Final testing

The teams for the coming Formula E season are getting their final chance to put their cars and drivers through their paces before the official start of the fifth ABB FIA Formula E season begins at Ad Diriyah near Riyadh in December.

Audi drivers, Daniel Abt and Lucas di Grassi will be looking to not only defend the teams’ classification title, but seeking to add another drivers’ title to the Audi Sport trophy cabinet in season five of the FIA Formula E Championship, driving the new Audi e-tron FE05 race car.

With testing in Valencia, Spain, this week, the teams have the final opportunity to get their cars sorted before being shipped to Saudi Arabia for the season start. It is also the only opportunity the teams have of testing together and getting a chance to see how their opposition is performing. 

“Following the private tests in recent months, the pre-season test in Valencia now mark both the conclusion and pinnacle of our preparations on the track,” says Team Principal Allan McNish. “It is the first and only direct comparison with the competition and therefore an important assessment for every team of where it stands.”

Thanks to advances in technology, the new season will be the first where no mid-race car swap will be necessary, and a new ‘attack mode’ which is armed when the driver passes through the so called ‘activation zone’ will be introduced this season. When the driver passes through this zone, the power output of his car will receive a short-term boost.

In addition, the ‘fan boost’ system will continue in the 2018/19 season, where vans vote online for their favourite driver to receive a short, additional power boost – the driver with the most votes receiving the important additional power.

This testing session is also the first time both of the Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler cars have been on the track together, giving the media and fans their first look at each car’s race livery – di Grassi with black mirrors and black front wheel arches and Abt with two white front wheel arches and red mirrors. The cars will wear the numbers #11 and #66 respectively, the Brazilian switching back to his favourite number after in car #1 as defending champion, while Daniel Abt has opted for #66.

The two drivers are the only driver pairing in the field to have contested all previous 45 Formula E races as a team, and no other duo has clinched as many trophies in the process.

The Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler sponsors and partners have also remained steadfastly onboard, with MGU03 motorgenerator unit, Alpinestars, Deutsche Post, DHL, HYLA, ITK Engineering, KUKA, LGT, MASCOT, Riello UPS and Würth Elektronik all backing the 2018/19 assault.

When the new season kicks off on December 15, two other Audi e-tron FE05 cars will also form up on the grid, but these will wear the Envision Virgin Racing colours and be driver for the season by Sam Bird and Robin Frijns for the UK team.