The DS Techeetah driver did not succeed in transforming his 15th pole position into victory. Mitch Evans managed to impose his Jaguar in the last laps of the race, while Edoardo Mortara positioned his Venturi in third position.
This is called a successful first. Jakarta, which had not hosted a single international car championship since 2006, returned this weekend to top-level competition. The Formula E world championship took an ephemeral circuit (2.37 km, 18 turns), drawn in the heart of a hotel zone and amusement parks. A place visibly appreciated by the stables, which had to deal with excessive heat and very high humidity.
We hadn’t seen this since Putrajaya (Malaysia, seasons 1 and 2) when the interviews couldn’t be held outside because of the temperature in full sun, the hostesses dropping like flies on the starting line, and that the batteries of the electric single-seaters went into degraded mode… Fortunately, this was not the case in Jakarta.
Heat, humidity wearing soil
40°C in the air, more than 50°C on the track, and unbearable humidity were nevertheless the starting point. But that was without counting on a new fact. It didn’t show up right away because the track was dirty, but once it was gummed up by the various passages its new asphalt became the most abrasive ever encountered in 92 E-Prix. Even Michelin, directly concerned by the subject, said he was very surprised by the highly wear-and-tear nature of this asphalt.
« The Jakarta circuit was certainly unknown to us, but we did not expect such an abrasive surface! » says Mirko Pirracchio, Michelin’s Formula E manager. The regulations, which limit the tire allocation to only two sets (eight tires) per car, then forced us to face extreme conditions. We were particularly attentive to the weather, the evolution of track temperatures, and the tire strategy to adopt to reassure our partners. Fortunately, everything went according to plan, and the end of the E-Prix all highlighted the consistency of performance as well as the longevity of our tires.. The notion of confidence was even more important on a circuit where no one had ever ridden.
A fast-paced race
In qualifying, the DS Techeetah had pulled off the perfect crime. Vergne (15th pole position, a record) and Da Costa occupied the first two places on the grid. After a trouble-free start, the exit from the track on the second lap of Oliver Rowland (Mahindra) caused the exit of the safety car.
On resumption, Da Costa is a little soft and is surprised by Mitch Evans. The double winner of the Rome E-Prix then moved firmly into second position. He struggles to keep up with Vergne, who has triggered the first of his two Attack Modes. Evans does the same on the next lap, hoping to stay in touch. But by activating his power bonus, the “Kiwi” loses two places, and allows Edoardo Mortara to move up when he had not yet used his two power jokers. The race then passes into its second half, and Vergne is still a solid leader. But Evans is still in contact, and Mortara is back behind Da Costa.
In front, the heat begins to affect the batteries. The engineer from Vergne asks him to switch to a slower mode, which allows him to better control the temperature of his energy block, but which makes him vulnerable. The challenge is not to bring the battery in safely, which would cut off all the power of the car for long seconds.
Six laps from the finish, Evans tries a regular attack on JEV, and passes easily, as if the Frenchman was unable to retaliate. Vergne will then remain in contact with the Jaguar driver, but will no longer be able to worry him. Evans then won his third victory this season, ahead of Vergne (fifth podium in a row but no victory yet this season) and Mortara. Antonio Félix da Costa finished at the foot of the podium, after starting second.
This new victory allows Evans to return to just 11 points behind Stoffel Vandoorne, still leading the championship. Vergne and Mortara are respectively seven and five points behind the Belgian driver. Four drivers therefore stand on 12 points, which leaves the race for the Drivers’ title wide open with seven races remaining before the end of the season.
After this difficult but successful round (60,000 spectators attended the race), the next round of the Formula E world championship will take place on July 2 in Marrakech (Morocco).
Drivers rankings (top 10) after nine races:
- Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes-EQ FORMULA E TEAM). 121 Points
- Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Techeetah) 116
- Edoardo Mortara (Rokit Venturi Racing) 114
- Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) 109
- Robin Frijns (Envision Racing) 81
- Nyck de Vries (Mercedes-EQ FORMULA E TEAM) 65
- André Lotterer (Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team) 59
- Pascal Wehrlein (Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team) 55
- Lucas Di Grassi (Rokit Venturi Racing) 55
- Antonio Felix Da Costa (DS Techeetah) 54
Manufacturers ranking:
- Mercedes-EQ FORMULA E TEAM, 190 Points
- DS Techeetah 170
- Rocket Venturi Racing 169
- Jaguar TCS Racing 139
- Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 114
- Envision Racing 97
- Avalanche Andretti 38
- Nissan e.dams 13
- Mahindra 12
- NIO 333
- Dragon Penske Autosport 0
Photo : Icon Sport
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