After a great tenth season of Formula E so far, the big showdown will take place in Great Britain next weekend (July 19 to 21, 2024). The new Formula E world champion will be determined in races number 15 and 16 at the Hankook London ePrix. The best chance of winning the title goes to New Zealander Nick Cassidy from the Jaguar factory team, who is in first place in the overall standings with 167 points.
But his two pursuers, Mitch Evans from New Zealand (Jaguar) and the German Porsche driver Pascal Wehrlein, who are tied on points, are also within striking distance with 155 points each. Antonio Felix da Costa (Porsche), who came fourth overall, also caused a stir recently. The Portuguese won four of the last five races. Mathematically, seven drivers still have the chance to win the world championship crown.
The grand finale will take place in the capital of the United Kingdom, London, which is home to around nine million people. The 2.080-kilometer-long course is located in the London Exhibition Center “ExCeL” in the Docklands in the east of the city. What’s special about it is that the race track at the Hankook London ePrix has an indoor and an outdoor area, as it runs through one of the exhibition halls. This uniqueness creates additional challenges for drivers and the Hankook all-weather tires.
Track details for the Formula E race in London
- Length: 2,080 km
- Number of curves: 20 (twelve right, eight left)
- Direction of travel: Clockwise
- Attack zone: curve 16
“Our premium tire, the Hankook iON Race, can once again show everything here,” says Hankook’s Motorsport Director Manfred Sandbichler, looking forward to the upcoming task. “Because the mix of indoor and outdoor sections, the track offers different surfaces and levels of grit. Artificial and daylight ensure different air and track temperatures and the weather is an additional factor to consider.”
The change between indoor and outdoor takes place via ramps. In addition, strong bumps in the road sometimes cause jumps. In the outdoor area, there are good overtaking opportunities in front of the chicanes. Overall, Sandbichler draws a positive conclusion after two years of Hankook being the exclusive tire supplier to Formula E: “We are particularly proud that our tire has not suffered a single damage through no fault of our own in the two years now in Formula E.”
Formula E records tumble in Portland
Most recently in Portland, Mitch Evans drove the fastest lap ever driven in an official Formula E session on the Hankook standard tire in the third free practice session on Sunday: his average speed on the 3.190-kilometer Portland International Raceway in the USA was 167.26 kilometers per hour. Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Penske) set another record. The Frenchman was on pole position for the 17th time in Portland on Sunday. He thus became the sole record holder in Formula E.
In this double-header, Briton Sam Bird (McLaren-Nissan) and Frenchman Norman Nato (Andretti-Porsche) also made catch-up attempts on Sunday. Both were able to gain 13 places in the race thanks to the good grip of the Hankook tires.
The spectators in the well-filled stands in the US state of Oregon saw two exciting races that were characterized by numerous changes in the lead and a lot of tactics. With temperatures around 25 degrees Celsius on both days, the field of drivers quickly got the Hankook tires into an optimal working window and were thus able to take advantage of the high grip level of the premium tire. After two convincing performances, Antonio Felix da Costa won both races.