The 2014/15 Formula E season will see 10 teams and 20 drivers take to ten tracks this year. All the teams come from very experienced backgrounds with rich heritages of racing and the wide array of ex-Formula One drivers mixed with experienced racers from other categories provides for an exciting experience for fans worldwide. Here are the Formula E 2014 teams and drivers.
Amlin Aguri
Amlin Aguri with its Japanese origins and Aguri influence brings Formula 1 heritage with proven technical innovation credentials. Headed up by team principal Mark Preston, British female racer Katherine Legge will drive the number 77 car alongside Portuguese Antonio Felix da Costa.
Legge has predominately had an American racing career, taking part in Sports car and Champ Car events, although she tested for the Minardi F1 team in the past. After recovering from a high-speed Champ Car crash in 2006, she switched to the DTM series enjoying seasons with Futurecom TME and Abt Sportsline. In 2012, she moved back to the States to make her IndyCar debut for Dragon Racing, remaining in the US for a second season although this time competing in the American Le Mans Series for DeltaWing Racing Cars.
Red Bull backed DTM driver/Toro Rosso F1 reject Antonio Felix da Costa’s break out season came in 2012 when he won the prestigious Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix. He also placed third overall in GP3 and competed in World Series by Renault finishing fourth overall winning four races out of the six he entered in the nine round series. In that same year Felix da Costa was signed to Red Bull’s Junior Development programme participating in the F1 Young Driver Test for Red Bull Racing in Abu Dhabi. In 2013, Felix da Costa narrowly missed out on defending his Macau Grand Prix crown when he finished second. He then placed third overall in the World Series by Renault and became a reserve and test driver for Infiniti Red Bull Racing taking part at the Silverstone Young Drivers’ Test.
However, due to F1 and DTM clashes, it appeared that reigning GP2 champion Fabio Leimer will step into replace him, participating in the first ePrix this weekend in the number 55 Aguri. However, it was announced yesterday that Leimer will act as reserve driver this weekend with Japanese racer Takuma Sato filling the empty cockpit, rejoining the team that he finished his Formula 1 career with.
Andretti Autosport
Andretti Formula E is the first of two US teams lining up on the grid. Based in Indianapolis and led by racing legend Michael Andretti, Andretti fields multiple entries in the Verizon IndyCar Series and has won both the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Series over the last three years. So far the team have one definitely full-time confirmed driver in the form of Frenchman Franck Montagny.
A former Renault F1 test driver from 2004 to 2005 and participating as third driver at the Nurburgring in 2005 for Jordan, he then decided to look to America in 2006 and tested with PKV Racing, before settling in the role as third driver with Super Aguri F1. When Yuji Ide had his license taken, Montagny stepped up but was replaced all too soon leaving him to sign with Toyota to be a test driver in 2007. Since then Montagny has focused on sportscars enjoying an impressive Le Mans 24 Hour record plus IndyCar and FIA World Endurance Championship experience. He will race in the number 27 Andretti Autosport car this weekend.
Now according to a wide array of sources, Montagny will be partnered by compatriot Charles Pic. Pic is currently the test and reserve driver for the Lotus F1 team and has enjoyed two racing seasons in Formula 1. The first of which in 2012 with the Marussia Virgin Racing team outracing his more experienced team mate, Timo Glock on many occasions and then the Caterham F1 team in 2013. According to the Formula E entry list for this weekend, he will race in the number 28 car. However, Andretti have stated on their Twitter account that they have not confirmed anybody but will do so in due course, although ITV, Canal+ and Charles Pic himself seem to think he will be racing full-time this season.
Audi Sport ABT
With five titles to its name in the DTM alone, ABT Sportsline is one of the most successful German teams, which has also achieved victories and titles in GT and endurance racing. Led by Team Principal Hans-Jürgen Abt, the squad is located in Germany’s Allgäu region, and will compete under the name of Audi Sport ABT Formula E Team with drivers Brazilian Lucas di Grassi and Daniel Abt.
After success in lower formulae, in 2010 di Grassi finally got his break with his rookie season in Formula 1 for Virgin where despite car issues, he recorded the team’s first race finish with 14th in Malaysia before going on to beat team-mate Timo Glock in the championship standings. Since then, Di Grassi has acted as the Pirelli test driver and enjoyed success in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Audi, including a podium on his debut at the famous Le Mans 24 Hours in 2013. More recently he has acted as one of the development drivers for the FIA Formula E Championship and has had the most track time in the new car. He will be a formidable force driving in the number 11 car.
His team mate, son of the team principal has grown up in a racing family. The 21-year-old German enjoyed a very successful season in GP3 with the Lotus GP squad securing two wins and seven podiums but just missed out on the title. Last year he competed in GP2 for ART and is now racing for Hilmer Motorsport. He will race with number 66 this season.
