The 2017–18 FIA Formula E Championship (known for commercial reasons as the 2017–18 ABB FIA Formula E Championship) was the fourth season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Formula E motor racing. It featured the 2017–18 ABB FIA Formula E Championship, a motor racing championship for open-wheel electric racing cars, recognised by FIA, the sport's governing body, as the highest class of competition for electrically powered vehicles. Twenty drivers representing ten teams contested twelve ePrix, which started in Hong Kong on 2 December 2017 and ended on 15 July 2018 in New York City as they competed for the Drivers' and Teams' Championships.
2017–18 was the final season that the Spark-Renault SRT 01E chassis—which debuted in the 2014–15 Formula E season—was used in competition; as a brand new chassis package was introduced for the 2018–19 season.
Lucas di Grassi entered as the defending Drivers' Champion after securing his first title at the 2017 Montreal ePrix. began the season as the defending Teams' Champion, having clinched its third consecutive accolade at the same event.
Frenchman Jean-Éric Vergne took victory in Drivers' Championship with 198 points, besting Lucas di Grassi and Sam Bird. Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler took victory in the Team's Championship, beating Techeetah by a narrow two point margin.
Teams and drivers All teams used Spark chassis. Team Powertrain Driver name Races Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler Audi e-tron FE04 1 Lucas di Grassi All 66 Daniel Abt All DS Virgin Racing DS Virgin DSV-03 2 Sam Bird All 36 Alex Lynn All Panasonic Jaguar Racing Jaguar I-Type 2 3 Nelson Piquet Jr. All 20 Mitch Evans All Venturi Formula E Team Venturi VM200-FE-03 4 Edoardo Mortara 1–8, 10 Tom Dillmann 9, 11–12 5 Maro Engel All Dragon Racing Penske EV-2 6 Neel Jani 1–2 José María López 3–12 7 Jérôme d'Ambrosio All Renault Renault Z.E. 17 8 Nicolas Prost All 9 Sébastien Buemi All Nio Formula E Team NextEV Nio Sport 003 16 Oliver Turvey 1–11 Ma Qinghua 12 68 Luca Filippi 1–7, 9–12 Ma Qinghua 8 Techeetah Renault Z.E. 17 18 André Lotterer All 25 Jean-Éric Vergne All Mahindra Racing Mahindra M4Electro 19 Felix Rosenqvist All 23 Nick Heidfeld All MS&AD Andretti Formula E Andretti ATEC-03 27 Kamui Kobayashi 1–2 Tom Blomqvist 3–8 Stéphane Sarrazin 9–12 28 António Félix da Costa All Source:
Team changes Name changes The official entry list for the 2017–18 season contained a number of name changes for the teams. These were: Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport became Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler, reflecting increased involvement from Audi. Faraday Future Dragon Racing dropped the name Faraday Future from the official name to become Dragon Racing. NextEV NIO Formula E was shortened to become NIO Formula E. MS Amlin Andretti became MS&AD Andretti Formula E, pending future cooperation with BMW.
Driver changes Joining Formula E Former IndyCar and GP2 driver Luca Filippi joins Nio, replacing Nelson Piquet Jr. who moved to Jaguar. 2008 A1 Grand Prix champion and 2016 World Endurance Champion Neel Jani joined the series with Dragon Racing replacing Loïc Duval. 2014 GP3 Series champion and 2017 12 Hours of Sebring winner Alex Lynn replaces José María López at DS Virgin Racing. 2011 Formula Nippon Champion and 2012 World Endurance Champion André Lotterer joins Techeetah replacing Stéphane Sarrazin. 2010 Formula 3 Euro Series champion Edoardo Mortara will make his debut in Formula E with Venturi. DTM driver Tom Blomqvist was set to replace Robin Frijns at Andretti Autosport but his seat prior the first round was granted to FIA World Endurance Championship and Super Formula Championship driver Kamui Kobayashi.
Changing teams 2014–15 Formula E champion Nelson Piquet Jr. moves to Panasonic Jaguar Racing, replacing Adam Carroll.
Mid-season changes After just one weekend in Hong Kong, Dragon Racing driver Neel Jani left the team in order to focus on his upcoming World Endurance Championship campaign. He was replaced by former DS Virgin Racing driver José María López.
