The new all electric powered series Formula e commences this
Saturday in Beijing, China. Many drivers have tested the cars including a lot
of ex-Formula 1 stars, many of whom in an ideal world would still be competing
in it as they have the talent. There’s also many drivers who haven’t managed to
rise to the top echelon but were capable of doing so. We also have
Indycar racers, World Endurance drivers, drivers from junior formulae like GP2;
this is a very talented driver pool indeed. So as racing is set to get underway
around the Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium let’s take a look at the final line up
to compete when the lights go out.
Amlin Aguri – Takuma Sato
& Katherine Legge
Amlin Aguri are formed from the remnants of former Formula 1
team Super Aguri run by Aguri Suzuki. Their official line up has Antonio Felix da Costa listed as one of
their drivers but the Red Bull reserve driver has a clashing commitment with
the DTM this weekend so up steps Takuma Sato.
Indycar race winner and former F1 charger who famously
battled and beat Fernando Alonso with a great move in the 2007 Canadian Grand
Prix. He’s a Japanese charger, perhaps liable to a rush of blood to the head
but a hard racer who will be spectacular to watch.
Katherine Legge has experience in many forms of motor
racing. She was the first woman to set a pole position lap in the British
Formula Ford Championship, secured several Champcar top 10 finishes and has
raced well in sports cars. She is fast.
Andretti Formula E –
Franck Montagny & Charles Pic
Indycar champion and son of Formula 1 World Champion Mario, Michael
Andretti runs the team that boasts many American racing titles. This is an
ultra professional and competitive outfit who will be looking for title
success.
Their all French driver line up has two ex-Formula 1 drivers.
Montagny has been champion in junior formulae and has tested for several F1
teams and raced briefly for Super Aguri in 2006. He has several Le Mans 24 hour
podiums, a versatile racer.
Pic is another successful driver in junior formulae and rose
swiftly to Formula 1, first with Marussia and then with Caterham in 2012 &
2013 performing well but never with the machinery to really compete. Formula E
is a good opportunity for the 24 year old.
Audi Sport ABT –
Lucas di Grassi & Daniel Abt
Successful German race team particularly in the DTM with a
strong driver line up. di Grassi is another former Formula 1 driver albeit with
a poor car which didn’t allow him to shine. Several victories in GP2 as well as
driving for Audi in the World Endurance Championship and main tester for the
Formula E car mean he could be one to watch.
Abt is son of team owner Hans-Jurgen. Don’t think this is favouritism
though, he’s quick, finishing second in GP3 and then competing in GP2 last
year.
China Racing – Nelson
Piquet & Ho-Pin Tung
China Racing have been operating for 10 years now and have experience of several racing categories.
Nelson Piquet Jnr has
had a varied and controversial career. His year and a half of Formula 1 with
Renault came to an abrupt end after his involvement with the crash gate scandal. He has since competed in various NASCAR series but now is his
chance to re-emerge on the international scene because before F1 he was a very
promising talent.
Tung won German Formula 3 and has competed in IndyCar and
tested in F1 for Williams and Renault. He’s another adaptable driver with a
varied career, including Sports Car racing.
Dragon Racing –
Jerome d’Ambrosio & Oriol Servia
The team is the second USA based outfit which has been
competing in IndyCar since 2006. Formed by the son of Roger Penske, Jay Penske
this is a team to be taken seriously.
d’Ambrosio had one season of F1 in 2011 with Marussia taking
the team’s best finish of the year after having been a GP2 winner the year
before. Since then has been Lotus’ reserve driver, racing in the 2012 Italian
Grand Prix.
Servia has made a career out in the USA competing in IndyCar
in all its various guises since 2000. Not been as successful as he’d have liked
but his career longevity points to a decent driver.
e.dams-Renault –
Nicolas Prost & Sebastien Buemi
A joint effort by 4 time Formula 1 champion Alain Prost and
junior formula team Dams. Dams have collected numerous titles in their long
history and many see them as the team to beat.
Son of Alain, Nicolas was a later-comer to motor racing,
only starting to compete at 22. Now 33 he has been a successful Sports Car
driver and is the test driver for Lotus in Formula 1. He carries his surname
well though.
Buemi competed for Toro Rosso as part of the extremely
competitive Red Bull young driver program for three seasons. Still Red Bull
contracted as their reserve driver he has also finished on the podium at Le
Mans. Top man in Formula E testing, at the moment he has to be the favourite.
Mahindra Racing –
Bruno Senna & Karun Chandhok
The team from India already produces electric cars so could
perhaps have a head start on using the technology. They also possess perhaps
the most lively driver line up on the grid.
Senna has been successful in Formula 3 and was second in the
GP2 series in 2008. Competed in Formula 1 over three years from 2010, he scored
points in half the races for Williams in 2012. He deserved another go but has
since raced in Sports Cars and he deserves another opportunity in a competitive
single seater series.
Chandhok will be team mate to Senna again after their time
in F1 in 2010. Never given a proper chance in Formula 1 but was a top racer
before and can be again as he returns to single seaters after a time in
Endurance Racing.
Trulli – Jarno Trulli
& Michela Cerruti
Jarno Trulli set up this team after being inspired by the
Formula E concept and is already preparing for the second season when it ceases
to be a one make series with work on wireless charging technology.
Trulli himself is a winner of Monaco when he also took pole
position in a perfect weekend. He took part in 256 Grand Prix from 1997 to 2011.
It should be noted in 2004 he often out-qualified Fernando Alonso and was
beating the Spaniard on points until an acrimonious departure.
Cerruti has had a varied career racing in all kinds of
disciplines and will be looking to learn a lot from Trulli in regards to single
seater driving. She has already said her target is to end up beating him.
Venturi – Nick Heidfeld
& Stephane Sarrazin
Venturi have a head star as their co-founder Gildo Pallanca
Pastor also helped build Venturi Automobiles which produces high performance
electric cars. They currently hold the land speed record for an electric car at
307mph. They’re also notable for their other co-founder being Leonardo DiCaprio
and having a very strong driver line up.
Nick Heidfeld was unlucky not to win a race in his long
Formula 1 career but he took several podiums and was highly rated by the teams
he drove for. He’ll be a great asset for this superstar team.
Sarrazin drove briefly in Formula 1 and was a test driver
for a long time but his real success has come in the top category LMP1 of the
World Endurance Championship, he is a top rated WEC driver. Another to make a
late return to single seaters.
Virgin Racing – Jame Alguersuari
& Sam Bird
I think this Richard Branson owned team could be a fan
favourite. They were inspired by the pioneering technology that Formula E
promises which correlates well with their ideals.
Alguersuari should never been ejected from Formula 1, but
the Red Bull young driver program is harsh and he was another to suffer from
it. There were no seats at the time but he’s still very young so might make his
way back. Drove some outstanding races for Toro Rosso and will be one to watch
in Formula E.
Sam Bird was fantastic in GP2 last year, coming so close to
winning the title, a title he probably deserved to win. Highly regarded, he is
the test and reserve driver for Formula 1 leaders Mercedes and should be
competing for wins sooner rather than later.
So that’s the line-up for the 2014/15 season with many of
these drivers have top international careers, the pedigree on the grid is high.
The inaugural season starts this Saturday in China.
all photos taken from autosport.com & fiaformulae.com
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