China Racing
Team China Racing is next up and Campos Racing, which runs teams in GP2, EuroFormula Opena and World and European Touring Cars, will operate the day-to-day running with founder Adrian Campos being the team manager of the Formula E team, with Steven Lu as team principal. Nelson Piquet Jr and Ho Pin Tung line up for the team with Antonio Garcia acting as reserve driver.
Nelson Piquet Jr is the son of three time F1 world Champion Nelson Piquet and in 2005 he raced in the inaugural GP2 season as well as participating in A1GP for Team Brazil where he won two races. The following season he came second in the GP2 standings to Lewis Hamilton after claiming four wins and made his debut at the Le Mans 24 Hours, where he finished ninth. Piquet was signed as an official test driver for the Renault F1 team for the 2007 season and was promoted to a race seat with Renault for the 2008 and 2009 seasons scoring one podium at the 2008 German Grand Prix, but was perhaps better known for his involvement in ‘Crashgate’. Piquet moved to the USA in 2010 and competed in a number of races in the lower tiers of NASCAR until he made his Sprint Cup debut in 2014 and participates in the Global RallyCross Championship. The eager Brazilian can be spotted using the number 99 on his car.
Team mate and half Dutch/Chinese born driver Ho-Pin Tung between 2007 and 2010 raced for a number of teams in GP2. He came second in the sprint race of the 2008 Monaco GP2 round and finished 18th in the championship that year. In 2009 Tung tested for the Renault F1 Team and was made the team’s official third driver early the following season. In 2011 Tung made his IndyCar series debut for Dragon Racing and finished 27th at Sonoma. He then began racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia in 2012 and has become a regular race winner. He made his début at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2013 and finished in 12th place in 2014. 88 is his chosen number.
Team China is also the only team to have a confirmed reserve driver in the form of Spaniard Antonio Garcia. Most recently he has added another Le Mans class win with victory in the 2011 GTE Pro class and won the American Le Mans Series GT championship in 2013.
Dragon Racing
The second US team participating is Dragon Racing, a familiar name amongst IndyCar followers as a former team up until last year. Initially, Mike Conway was announced as a driver for Dragon, though his World Endurance Championship commitments means that they will be running a duo with youth and experience.
Oriol Servia was announced back in March that he will either act as a team manager, driver, or both. He is on the list as Dragon’s first driver after Conway’s departure, and will be running the number 6 machine. With 15 years in top-level American single seaters, Servia achieved a single win in Champ Car at Montreal in 2005, and finished second in the championship behind Sebastien Bourdais. Since then, he has achieved three podiums in IndyCar but hasn’t had a full-time seat since 2012.
Popular Belgian Jerome d’Ambrosio completes Dragon’s line-up. A Monaco race winner in GP2 and runner-up in the GP2 Asia Series, d’Ambrosio made the jump to F1 with Marussia in 2011. His consistency was good, with just three retirements over the season earned him a reserve spot with Lotus for 2012. He got his chance with the team at Monza that year as Romain Grosjean faced a ban for reckless driving. In 2014, he has been driving GT cars in the Blancpain GT Series. He will race with the number 7.
e.dams Renault
When it comes to junior-level single seaters, there are very few bigger names than DAMS. DAMS has clinched drivers’ championships in GP2 and Formula Renault 3.5 in each of the last three years, and look set to make it four in a row this year. With Formula One legend Alain Prost on board, the new e.dams team certainly look to be one of the teams to beat. Their driver line-up is formed up of an ex-Formula 1 star as well as a current sportscar star.
Nicolas Prost is unsurprisingly the son of Alain. Currently a test driver for the Lotus F1 Team, he also races in the World Endurance Championship with Rebellion Racing, winning in his class at Le Mans this year alongside another Formula E driver. Although he has tested for Lotus recently, he hasn’t raced a single seater since 2009. Oddly, Prost is also a very successful ice racer. He will race with the number 8.
Sebastien Buemi is Red Bull Racing’s current test and reserve driver. Buemi was a proven race winner in GP2 and made the jump to F1 for 2009, finishing seventh in his first race for Scuderia Toro Rosso. Having been part of a mass cull at the Italian team for 2012, Buemi found himself driving in sportscars for Toyota, where he currently leads the championship with his team mates. Buemi will be driving the number 9 car in Formula E.
Mahindra Racing
Mahindra is a name that is usually associated with bike racing, but for 2014 they venture out into car racing with their brand new Formula E team, which will be operated by another giant in junior formulae, Carlin Motorsport. Mahindra will run with two drivers who have raced together as team mates in Formula One and in GP2.