For the first weekend in Hong Kong, Kamui Kobayashi was brought by MS&AD Andretti to satisfy sponsors. Tom Blomqvist however, took over that car after and raced it until the Paris round, where he left the team to focus on World Endurance Championship commitments with BMW, he was replaced by Stéphane Sarrazin.
Edoardo Mortara missed Berlin and the finale in New York due to DTM commitments with Mercedes. Mortara was replaced by Tom Dillmann on both occasions.
Ma Qinghua subbed in for Luca Filippi at Nio Formula E Team for the Paris ePrix, to fulfill a contract obligation.
Rule changes The maximum power usage during the race was increased from 170 kW to 180 kW. A point for the fastest lap will be restricted to drivers finishing in the top 10, ending the incentive for drivers with damaged cars or placed outside points positions to switch cars to get fastest lap with no intent of finishing the race.
Calendar In May 2017, a provisional calendar for the 2017–18 season was circulated. In September, the full calendar was announced. This calendar included new races in Santiago, São Paulo, Rome and Zürich, the latter of which will mark the first time since 1955 a motorsports circuit race will be held in Switzerland.Formula E brings racing return to Switzerland The Buenos Aires round was discontinued, whilst the Monaco round will not be held due to the Historic Grand Prix of Monaco taking place in 2018. Later that year, on 30 November, it was announced that the São Paulo race would be postponed until 2019, with a race elsewhere to replace it in the schedule. It was later announced that Punta del Este in Uruguay, which had been on the schedule for seasons 1 and 2, would be returning in place of São Paulo. On 18 December 2017, the Montreal ePrix was cancelled due to the Mayor of Montreal citing rising costs to the taxpayer. On 18 January 2018, it was announced the ePrix would not be replaced, thus decreasing the calendar to twelve rounds.
Round ePrix Country Track Date 1 2 December 2017 2 3 Marrakesh ePrix 13 January 2018 4 Santiago ePrix Santiago Street Circuit 3 February 2018 5 Mexico City ePrix 3 March 2018 6 Punta del Este ePrix Punta del Este Street Circuit 17 March 2018 7 Rome ePrix Circuito Cittadino dell'EUR 14 April 2018 8 Paris ePrix France Paris Street Circuit 28 April 2018 9 Berlin ePrix Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit 19 May 2018 10 Zürich ePrix Zürich Street Circuit 10 June 2018 11 Brooklyn Street Circuit 14 July 2018 12 New York City ePrix Race 2 15 July 2018 Source:
ePrix locations
Results and standings ePrix Round Race Pole position Winning driver Winning team 1 Hong Kong Point for Fastest Lap awarded to Daniel Abt as d'Ambrosio did not finish inside the top 10. Sam Bird DS Virgin Racing Report 2 Felix Rosenqvist Lucas di GrassiPoint for Fastest Lap awarded to Felix Rosenqvist as di Grassi did not finish inside the top 10. Felix RosenqvistDaniel Abt and Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler were the initial winners but were disqualified for technical infringement. Mahindra Racing 3 Marrakesh Sébastien Buemi Nelson Piquet Jr. Felix Rosenqvist Mahindra Racing Report 4 Santiago Jean-Éric Vergne Sam Bird Techeetah Report 5 Mexico City Felix Rosenqvist Lucas di Grassi Daniel Abt Report 6 Jean-Éric Vergne José María López Jean-Éric Vergne Techeetah Report 7 Rome Felix Rosenqvist Daniel Abt Sam Bird DS Virgin