Last Word On Sports gained exclusive access to some of the drivers ahead of this weekend’s E-Prix in Monaco.
On Friday’s press day ahead of Saturday’s practice, qualifying, and race in Monaco, Last Word On Sports spoke to four of the current crop of Formula E drivers to discuss the healthy competition within the series; its entertainment, and the new Gen3 car as well as their own goals for the rest of the season.
Andre Lotterer – Avalanche Andretti
ON THE COMPETITIVE NATURE OF FORMULA E:
‘All Formula E races have been exciting, not being able to predict who’s going to win. Not like Formula 1!’ Races are very strategic. Lots of things come into play – of course you need a good car but you also need a good strategy and execution. Slipstream plays a big role nowadays with how much energy you conserve. As we saw in Berlin, it’s quite interesting like that, with people trying to control the pace at the front. There’s no other series that offers such a tactical way of racing and it makes things interesting. Stressful for us as we are super-close to each-other as the nature of the tracks make things chaotic, but it’s all part of the game.’
ON THE GEN3 CAR:
‘Gen3 is good. We are understanding the car better and improving it, and the way to race it. There’s less grip like we expected, we expected more downforce but all-in-all it’s a good car to go racing in.’
ON HIS EXPECTATIONS FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON:
‘I’d like to score more points and be on the podium. We have the potential but things have happened that didn’t help me, but we just have to put it together. The team’s done a really good improving the setup and we have a good race car. Qualifying is still not our strength but we have the tools on paper to execute really good races. We’re focused, and hopefully we’ll be where we deserve to be.’
ON DRIVING FOR ANDRETTI:
‘I’m proud to race for such a prestigious name. I’m a big fan of Mario and his career, he was such an impressive driver and has such great charisma. It’s great what team they’ve put together and how they’ve grown, they’re a very dynamic team and I really enjoy racing for them.’
Sam Bird – Jaguar TCS Racing
ON WHETHER MONACO IS THE RACE TO CONTINUE HIS RECENT FORM:
‘Monaco is as good a place as any to score big points. I’ve scored two podiums in the last two races and I’m feeling good in the car. Jaguar have really delivered a strong package.’
ON JAGUAR’S DRIVER AND TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP HOPES:
‘[Winning both] is most certainly the aim for one of us two [team-mate Mitch Evans] to get the Drivers’ title and if we both continue to score we can be in a window to do a great job in the Constructors’.’
ON GEN 3:
‘I think it’s delivered very exciting racing. We continue to speak to Formula E as drivers to give feedback about what can be done to improve the championship. What Formula E has created is a really good base with Gen3, and it’s providing first-class entertainment.’
ON WHETHER FORMULA E’S OVERTAKING STATS CAN MAKE THE SPORT MORE POPULAR:
‘I think so. The fanbase is growing slowly – it’s a long-game Formula E are playing because you can’t be as big as Formula 1 after just nine years, and it’s not a case of that. We just want to continue to grow and showcase electric mobility to the masses, and I think that’s what we are doing.’
Dan Ticktum – NIO 333 Racing
ON BOUNCING BACK AFTER A TOUGH END TO A PROMISING RACE IN BERLIN:
‘Berlin was very up-and-down, but it was positive getting a point on the second day. I don’t think we are ever going to have the pace to stay at the front and it was hard to keep the pace. With Monaco, I’ve done well here in the past and I’m confident in the circuit. It’ll be interesting to see how tyres react as it’s been one of the big talking-points of the year. I was expecting it to be worse in Berlin so it might be better than I expect here.’
ON BEING NEWER TO THE SERIES THAN OTHER DRIVERS AND COMPARING TO OTHER SERIES:
It’s very different. With Gen3, it’s a big step from last year but apart from the obvious things like less torque and no gears, it’s just like any other racing car. It’s challenging with with less downforce and grip which makes it challenging to drive but they’re based on efficiency more than anything else. Racing can be a bit strange this year as we’re seeing a lot of energy saving and I think we are at risk of the racing not being organic.’
ON THE TEAM’S HOPES FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR:
‘To finish 8th in the standings would be very good. Our plans in the future is to have a bigger budget – we’ve seen this season I’ve put the car in good places in qualifying and over one lap we’re quite strong, but in terms of our powertrain efficiency, we’re not quite there. But if we have the right budget I really think we can challenge for podiums and wins.’
ON THE ENTERTAINMENT VALUE OF FORMULA E:
‘As I said, I hope the racing doesn’t become to un-organic – like where people on different strategies are lifting on straights and overtaking is like a pass on the motorway – and we don’t go too far with that. But it is exciting seeing cars side-by-side a lot, we just need a good balance.’
Stoffel Vandoorne – DS Penske (The Reigning Formula E Champion)
ON A DIFFICULT DEFENCE OF HIS CHAMPIONSHIP AND REJUVENATING HIS SEASON:
‘There’s never any guarantees. The start of the year was complicated but we’ve come a long way since. The focus for here is to have a good qualifying, and I think we are there in qualifying performance, which was a struggle at the start of the year. Now the races are very crazy and feel like a lottery so our hope is to be up there and have a good race.’
ON AREAS THE TEAM CAN IMPROVE:
‘It’s hard to single-out one specific area – it comes down to details. On pure pace, we are a little behind Jaguar and Porsche. We need a little bit of luck to bring us good results, and our target is to master all the details to bring efficiency to the maximum.’
ON HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH TEAM-MATE JEAN-ERIC VERGNE:
‘We get on very well. I’ve known JEV for a long time, and we have a constructive relationship, pushing the team hard to improve, and he’s a fast guy which is important for myself too.’
ON THE ENTERTAINMENT AND OVERTAKING PROSPECTS IN MONACO:
‘The last races have been crazy and I think we’ll see even more overtakes than we did last year, but for Formula E, Monaco is a good track. It’s actually bigger than some of the other tracks and with the cars now being narrower, it gives us a great opportunity to overtake.’
