Following RACER’s Formula E 101 primer on Tuesday and Amlin Aguri Formula E driver Katherine Legge’s firsthand account of what it’s like to drive a Formula E car on Wednesday, RACER’s Marshall Pruett and three-time Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti close out pre-season previews with a discussion on the 10 teams and 20 drivers that comprise the brand-new series.

Franchitti also serves as a commentator for the all-electric open-wheel series, and will call this weekend’s championship opener on the streets of Beijing, China. Coverage starts at 3.30 a.m. ET on Saturday, on FOXSports1

 

Team Amlin Aguri

Drivers Katherine Legge, Antonio Felix da Costa (RIGHT), Takuma Sato

Team Principals: Aguri Suzuki, Executive Chairman, Mark Preston, Team Principal, Ferry Spijkerman, Commercial Director, Peter McCool, Technical Director

Marshall Pruett says…
The partnership between former F1 driver-turned-team owner Aguri Suzuki and UK-based insurance company Amlin has seen the Super Aguri F1 team’s upper brass launch a Formula E program with Legge and rising Red Bull F1 development driver Antonio Felix da Costa. Costa, who also races in the DTM, has been replaced by former Super Aguri driver Takuma Sato for the opening round due to a scheduling conflict.

Dario Franchitti says…
In common with most of the guys on the grid, they’re a new team with a lot of experienced personnel around the team. They’ve got some experienced engineers, on the technical side, mechanics. With Antonio da Costa, I think he’s obviously pretty good, and Katherine, she’s driven a lot of different things, especially the Delta Wing, which is probably one of the hardest cars to adapt to and she’s done a pretty good job at that. There’s talent there, but as I’ve seen with a lot of the formula E teams, it is a bit of an unknown. I think time will tell how quickly they figure it out.

One thing that all the drivers are going to have to do is adapt to this car with not a lot of downforce, not a lot of mechanical grip, a purpose-built treaded tire, and the power delivery of an electric motor. It’s a complex puzzle for every team to solve, and it will be fascinating to see how some of the lesser-known teams rise to the challenge.

 

Team Andretti Autosport

Drivers Franck Montagny, Charles Pic or Matthew Brabham

Team Principals Michael Andretti, President, Chairman and CEO, JF Thorman, Team Principal, Roger Griffiths, Team Principal, Rob Arnott, Team Manager, Robin Gearing, Engineer, Dave Seyffert, Engineer, Julian Greenhalgh, Chief Mechanic

Pruett says…
Headed by former Honda Performance Development technical director Roger Griffiths, Andretti’s Formula E team is a new venture with a lot of experience from top to bottom.

Franchitti says…
It’s interesting going from Amlin Aguri to Andretti, a team that I drove in for 10 years in various guises. I think they’ve got a first-class technical setup there. Dave Seyffert is involved in the engineering – he was assistant engineer to Allan McDonald when we won the Indy 500 and the championship in 2007, so great to see him getting a chance at that, plus they’ve got a mixture of guys from Indianapolis and guys that they’ve employed in the UK.

With Roger Griffiths and Kyle Moyer keeping an eye on things, they’ll be in good shape. If they haven’t figured it out, they’ll figure it out quickly. As far as drivers, I mean, Frank, all the respect in the world for Frank. I think he’s unbelievably fast. And he’s always exciting. There’s no doubt. He puts a hell of a show on.

It’s not clear what they’re going to do with the second car, at least for a full-time driver. Hopefully, whether it’s Matty Brabham or Ryan Hunter-Reay or Marco Andretti, or Hinch, it would be great to see them cycle them through if they’re not going to have a regular guy in that car.

 

Team Audi Sport Abt

Drivers Lucas di Grassi, Daniel Abt

Team Principals Hans-Jürgen Abt

Pruett says…
One of the most famous and feared DTM teams take a crack at an international open-wheel team after competing in lower formula categories in the 1990s. GP2 driver Daniel Abt was an obvious choice for his father’s team, and F1 hopeful/Formula E test driver/Audi LMP1 factory driver Lucas di Grassi make a powerful combination. If the team can match some of the more experienced open-wheel outfits, they have a young and fast lineup that could be a bit of a sleeper.

