This weekend, Battersea Park will be the host of the London ePrix and the final two races of the 2014-15 Formula E season, with the first race on Saturday 27th June and the second on the Sunday.
The West London park will be transformed into a 2.9km track with 15 turns filled with high speed bends, chicanes and heavy braking zones, sure to be the scene of much overtaking in this championship deciding weekend.
The driver’s championship is the hot topic with Nelson Piquet Jr leading the way with 128 points with Lucas di Grassi and Sebastien Buemi in hot pursuit. It looks as if Nico Prost and Jerome D’Ambrosio are out of the running with Sam Bird heading to his home race with a very slim chance at the title.
In the team’s standings, e.dams have a 44-point lead ahead of Audi Sport Abt with NEXTEV TCR behind in third. It’s still tight in the midfield, however the Trulli team are falling away at the back with a lowly 17 points.
There are also a few driver changes for the weekend, as per usual. Due to DTM commitments, Sakon Yamamoto will replace Antonio Felix da Costa at Amlin Aguri. The Japanese racer has had a connection with Aguri since his GP2 days and has raced in Formula 1 with the Spyker and more recently, the Hispania Formula One Team in 2010. Andretti IndyCar driver and former Sauber F1 affiliate driver Simona de Silvestro will step in for Justin Wilson after he himself stepped in the Andretti Formula E seat for the last round in Moscow. Due to medical reasons, Bird’s Virgin team mate Jaime Alguersuari has been sidelined due to medical reasons after feeling faint after the Moscow ePrix. He will be replaced by 2013 GP2 Champion Fabio Leimer, who beat Bird to the title that year. Finally, McLaren test driver and Honda sports car driver Oliver Turvey will add to the British interest this weekend as he steps in as Piquet’s teammate over at Team China.
FanBoost as always is currently open with there being two separate votes for each race, so keep your eyes pealed after Race 1 to vote again!
In the build up to the weekend, Nelson Piquet Jr has signed a new contract with NEXTEV TCR to be involved with Formula E for the foreseeable future, joining Daniel Abt and Lucas di Grassi as the other signed up drivers for next season.
Mahindra have also tested their new car, signalling their focus shifting onto a better season next year after a frustrating opening campaign. Team Principal Dilbagh Gill has exclaimed his happiness with the new car after Bruno Senna conducted the test, also suggesting he will be with the team for season two.
In an announcement expected this week, Richard Branson will confirm the Virgin teams tie up with Citröen’s DS brand to supply their power train on a long term contract. However, Jaime Alguersuari’s seat looks to be under pressure from Jean-Éric Vergne as the French car maker Citröen want a French driver.
Formula E has had a fantastic opening season and promises much more in the years to come, starting off with the Mayor of London Boris Johnson driving the Formula E car at the start of this weekend. Now if that doesn’t entice you to watch, I don’t know what will.
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