Formula E: Hong Kong to host the 50th e-prix
Hong Kong, 8 March 2019: Round six of the 2018/19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship marks the 50th race in the series’ history this weekend (10 March), with the stars and cars heading to Hong Kong to do battle on the narrow harbourfront streets.
Having hosted the opening rounds of the championship for the past two seasons, Hong Kong has been a significant event on the calendar, and with the spectacular city skyline the backdrop for this landmark race, it’s sure to be another memorable showdown when the lights go out on Sunday.
Last time out
The Mexico City E-Prix provided one of the most intense races in Formula E history two weeks ago, with Lucas di Grassi snatching a sensational win as he crossed the line sideways overtaking race-long leader Pascal Wehrlein who agonisingly ran out of energy exiting the final corner.
Following a lengthy stoppage early on to recover the crashed Panasonic Jaguar Racing machine of Nelson Piquet Jr, who dramatically collided with the back of reigning champion Jean-Eric Vergne’s DS TECHEETAH machine and ended his race in the barriers, the race became a classic battle of energy management. Wehrlein wasn’t the only driver to struggle in the closing moments of the race, with both Nissan e.dams drivers Oliver Rowland and Sebastien Buemi slowing to a crawl with the team having misjudged the 45 minutes +1Lap race format which is new for this season.
With Wehrlein’s Mahindra machine slowing, Antonio Felix da Costa and Edoardo Mortara were able to snap up the final podium positions for BMW i Andretti Motorsport and Venturi Formula E Team respectively.
Audi on the charge
Di Grassi’s Mexico City win was the first for the German marque this season, and the third consecutive win at the circuit for the team. Last year, Daniel Abt’s victory there set the Audi squad on-course to turn around a dismal start to the year and end up as the overall Teams’ Champions.
It was Abt who crossed the line first on-track in the second race of the season four opener in Hong Kong, and while he was later excluded for a technical infringement, the team will surely be one to watch as the championship returns to the tricky 1.86km circuit this time around.
The circuit layout remains unchanged from previous years, with the only addition being the Attack Mode activation zone positioned at the exit of Turn 6. As it was in Mexico City, it will be a challenge for the drivers to activate their higher power mode – the number and duration of activations will be announced by the FIA no later than one hour before the start of the race.
Mahindra’s podium streak
Mahindra Racing has scored a podium every time the championship has visited Hong Kong, and both of its drivers have been in the headlines with an impressive start to the Gen2 era of Formula E. While Pascal Wehrlein narrowly missed out on his first victory last time out, it’s his team-mate Jerome D’Ambrosio who is leading the standings having had a consistently strong first four events.
The Belgian’s fourth place in Mexico, third in the season-opener in Ad Diriyah and a nail-biting victory in Marrakesh give him a seven-point advantage over BMW’s Antonio Felix da Costa, but these results have come mainly through impressive drives through the field, and D’Ambrosio will surely be focusing on his qualifying performance in a bid to maintain that championship advantage.
Coupled with Wehrlein’s podium finish in Santiago, the Indian squad is currently leading the Teams’ Championship by ten points from Envision Virgin Racing.
FIA Smart Cities – Disruptive Urban Mobility Solutions
This edition of the FIA Smart Cities Forum will be centred on “Disruptive Urban Mobility Solutions” and will take place in one of the global technological centres of the world, Hong Kong – a first for the initiative.
Overlooking the iconic Victoria Harbour, the Forum will seek to shape the vision of the future of smart urban mobility, taking a look at both the ground-breaking technology disrupting traditional transport and logistics, and the visionary public-policy bringing out the best in these transformative technologies.
Speakers from the Government of Hong Kong, Transport for London, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the World Economic Forum (WEF), will join panel discussions with high level private sector representatives.
The day’s events will culminate in the unveiling of the second winner of the FIA Smart Cities Global Start-Up Contest, powered by global start-up incubator MassChallenge.
Click here to find out more.
Championship Standings
Drivers’ Championship
| Jerome D’Ambrosio | MAHINDRA RACING |
53 |
| Antonio Felix da Costa | BMW i Andretti Motorsport |
46 |
| Sam Bird | Envision Virgin Racing |
45 |
| Lucas di Grassi | Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler |
34 |
| Pascal Wehrlein | MAHINDRA RACING |
30 |
| Andre Lotterer | DS TECHEETAH |
29 |
| Robin Frijns | Envision Virgin Racing |
28 |
| Jean-Eric Vergne | DS TECHEETAH |
28 |
| Mitch Evans | Panasonic Jaguar Racing |
28 |
| Edoardo Mortara | VENTURI Formula E Team |
27 |
| Daniel Abt | Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler |
22 |
| Alexander Sims | BMW i Andretti Motorsport |
18 |
| Sebastien Buemi | Nissan e.dams |
15 |
| Oliver Rowland | Nissan e.dams |
6 |
| Oliver Turvey | NIO Formula E Team |
4 |
| Felipe Massa | VENTURI Formula E Team |
4 |
| Jose Maria Lopez | GEOX DRAGON |
2 |
| Nelson Piquet Jr. | Panasonic Jaguar Racing |
1 |
| Maximilian Gunther | GEOX DRAGON |
0 |
| Tom Dillmann | NIO Formula E Team |
0 |
| Gary Paffett | HWA RACELAB |
0 |
| Stoffel Vandoorne | HWA RACELAB |
0 |
| Felipe Nasr | GEOX DRAGON |
0 |
| Felix Rosenqvist | MAHINDRA RACING |
0 |
Teams’ Championship
| MAHINDRA RACING |
83 |
| Envision Virgin Racing |
73 |
| BMW i Andretti Motorsport |
64 |
| DS TECHEETAH |
57 |
| Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler |
56 |
| VENTURI Formula E Team |
31 |
| Panasonic Jaguar Racing |
29 |
| Nissan e.dams |
21 |
| NIO Formula E Team |
4 |
| GEOX DRAGON |
2 |
| HWA RACELAB |
0 |