Franchitti says
I think with Lucas there, he’s been involved in Formula E since day one. I think he’s got quite a lot invested in the championship. I think he’s very keen on it and he’ll do a great job. Daniel Abt’s slightly at the other end of the spectrum – a young driver coming up still. In GP2, I think he’s done a pretty good job. He’ll be interesting. As a team, you’re really going to see the youth against the experience, and which way pays off. No doubt that the team itself can do the job. As you say, maybe outside of DTM they’re not that well known, but they’ve done a hellishly good job in DTM.

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Team China Racing

Drivers Nelson Piquet Jr. (ABOVE), Ho-Pin Tung

Team Principals Steven Lu, CEO, Adrian Campos, Team Manager, Yu Liu, Chairman

Pruett says…
The choice of Campos lends instant credibility to the team, and with experience in other open-wheel categories, China Racing already has a proper head start. The company also has intentions to build its own electric vehicle and bring it to market, making Formula E a great promotional fit. Despite his scandalous exit from F1, Piquet Jr. has never lacked speed or ability. He’s an instant championship contender if the team is on its game. Tung, a Dutchman of Chinese decent, fits the team’s needs, but doesn’t stand a chance against most of the drivers in the field.

Franchitti says…
With Adrian Campos, he brings the GP2 experience you need for a series like this. It definitely gives the China Racing guys a leg up. They know how to run a car, but again, I’m not sure how much GP2 experience or any of that is going to help because these things are so different than anything anybody’s run before, but the combination of Campos and China Racing means they’ll get to grips with things very quickly.
I think with Nelson, what he’s got in common with a couple of guys in the series is he’s a good driver looking for a home. He’s done NASCAR trucks, Global Rally Cross, and all kinds of stuff. There was even a kart race in Miami that he was doing; he loves to race. I think he’s a good addition to the series. Let’s not forget how successful he was in the ladder steps on the way up to Formula 1. Ho-Pin Tung, when I spoke to him for the first time and he had that Dutch accent, it kind of blew me away. He’s definitely going to be the crowd’s favorite this weekend.
The jury is maybe out a little bit on him. If he can run well, it’ll be a huge feather in his cap. There’s no doubt. I’m not counting anybody out just as yet. There’s definitely different levels of drivers in the series, if you look at their past performance. He’s probably in that second level as of right now.

 

Team Dragon Racing

Drivers Jerome d’Ambrosio, Oriol Servia (LEFT)

Team Principals Jay Penske, Owner and President, Paul Woolnough, Vice President

Pruett says…
The second American team in Formula E has gone through a number of changes before the first race. Four-time Champ Car champion (and former Dragon IndyCar driver) Sebastien Bourdais was meant to occupy one seat, and IndyCar race winner Mike Conway was supposed to be in the second car. Bourdais stepped aside due to schedule conflicts, as did Conway just last week, and in their place, Penske has the somewhat unheralded Belgian d’Ambrosio and the highly respected Servia set to represent the team.

Franchitti says…
Oriol’s a perfect choice and will help with the running the team side of things as well. It’s a great step for him. The Dragon boys have kept the core of the team together, and they know how to run a car well so I don’t see any problems there. They were a little late maybe getting together, getting the cars and everything. When we were down there for one of the tests they were still building the workshop and all that and there were a few late nights. I think that they’ll figure it out.

Having Oriol on the team will definitely help, will speed up that development process, I would say. I think a big loss to the team is losing Conway. I think Mike in some of these tracks we’re going to would have been bloody tough. There not to be. And Jerome d’Ambrosio is a very good driver, but I’m keeping a neutral attitude right now. I’ll judge them on what I see at the track. No preconceived ideas.

 

Team e.dams-Renault

Drivers Nicolas Prost, Sébastien Buemi (RIGHT)

Team Principals Jean-Paul Driot, Co-founder, Alain Prost, Co-founder

Pruett says…
DAMS isn’t a team that’s known to most American racing fans, but they are giants in European ladder series—akin to Sam Schmidt’s team in Indy Lights. They rate as an instant championship contender, and Buemi’s a beast. I won’t be surprised if Sebastien is crowned as the first Formula E champion.

Franchitti says…
From what I’ve seen so far, the e.dams boys are the best prepared. No doubt in my mind. They are the ones–the team to beat. I think Prost has done a good job as far as his pace. He definitely impressed me when he was driving the Rebellion in sports cars. I think Buemi, he’s maybe the favorite there. I think he’s taking it very seriously. He’s one of the most aggressive guys I’ve seen, watching him come up through the ladder as well, he’s a very aggressive driver. I expect fireworks there. I think he’s going to be tough to beat.