Karun Chandhok was India’s second ever Formula 1 driver. Also a proven winner in GP2, Chandhok made his debut in Formula 1 with Hispania in 2010, before being ousted mid-season for a mixture of Sakon Yamamoto and Christian Klien. Chandhok achieved a best result of 14th, at both Australia and Monaco. For 2011, he was the test and reserve driver for Team Lotus, where he deputised for fellow Formula E driver Jarno Trulli at the Nurburgring, finishing 20th. After his F1 career ended, Chandhok became a revered sportscar driver and a regular commentator for the BBC and analyst for Sky in the UK. Chandhok will race with number 5.
Senna is another massive name in motorsport, Bruno Senna is Ayrton Senna‘s nephew and will line-up alongside his good friend Chandhok. A GP2 series runner up in 2008, Senna jumped to sportscars for 2009 before getting his F1 break in 2010 with Hispania. For 2011, he was Renault’s test driver and was elevated to full-time driver after Nick Heidfeld was dropped. He went on to score his first points in Italy that year before moving to the legendary Williams team. Senna was positioned just one place behind his team mate in the overall 2012 standings despite missing a session on the majority of the race weekends. Despite this, he was dropped for 2013 and moved back to sportscars, where he now drives for Aston Martin. Senna will race with the number 21.
Trulli GP
A mixture of Drayson Racing Technologies, Super Nova Racing and Monaco Grand Prix winner Jarno Trulli gives us a Swiss-backed team called Trulli GP. With two fiery Italian drivers and a pretty cool livery, Trulli is a brand-new team, with a lot of unknowns, but the team appears to have lots of potential in their first ever season.
Jarno Trulli is the most successful former Formula 1 driver on the grid. During his time in F1 between 1997 and 2011, Trulli achieved a brilliant win at the Monaco Grand Prix and ten further podiums, as well as four pole positions, where he gained a reputation for being a fierce qualifier, and was recently regarded by former team mate Fernando Alonso as the quickest team mate he had over one lap. With Formula E being solely on street circuits, Trulli’s qualifying expertise could prove to be a big asset. Trulli will drive with the number 10.
Joining Trulli is the relatively unknown Michela Cerruti, the second female driver on the Formula E grid. Starting her racing career six years ago in touring cars, she moved up to sportscars for 2010 where she won at Monza, driving a Mercedes. She made a jump into single seaters at the end of 2013 and for 2014 races full-time in the Auto GP World Series, where she has scored in every race that she has finished this season, including a commanding victory at Imola. She will run with the number 18.
Venturi Grand Prix
The team bringing all of the glitz and glamour to Formula E is the Venturi team, partly owned by Leonardo DiCaprio. The team is Monegasque, and will be one team with a home race this year. Venturi is known as an automobile manufacturer and this will be the first time that they have gone down the racing route. They have two vastly experienced drivers in their team.
Nick Heidfeld is often regarded as one of the best drivers to never win a Formula One Grand Prix. With 185 races, 13 podiums and a pole position to his name, the German was often given the nickname ‘Quick Nick’ for his excellent speed. He currently races in the World Endurance Championship with Rebellion Racing, winning in his class this year alongside Nico Prost. Heidfeld has driven for McLaren, Prost, Jordan, Sauber, Williams, BMW, Mercedes and Lotus during his time in F1, and they’re all massive names. Heidfeld will drive with the number 23.
Heidfeld’s team mate will be Frenchman Stephane Sarrazin. Sarrazin is one of the most versatile drivers about, having driven in Formula One, LMP, GT and rally cars in the past. Since 2013, Sarrazin has driven full-time for Toyota in the World Endurance Championship, finishing third in the championship last year, including a win at Bahrain. He will race with the number 30.
Virgin Racing
Former Formula One team Virgin Racing embarks into motorsport once again with their brand new Formula E team. Richard Branson’s new team will be looking for a much better run in this brand new sport as they had in Formula 1. They run with two relatively young drivers who are also very highly-rated, but both didn’t necessarily get the F1 chance that they deserved.
Sam Bird is last year’s GP2 series runner up and he also finished third in the Formula Renault 3.5 series the year before. He has also won at Monaco in both categories and took part in the young drivers’ test for Mercedes once upon a time. After failing to get a F1 seat for 2014, he joined Ferrari’s AF Corse World Endurance Championship team, impressing at his first trip to Le Mans by out-qualifying 26 of the 27 other GT cars, the sister car driven by Giancarlo Fisichella being the only one Bird failed to beat. Bird will race with the number 2.
Joining Bird is a F1 reject who despite being axed three years ago, is still just 24 years old. Jaime Alguersuari raced for Toro Rosso between 2009 and 2011 but was dropped to make way for other drivers, despite impressing many. After failing to secure a race seat elsewhere for 2012, Alguersuari pursued his musical ambitions, releasing an album in September 2011. In addition to this, he also commentated on Formula One for the BBC. The popular Spaniard will drive with the number 3.
This article was co-written by Craig Woollard.
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