Friday Formula E Notes

de Silvestro thankful for Andretti Opportunity

Indycar star Simona de Silvestro was full of praise for Andretti Autosport owner Michael Andretti ahead of her series debut in London. The Swiss, whose only prior experience of Formula E came in a low-speed demonstration run in Geneva, signed a deal to run a fourth Andretti-ran entry in select IndyCar rounds, including the Indianapolis 500, and finished fourth in a weather-affected round at NOLA.

de Silvestro at the TE Connectivity launch (Own photo).

“I’m really fortunate to have had the opportunity with Michael to do the first two races of IndyCar and then 500 and this opportunity came out of it,” she said. “That’s the cool thing about a team like that; there’s so many options. Whenever Michael believes in somebody, he tries really hard to give a chance to that driver, so I’m really lucky and happy that he’s given me that trust.

Indianapolis hasn’t been kind to de Silvestro in the past and, due to form, threw up a plethora of unwelcome obstacles, including a fire in practise that cast an unwelcome reminder of her monumental accident back in 2011. Nevertheless, de Silvestro enjoyed the experience and already looking forward to going back next year.

“Indy was interesting because it was the first time I was with one of the top teams, so it was a really different experience,” she said. “We had a good month; unfortunately we didn’t quite have the speed we wanted, but it was a good experience and I came out of there really happy. Of course we wanted a better result, but it was the first time I would really look forward to going back and doing the race again.”

This weekend will be on less familiar climes, as de Silvestro races in Europe for the first time since an Italian formula Renaul campaign in 2005. But street circuits are where de Silvestro earned her best IndyCar results – a second at Houston in 2013 and a fourth at St. Petersburg in 2011 – and the Swiss is looking forward to taking on the double-header.

“It’s definitely interesting, I’m really used to street courses, but I’ve never been on a track like this in a park with trees,” she said. “I think it’s going to be really challenging for all of us but street courses are always fun to drive, and as a driver you can always find a little bit more within yourself with all the different lines.”

d’Ambrosio being realistic

Dragon Racing’s Jerome d’Ambrosio was one of six drivers in mathematical contention for the Formula E title coming into the London double header, but was keeping his hopes firmly in check on Friday. Asked if he would be playing the waiting game on the very narrow London streets, the Belgian said, “yes and no: mathematically we’re still title contenders, but you have to be realistic. It would take something pretty radical for me to clinch the title, so the only way to handle this weekend is race by race. Qualifying is going to be crucial here, and the pitstops, so we’ll see tomorrow.”

D'Ambrosio is an outside contender for the title (Own photo).

Coming off a non-score in Moscow – his first since Buenos Aires – d’Ambrosio nevertheless declared himself satisfied with his performance in the inaugural season of Formula E.

“I think since the last few races we’ve really made a step forward, in Miami and again in Monaco,” he said. “For sure we can improve, but it’s been a pretty good first season, we now just have to end it well. It will be interesting to see what happens for year two with the new technologies; we haven’t confirmed anything, but there shouldn’t be any drastic change from my side.”

Turvey eager to get started

Oliver Turvey is another of the drivers to be making his Formula E debut at NEXTEV TCR this weekend, in place of the underperforming Charles Pic. The Briton, who lives locally to the Battersea Park circuit, is optimistic that his six years as McLaren test-driver will help him make up for lost time, having never driven the car before the weekend.

Turvey (centre) speaking to Motorsport.com's Sam Smith (left) (Own photo).

“Being my first weekend, to have two races makes a big difference,” said Turvey. “Hopefully I’ll learn as much as possible tomorrow and try and get a good result in the first race, but Sunday we have a chance to improve further. I’m here to do the best job I can to help NEXT-TV in the teams championship; it’s quite close for second and still possible to even win it, so the goal is to do as well as I can and score as many points as possible.

“I’ve always enjoyed the development side with my engineering background, and working with McLaren you obviously learn a lot,” he added. “I think I’ve developed a lot as a driver in the last six years, so it would be nice to show it in this championship.”

In short

London mayor Boris Johnson also took to the track for a demonstration run on Friday, completing two laps behind the safety car in the Formula E test car. Afterwards, he declared: “it was amazing, amazing. I thought I hit a squirrel at one stage but he was quite nimble! It’s a wonderful event for London and I congratulate Formula E and Alejandro for everything they’ve done. Wandsworth have played a blinder in getting it here in Battersea and let’s make sure we have it every year.”

Berthon in the paddock on Friday (Own photo).

Trulli new-boy Alex Fontana was only announced as GT-Asia bound Tonio Liuzzi’s replacement on Thursday morning.  “I was sitting there eating my Cheerios for breakfast and thought ‘why not,’” he said.

Andretti Autosport Director of Motorsport Development Roger Griffiths was on hand to announce the formation of Andretti Technologies, which will serve as the advanced engineering arm across all Andretti companies. The Andretti team, which will be running in the orange and white of new technical partners TE Connectivity, is set to become a fully-fledged manufacturer in year two and will hence produce its own bespoke powertrain.

Lastly, Nathaniel Berthon and Jon Lancaster were among the interested on-lookers touring the paddock. The European Le Mans Series rivals, both winners in GP2, could be ones to watch as Formula E enters it’s all important second season.