 

Team Mahindra Racing

Drivers Karun Chandhok (BELOW), Bruno Senna

Team Principals Anand Mahindra, Chairman & MD of Mahindra Group, Dilbagh Gill, Team Principal Mahindra Racing , S. P. Shukla, Chairman Mahindra Racing

Pruett says…
A fascinating entry with the 2-wheel specialists at Mahindra branching out into the world of 4-wheel competition. Their experience in MotoGP in the Moto3 category with their own bikes won’t translate to Formula E, but as an entrant that already builds a sells EV road cars, joining the series makes plenty of sense. Signing India’s Chandhok to drive for an Indian team makes sense, and the inclusion of Senna adds more talent and interest.

Franchitti says…
At first glance, the Mahindra boys might struggle to get on the pace of the e.dams guys, but in testing they haven’t been a million miles away. Karun and Bruno are probably the two drivers I know better than most, actually.  I definitely go to them for all the information on what’s going on and what they’re up against, and I think they can definitely get the job done.
With Mahindra, they’re a manufacturer of electric cars too. There’s a tight connection there and the fact that they are doing a good part of it in-house I think will play to them. I’m excited to see that. I think it’s important for the series that they do a good job.

 

 

 

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Team Trulli GP

Drivers Jarno Trulli, Michela Cerruti (ABOVE)

Team Principals Jarno Trulli, Co-Founder & Driver, Lucio Cavuto, Team Principal, Francesco Guarnieri, Chairman & CEO

Pruett says…
Former F1 driver Jarno Trulli makes his return to the cockpit with his own team with the help of powerhouse F3000/GP2/AutoGP team Super Nova and electric racing devotees Drayson Racing. Super Nova AutoGP driver Cerruti stands out as the only driver in the series who can use the opportunity to make a bigger name for herself if she fares well.

Franchitti says…
They were struggling in the testing as far as some mechanical issues. Both cars, actually. So hopefully, they’ll have an easier time of it now that we know business is picking up. Jarno’s qualifying pace is legendary. I think he brings a lot to the series with his list of achievements over the years. If they can get the car figured out, they’ll be okay, but at the tests I attended, they struggling just to get the thing running consistently. Nobody else seems to be having the amount of problems that they were. So hopefully, they’ll figure that out.
Michela is definitely an unknown compared to the other drivers in the series, but she did win an AutoGP race, and okay, it’s not a topline series, but a win is a win. It will be interesting to see how she gets on there. She’ll learn a lot from Jarno.

 

Team Venturi

Drivers: Nick Heidfeld (RIGHT), Stéphane Sarrazin

Team Principals: Leonardo DiCaprio, Founder, Gildo Pallanca Pastor, Founder, Francesco Costa, Founder, Bert Hedaya, Founder

Pruett says…
Great to see the Venturi name back at a high level in racing after their GT cars made such a splash in everything from the 24 Hours of Le Mans to the BPR series in the mid-1990s. Their driver lineup is another one that is worth fearing.

Franchitti says…
Obviously, Venturi is another electric car manufacturer, and they’ve got the DiCaprio connection. They brought a lot in terms of profile to the series. They’ve got a very, very experienced driver lineup with Nick Heidfeld, who seems to have driven pretty much everything, and Sarrazin, who really has driven everything. If the team gets the most out of the cars, they could be one of the leading efforts.

 

Team Virgin Racing

Drivers Jaime Alguersuari, Sam Bird (BOTH BELOW)

Team Principals Alex Tai, Team Principal

Pruett says…
Interesting to see Virgin Racing return after its F1 foray with a more consolidated effort in Formula E with possibly the best driver duo in the paddock. Virgin owner Richard Branson is known for his love of alternate transportation solutions, making Formula E an obvious outlet for the company’s unique form of expression. Along with e.dams’ Buemi, Alguersuari and Bird should vie for the first Formula E title.

Franchitti says…
Their pace looked good in the tests I’ve seen. With Alguersuari  and Sam Bird, they’ve got two drivers I rate really, really highly. Alguersuari is bloody good. And Sam Bird; I like the way Sam drives a car. It’s a weird thing to say, but I like the style in which he drives a car–there’s something about it–it all flows together, and I like that. And the cars look bloody good. What’s not to like about this team?