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Outspoken former Formula 1 champion Jacques Villeneuve has belittled the profile of Formula E as its new season gets underway.

Last weekend, the all-electric series begun its fifth campaign in Saudi Arabia with Antonio Felix da Costa holding off champion Jean-Eric Vergne to take the win.

This latest season has also seen the cars take a huge leap forward in terms of battery life and power with a new race format aimed at spicing up the racing.

Even so... "Nobody wants to see electric racing," Villeneuve told Automobile Magazine and was quoted by GPFans.com.

"The truth is, in the F1 paddock, nobody even knows when the Formula E races are on.

"I don't understand why they are pushing it so much. I think it's a niche thing. The die-hard fans are the only ones who really keep up with it."

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What makes the Canadian's rebuke particularly interesting is he has previously driven in Formula E, albeit only lasting two rounds with Venturi in Season 2.

"I did a couple of races in Formula E and I was happy to do them because the technology was interesting," he admitted.

"You have power, you step on the gas - well, I probably shouldn't say gas - you step on the pedal, and you go somewhere but ultimately… I don't know."

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BMW i Andretti Motorsport's Antonio Felix da Costa led the way in Qualifying, confirming the German manufacturer's impressive pace first seen in pre-season testing while securing the team's maiden Pole.

The Portuguese driver set a 1:17.728s, while NIO Formula E Team's Tom Dillmann came under investigation by the FIA for deviating from the set Qualifying format.

Dillmann completed multiple laps in his NIO Sport 004 rather than completing an out-lap, a 200kW sighting tour and a 250kW flying lap before finishing with an in-lap. The Frenchman provisionally finished in second place. 

After the morning's sessions were disrupted by bouts of heavy rain, the Qualifying format changed, seeing two groups of 11 cars per group go out - the first made up of the top five finishers in the 2017/18 championship. With no Super Pole, the drivers times will dictate their starting position in the inaugural E-Prix in Saudi Arabia later today. The session is the first wet classified session in the history of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship. 

Finishing third was Geox Dragon's Jose-Maria Lopez, who completed the session with a best time of 1:18.113s while Nissan e.dams Sebastien Buemi placed fourth. For our reigning champion, Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Techeetah), the Frenchman failed to make it anywhere near the top, placing seventh, while his teammate Andre Lotterer placed 10th. 

Rookie HWA Racelab driver Stoffel Vandoorne managed to place fifth after setting the pace during the morning's practice session. The Belgian driver is new to series alongside his teammate (and fellow rookie) Gary Paffett, who finished 15th. 

After a crash in the morning's Practice session, Mahindra Racing's Felix Rosenqvist met with the wall for a second time today while Geox Dragon's rookie Maximilian Guenther came to a stop on track during the second half of the session after grazing the wall.

Neither posted a time during the session and will start at the back of the pack. 

Rosenqvist's incident led to disruption for Alexander Sims, Felipe Massa and both Mitch Evans and Nelson Piquet Jr's laps. For reigning champions Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler, Lucas di Grassi just fell short of the top ten while his teammate Daniel Abt finished near the back of the pack in 18th. 

For Venturi Formula E's Felipe Massa, he'll have to work his way from the back of the pack after finishing in 19th, while his teammate Edoardo Mortara finished five places above him despite an incident in the morning's practice session. 

source: fiaformulae.com

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Antonio Felix da Costa narrowly clung on to victory in Ad Diriyah, fending off a fast-charging Jean-Eric Vergne in the closing laps to deliver a maiden win in the FIA Formula E Championship for BMW i Andretti Motorsport.
 
The Portuguese driver led away from pole position - despite the blushes of having to reverse into his grid slot after overshooting his mark. Da Costa looked comfortable out front in the opening phase of the race confirming the pace of the BMW powertrain shown in pre-season testing.
 
However, the ominous speed of DS TECHEETAH and Vergne meant Da Costa briefly dropped to second, before the reigning champion fell down the field as he served a drive-through penalty for a technical infringement relating to power regeneration.
 
Vergne exited the pits in fifth and fought his way through the pack and back onto the tail of the race leader. With a late safety car to recover Jose Maria Lopez’s GEOX DRAGON machine - which suffered suspension damage - the cars closed up and gave Vergne a chance to make a lunge for victory. Even though the gap reduced to under half a second, the countdown clock ran out with Vergne having to settle for second place.
 
