The seventh of 13 races brings the ABB FIA Formula E Championship to Europe for the first time this season. BMW i Andretti Motorsport has two major goals for the Geox Rome E-Prix (ITA): defending Portuguese António Félix da Costa’s lead in the driver standings and converting the BMW i drivetrain potential into good results with both cars. The race in Rome is also the opener of the ‘voestalpine European Races’, the collective name for the series of races in Rome, Paris (FRA), Monaco (MON), Berlin (GER) and Bern (SUI).
Quotes ahead of the Geox Rome E-Prix:
Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director):
“In the first six races of their maiden season in Formula E, the BMW i Andretti Motorsport team has racked up one win, one pole position, three podiums and first place in the driver standings for António Félix da Costa. We can be really pleased with that. Our objective for the European opener in Rome is to convert the great potential of our drivetrain into good results even more consistently than we have done so far and to pick up points with both drivers. It’s a very ambitious goal in this championship, but I’m certain that we can do it. We want to put on a strong show for BMW fans in Europe as well.”
Roger Griffiths (Team Principal BMW i Andretti Motorsport):
“The BMW i Andretti Motorsport team is excited to kick off the European portion of the ABB Formula E season. After another podium finish in Sanya, going to Rome leading the championship with António Félix da Costa is a great place to be at the halfway point of the season. With the Rome track being the longest of the season, with a lot of challenging turns, a premium will be placed on finding the most amount of grip from the Michelin tyres in addition to monitoring the loads placed on the brakes. Looking at the weather forecast, it looks like the heat experienced in Sanya will be a thing of the past, with much cooler conditions for both car and personnel.”
Alexander Sims (#27 BMW iFE.18):
“It’s cool to be returning to Europe for the second half of the season. We have consistently shown great potential in the races so far, but unfortunately we haven’t got the results to go with it. There have been many reasons for this, which we have analysed so that we can do better in the second half of the season.”
António Félix da Costa (#28 BMW iFE.18):
“We head to Rome bolstered by a good result and a strong performance. We looked really good in both qualifying and the race in Sanya. The fact that I have taken the lead in the driver standings is great motivation for not only me, but the entire team. The track in Rome should suit us again. I had a lot of fun there last year. It was impressive to see how many fans were there.”
Track Check Rome:
- Longest track of the season at 2.87 kilometres.
- 21 turns: 12 left turns, 9 right turns.
- Important factors: grip, engine performance, energy management.
- Expected tyre wear: medium.
- The track is very uneven with lots of bumps, making it very demanding on the chassis and drive.
- Asphalt: a large number of asphalt changes, which is a particular challenge in braking zones.
- Difficulty: very high – switching between fast combinations and slow sections, which leave no room for mistakes.
- Changed layout: compared to Season 4, turns 15 and 16 have wider radii making the sector even faster.
- Great differences in altitude: a total of 23 metres between the lowest and highest point.
- Pit lane: very narrow and long with an unusual layout.
- Overtaking is difficult.
