The Formula E Championship, which features high-end battery operated cars, begins its season 4 on Saturday at the Hong Kong central harbourport street circuit with 10 teams taking part in 14 races across 11 countries.
Mahindra Racing, the only Indian team in the competition, are raring to go with a new car that the crew feels will give drivers Felix Rosenqvist and former Formula 1 stalwart Nick Heidfeld more efficient power delivery and control.
Having finished third in the team championship last season and following a “satisfactory” pre-season test in Valencia, Mahindra Racing are hopeful going into Season 4 after having completed 3000 km of testing with the new M4Electro car.
“Coming off our progress in the last season, we expect the new car to be among the most competitive packages in Formula E,” Dilbagh Gill, team principal and CEO, told reporters at the Mahindra Racing pit on Friday evening.
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Going into the new season, Mahindra have tied up with Renesas of Japan for software support. “The level at which we are looking, an improvement in efficiency of even a per cent due to software will give us an edge,” Gill added.
{{/usCountry}}Going into the new season, Mahindra have tied up with Renesas of Japan for software support. “The level at which we are looking, an improvement in efficiency of even a per cent due to software will give us an edge,” Gill added.
{{/usCountry}}Although the weather here is bordering on pleasant, the team feels controlling the temperature of the car will be one of the key factors. “There’s has been an increase in race power from 170Kw to 180Kw. The humidity and road temperature could play a part as one or two degrees rise of ambient mercury could make the cars’ thermal efficiency a crucial issue,” team engineer Vinit Patel said on Friday.
Last year’s rookie Rosenqvist who went on to finish third in the drivers’ championship, stayed hopeful. “We have had a good buildup and the opening two races on Saturday and Sunday could set the tone for the season. This is a street circuit, bumpy at places and mostly narrow where overtaking could be difficult other than at a couple of turns. It will be interesting,” the Swede who finished behind Lucas di Grassi and Sebastien Buemi, said.