Joining Da Costa and Vergne on the podium was Jerome D’Ambrosio in his first race for MAHINDRA RACING. Starting the race in sixth, D’Ambrosio held position over his nearest rivals, including Andre Lotterer who missed out on a podium place - suffering the same fate as his team-mate with a penalty.
 
With an exciting new era of electric racing underway, Formula E returns to Marrakesh on January 12 - for round two of the 2018/19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship. There’s all to play for in the closest, most intense and unpredictable racing series on the planet.
 
Race Result:
Pos Driver Team
1 Antonio Felix da Costa BMW i Andretti Motorsport
2 Jean-Eric Vergne DS TECHEETAH
3 Jerome D’Ambrosio MAHINDRA RACING
4 Mitch Evans Panasonic Jaguar Racing
5 Andre Lotterer DS TECHEETAH
6 Sebastien Buemi Nissan e.dams
7 Oliver Rowland Nissan e.dams
8 Daniel Abt Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
9 Lucas di Grassi Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
10 Nelson Piquet Jr. Panasonic Jaguar Racing
11 Sam Bird Envision Virgin Racing
12 Robin Frijns Envision Virgin Racing
13 Oliver Turvey NIO Formula E Team
14 Tom Dillmann NIO Formula E Team
15 Maximilian Gunther GEOX DRAGON
16 Stoffel Vandoorne HWA RACELAB
17 Felipe Massa VENTURI Formula E Team
18 Alexander Sims BMW i Andretti Motorsport
19 Edoardo Mortara VENTURI Formula E Team
20 Jose Maria Lopez GEOX DRAGON
21 Gary Paffett HWA RACELAB
22 Felix Rosenqvist MAHINDRA RACING

 

Driver's Standing:

Pos. Driver Team Points
1 Antonio Felix da Costa BMW i Andretti Motorsport 28
2 Jean-Eric Vergne DS TECHEETAH 18
3 Jerome D’Ambrosio MAHINDRA RACING 15
4 Mitch Evans Panasonic Jaguar Racing 12
5 Andre Lotterer DS TECHEETAH 11
6 Sebastien Buemi Nissan e.dams 8
7 Oliver Rowland Nissan e.dams 6
8 Daniel Abt Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 4
9 Lucas di Grassi Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 2
10 Nelson Piquet Jr. Panasonic Jaguar Racing 1
11 Sam Bird Envision Virgin Racing 0
12 Robin Frijns Envision Virgin Racing 0
13 Oliver Turvey NIO Formula E Team 0
14 Tom Dillmann NIO Formula E Team 0
15 Maximilian Gunther GEOX DRAGON 0
16 Stoffel Vandoorne HWA RACELAB 0
17 Felipe Massa VENTURI Formula E Team 0
18 Alexander Sims BMW i Andretti Motorsport 0
19 Edoardo Mortara VENTURI Formula E Team 0
20 Jose Maria Lopez GEOX DRAGON 0
21 Gary Paffett HWA RACELAB 0
22 Felix Rosenqvist MAHINDRA RACING 0

 

Team's Standing:

Pos. Team Points
1 DS TECHEETAH 29
2 BMW i Andretti Motorsport 28
3 MAHINDRA RACING 15
4 Nissan e.dams 14
5 Panasonic Jaguar Racing 13
6 Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 6
7 Envision Virgin Racing 0
8 VENTURI Formula E Team 0
9 NIO Formula E Team 0
10 GEOX DRAGON 0
11 HWA RACELAB 0

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It was rookie HWA Racelab driver Stoffel Vandoorne who led the first and only practice session of the day ahead of Qualifying here in Ad Diriyah with a 1:18.868 lap, after heavy rain in the morning and surface water on the track,

Second was Envision Virgin Racing's Sam Bird (1:19.045s) and third fastest was Nissan e.dams Sebastien Buemi with a 1:19.050s lap. 

Ten minutes into the session, Venturi Formula E Team's Edoardo Mortara failed to stop going into Turn 1 and met with the wall, damaging the front of his car. With all drivers struggling to keep their cars in a straight line in the wet conditions, Felix Rosenqvist also met with the wall close to the end of the session.

Three of the slowest four cars in the session were Venturi powertrains, with  the team's rookie driver Felipe Massa finishing the session in 19th place.  

source: fiaformulae.com

 

         

 

 

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