Mercedes has confirmed it will join the Formula E grid from Season 6 starting in 2019, dropping their long-standing presence in the DTM touring car series to do so.

The German manufacturer and currently three-time defending world champions in Formula 1 had the option to take up an entry in the all-electric series from Season 5 but has decided the delay that by one season.

It marks another major boost for Formula E who will have a total of seven car manufacturers on the grid with Audi, Citroen, Renault, Jaguar, NextEV and BMW alongside Mercedes with Ferrari and Porsche both reportedly interested in a future entry as well.

"Today is a great day as we welcome Mercedes to the Formula E family – adding to the increasing number of manufacturers joining the electric revolution," series founder and CEO, Alejandro Agag said.

"This shows how much the world is changing, not only in motorsport but the whole automotive industry. We’re witnessing a transformation that will first change our cities, and then our roads.

"Formula E is the championship that embodies that change and together with all our teams and manufacturers we’ll keep pushing for technologies, to have better and more affordable electric cars.

"Mercedes-Benz has been competing in motorsport since the very beginning and in joining this newest chapter of racing history – Formula E – it shows that the vision and concept of the championship is aligned with how manufacturers want to develop electric vehicle technologies and bring these innovations to audiences around the world.”

For Mercedes, the increasing appeal of Formula E and the following it has generated in such a short time was too much to turn down, with replicating their recent F1 success the overall goal.

"Mercedes Benz has announced a strategic repositioning of its motorsport activities: the company will conclude its participation in DTM at the end of 2018 and enter Formula E in the 2019/20 season," the statement confirming their decision read.

The second race of the inaugural FIA Formula E Championship New York City weekend was today (16 July) won by DS Virgin Racing’s Sam Bird, who proved once again to be unbeatable on the streets of Brooklyn after having also won yesterday’s ePrix.

Joining Bird on the podium were the Mahindra Racing pairing of Felix Rosenqvist and Nick Heidfeld, who were pleased to be back at the sharp end having not scored points in Saturday’s encounter.

With the second race starting earlier than normal at 13:00 EST, it meant a morning packed with track action for the 20 drivers in the world’s first fully electric motor sport championship. It was Bird who set the qualifying marker with an impressive time of 1:02.285 to put it on pole position, however he lost out to second-placed Rosenqvist off the start line when the lights went out.

After 11 laps of following the Swedish driver, Bird made a near-identical pass to his lead-taking manoeuvre from the first race with another spectacular dive down the inside at Turn 6. From that point on he maintained his advantage despite a number of Full Course Yellow periods to recover stricken cars.

It was a valiant effort from Sebastien Buemi’s temporary replacement Pierre Gasly in only his second day of racing in Formula E, as he secured fourth place in qualifying and held station for the entire race. The Frenchman also provided some last-gasp dramas, as having saved more energy than the two Mahindra cars in the second phase of the race he was rapidly closing the gap.

On the final corner of the final lap the Renault e.dams car had caught up with Heidfeld in third, but in an ambitious bid to get on the podium around the outside of the left-hander, Gasly made slight contact and ended up colliding with the barriers, although both cars made it across the line.

Lucas di Grassi finished fifth for Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport with another measured driver from down the order, so the battle for the 2016/17 title will go down to the wire in Montreal in two weeks’ time with the points deficit to Buemi reduced to ten.

Nico Prost made up an impressive nine places from his starting slot to finish in sixth for Renault e.dams, while Tom Dillmann scored his best result of the season in seventh.

Techeetah’s Jean-Eric Vergne recovered to eighth despite damage from earlier in the race forcing him to make an unplanned pit stop. Robin Frijns and Jerome D’Ambrosio rounded out the top ten for Andretti Formula E and Faraday Future Dragon Racing respectively ensuring that the series’ two American teams scored points on home soil.

Today’s action-filled 49-lap encounter was longer than the first race of the weekend and demonstrated Formula E’s constant drive to push the boundaries of what is possible with the cutting edge technologies in the cars. In what was undoubtedly one of the highlights of the season, 20,000 spectators visited the event to experience motor sport in the heart of New York City and see how sustainable mobility technologies are being developed. 

Sam Bird said: “What a weekend not only for myself but for the team! What a car I was given this weekend – it was flying in qualifying, sensational energy management in the race – so hats off to DS Virgin Racing for giving me the best car they have ever given me. It feels incredible to win here – this was an historic weekend, not only for Formula E, but for motorsport in general. There’s never been a race in New York before and this has been a long time coming and to be the first person to win the first and second races here is really special.”

Felix Rosenqvist said: “I wasn’t expecting DS Virgin Racing to be as strong as they were, Sam also drove fantastically he looked pretty on it. During the second stint we started to get a few problems with my energy calculations, so we decided to let Nick past and to try to solve these issue in a slightly calmer environment. When we got our heads around it, I was able to concentrate and focus again and Nick was kind enough to let me back through for P2.”

With the final two races of Season 3 taking place on the streets of Montreal 29-30 July, it will be no holds barred as the field vies for position in both the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ Championship battles.

