this year as Sam Bird joins Jake Hughes for the coming season. Bird has been the staple Brit in the season since its inception and now moves to McLaren after leaving Jaguar at the end of last season.
Maserati retains Maxmillian Gunther for another season but will be joined by rookie racer Jehan Daruvala. The Indian ace has had a successful junior career, now it is time to see whether he can cut the mustard in FE.
Jaguar TCS Racing head into the new season hoping that this can be their year — fielding two multiple race winners and the drivers who finished 2–3 last year, they are hoping that they can be the ones celebrating at the end of the year. Mitch Evans has been with Jaguar throughout his now long FE career and he is joined by fellow Kiwi Nick Cassidy who more than proved his worth at Envision. So will Jaguar deliver the goods for the Kiwi’s?
ABT CUPRA FE will consist of the oldest lineup on the grid with Lucas Di Grassi and Nico Muller fielding their effort. The Mahindra customer team could be a surprise outfit heading into the new season.
Porsche Racing will field Pascal Wehrlein and Antonio Felix Da Costa again after a good go at glory in the all-electric championship. While the German outfit started to build a good campaign in the first half of the season, they will be disappointed to have seen that fizzle out in the second half the season. Can they rise to the challenge in 2024?
Mahindra Racing will hope to bounce back with a bang after a poor 2023. The dynamic lineup of Nyck De Vries and Edo Mortara could offer that chance but can they deliver?
Nissan FE Team will look to improve on last year’s efforts with FE returnee Oliver Rowland alongside last year’s impressive rookie Sacha Fenestraz. How will they get on this season?
The season will get underway this weekend in Mexico City with 16 races over 7 months. Dennis heads to Mexico as the defending champion but the question is can anyone deny him back-to-back titles?