Racing Report 8 Paris Jean-Éric Vergne Lucas di Grassi Jean-Éric Vergne Techeetah Report 9 Berlin Daniel Abt Daniel Abt Daniel Abt Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler Report 10 Zürich Mitch Evans André Lotterer Lucas di Grassi Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler Report 11 New York City Sebastien Buemi Felix RosenqvistPoint for Fastest Lap awarded to Daniel Abt as Rosenqvist did not finish inside the top 10. Lucas di Grassi Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler Report 12 Sebastien Buemi Daniel Abt Jean-Éric Vergne Techeetah Source:
Drivers' Championship standings Points were awarded to the top ten classified finishers in every race, the pole position starter, and the driver who set the fastest lap, using the following structure: Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Pole Points 25 18 15 12 10 8 6 4 2 1 3 1
Driver HKG MRK SCL MEX PDE RME PAR BER ZUR NYC 1 Jean-Éric Vergne 2 4 5 1 5 1 5 1 3 10 5* 1* 198 2 Lucas di Grassi 17 14 Ret Ret 9* 2 2* 2* 2 1* 1 2 144 3 Sam Bird 1 5 3 5 17 3 1 3 7 2 9 10 143 4 Sébastien Buemi 11 10 2* 3* 3* Ret* 6 5* 4* 5* 3* 4* 125 5 Daniel Abt 5* DSQ* 10* Ret* 1 14* 4* 7* 1* 13* 2* 3* 120 6 Felix Rosenqvist 14 1 1 4 Ret* 5* Ret 8 11* 15 14 5 96 7 Mitch Evans 12 3 11 7 6 4 9 15 6 7 Ret 6 68 8 André Lotterer DSQ 13 Ret 2 13 12 3 6 9 4 7 9 64 9 Nelson Piquet Jr. 4 12 4 6 4 Ret Ret Ret 12 Ret Ret 7 51 10 Oliver Turvey 16 6 Ret 14 2 7 12 9 5 9 WD 46 11 Nick Heidfeld 3 16 7 Ret Ret Ret 16 11 10 6 6 8 42 12 Maro Engel 13 7 12 Ret 16 10 8 4 8 11 8 Ret 31 13 Edoardo Mortara 7 2 17† 13 8 17 10 13 Ret 29 14 Jérôme d'Ambrosio Ret 15 15 8 11 9 7 12 19 3 13 Ret 27 15 António Félix da Costa 6 11 14 9 7 11 11 Ret 15 8 11 15 20 16 Alex Lynn 8 9 9 Ret 10 6 Ret 14 16 16 Ret 14 17 17 José María López 6 Ret* 12 8 17† 10 18 12 Ret Ret 14 18 Tom Dillmann 13 4 Ret 12 19 Nicolas Prost 9 8 13 10 Ret 15 14 16 14 Ret 10 11 8 20 Tom Blomqvist 8 11 15 16 15 Ret 4 21 Luca Filippi 10* Ret* 16 12 14 13 13* 17 Ret 15 Ret 1 22 Stéphane Sarrazin 20 14 12 12 0 23 Ma Qinghua 17 13 0 24 Kamui Kobayashi 15* 17* 0 25 Neel Jani 18 18 0 Driver HKG MRK SCL MEX PDE RME PAR BER ZUR NYC Source:Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap* – FanBoost
† – Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance.
Teams' Championship standings Team HKG MRK SCL MEX PDE RME PAR BER ZUR NYC 1 Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler1 17 14 Ret Ret 9 2 2 2 2 1 1 226466 5 DSQ 10 Ret 1 14 4 7 1 13 2 3 2 Techeetah18 DSQ 13 Ret 2 13 12 3 6 9 4 7 9 26225 2 4 5 1 5 1 5 1 3 10 5 1 3 DS Virgin Racing2 1 5 3 5 Ret 3 1 3 7 2 9 10 16036 8 9 9 Ret 10 6 Ret 14 16 16 Ret 14 4 Mahindra Racing19 14 1 1 4 Ret 5 Ret 8 11 15 14 513823 3 16 7 Ret Ret Ret 16 11 10 6 6 8 5 8 9 8 13 10 Ret 15 14 16 14 Ret 10 11 1339 11 10 2 3 3 Ret 6 5 4 5 3 4 6 Panasonic Jaguar Racing3 4 12 4 6 4 Ret Ret Ret 12 Ret Ret 7 11920 12 3 11 7 6 4 9 12 6 7 Ret 6 7 Venturi Formula E Team4 7 2 17† 13 8 17 10 13 13 Ret 4 Ret 725 13 7 12 Ret 16 10 8 4 8 11 8 Ret 8 Nio Formula E Team16 16 6 Ret 14 2 7 12 9 5 9 WD 13 4768 10 Ret 16 12 14 13 13 17 17 Ret 15 Ret 9 Dragon Racing6 18 18 6 Ret 12 8 17† 10 18 12 Ret Ret417 Ret 15 15 8 11 9 7 12 19 3 13 Ret 10 MS&AD Andretti Formula E27 15 17 8 11 15 16 15 Ret 20 14 12 122428 6 11 14 9 7 11 11 Ret 15 8 11 15 Team HKG MRK SCL MEX PDE RME PAR BER ZUR NYC Source:
Footnotes
References
External links