2017 FIA Formula E Championship Round 10 - New York City ePrix - Race results

1. Sam Bird, DS Virgin Racing, 58:09.388s (28)
2. Felix Rosenqvist, Mahindra Racing, +11.381s (18)
3. Nick Heidfeld, Mahindra Racing, +12.319s (15)
4. Pierre Gasly, Renault e.dams, +12.355s (12)
5. Lucas di Grassi, ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport, +23.451s (10)
6. Nico Prost, Renault e.dams, +30.470s (8)
7. Tom Dillmann, Venturi Formula E, +41.862s (6)
8. Jean-Eric Vergne, TECHEETAH, +52.292s (4)
9. Robin Frijns, Andretti Formula E, +1:00.475s (2)
10. Jerome D'Ambrosio, Faraday Future Dragon Racing, +1:12.659s (1)
11. Adam Carroll, Panasonic Jaguar Racing, +1:41.134s
12. Stephane Sarrazin, TECHEETAH, +1 lap
13. Loic Duval, Faraday Future Dragon Racing, +1 lap
14. Oliver Turvey, NextEV NIO, +1 lap
15. Antonio Felix da Costa, Andretti Formula E, +1 lap
16. Nelson Piquet Jr, NextEV NIO, +3 laps
17. Maro Engel, Venturi Formula E, DNF
18. Alex Lynn, DS Virgin Racing, DNF
19. Daniel Abt, ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport, DNF (1)
20. Mitch Evans, Panasonic Jaguar Racing, DNF
     

Driver standings

Sebastien Buemi, Renault e.dams – 157
Lucas di Grassi, ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport – 147
Felix Rosenqvist, Mahindra Racing – 104
Sam Bird, DS Virgin Racing – 100
Nico Prost, Renault e.dams – 84
Nick Heidfeld, Mahindra Racing – 78

Team standings

Renault e.dams – 259
ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport – 194
Mahindra Racing – 182
DS Virgin Racing – 153
TECHEETAH – 94
NextEV NIO – 59
Andretti Formula E – 30
Faraday Future Dragon Racing – 30
Venturi Formula E – 28
Panasonic Jaguar Racing - 21

And then there were four. After over nine months, almost 1000 kilometres of racing across 10 hard-fought races, the 2016/2017 Formula E season draws to a conclusion this weekend in Montreal.

It’s the third double header of the season, which means there are a maximum of 58 points available. This also means that Felix Rosenqvist and Sam Bird are still in with a mathematical chance of winning the championship, although in reality for the second season in a row the title will boil down to a straight fight between Sebastien Buemi and Lucas di Grassi.

Current championship standings

1. Buemi 157
2. di Grassi 147
3. Rosenqvist 104
4. Bird 100

How Bird can win it

With a deficit to Buemi of 57 points, Bird basically needs a miracle. He has to win both races from pole, setting the Visa Fastest Lap in the process, while hoping that Buemi doesn’t score a single point. Given that this hat-trick has only been achieved once in Formula E history – by Buemi in Beijing Season 2 – and that no driver finishing in the top 10 has set fastest lap this season, it’s safe to say that Bird will not be clearing a space in his trophy cabinet for the Formula E gong come July 31.

How Rosenqvist can win it

With a four-point advantage over Bird, Rosenqvist has the dubious benefit of not requiring either of the fastest lap bonus points, while winning both races from pole (and Buemi not scoring), in his unlikely quest to win the title as a rookie.

Even if his title hopes are nothing more than a pipe dream, the pace of Rosenqvist’s Mahindra – and that of Bird’s DS Virgin Racing machine – mean that they are very likely to be in among the fight at the head of the field and that could be crucial in the battle between Buemi and di Grassi.

How di Grassi can win it?

Even though the gap between Buemi and di Grassi is 10 points, Buemi’s superior head-to-head record (he has six wins to di Grassi’s one) means di Grassi has to out-score his rival by 11 points to be crowned champion.

A perfect 58-point return would be enough regardless of what Buemi does, and so would two wins from two poles even if Buemi snaffled up the fastest lap bonuses.

Given that Buemi has been averaging a phenomenal 19.6 points a race this season, anything other than a win and a podium over the two races is unlikely to be enough for di Grassi, while if Buemi wins race one, anything lower than fifth place would spell the end of di Grassi’s hopes.

How Buemi can win it?

There are a whole host of scenarios in which Buemi can become champion. The most simple is to finish ahead of di Grassi in both races, but unless di Grassi is winning, finishing directly behind him will also be enough to retain the title.

In the most basic of terms, Buemi needs to score 47 points to deny di Grassi any hope whatsoever. This is the equivalent of a win, a pole, a second and a fastest lap. In reality, he’s unlikely to need such a big points haul. If di Grassi scores at his average rate of 14.7 points per race, 20 points will suffice for Buemi. That’s the equivalent of a pair of fifth place finishes.

However, as the two previous Formula E title deciders have shown, form can often be thrown out of the window in these situations, so don’t discount Bird and Rosenqvist just yet!

source: fiaformulae.com

Sam Bird put his name in the history books as the FIA Formula E Championship made its historic debut on the streets of New York City for round 9 of the 2016/17 Championship.

In the first ever FIA-sanctioned competition on the streets of the American metropolis, the DS Virgin Racing team had a strong showing all day with Bird’s temporary team-mate Alex Lynn taking an impressive pole position at what is his first Formula E event. While Lynn, who is deputising for Jose Maria Lopez this weekend, lost out to the fast-starting Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport car of Daniel Abt off the line, he held station in second for much of the early running and undoubtedly impressed the huge crowds at the circuit before an unfortunate mechanical problem put him out of contention late on.

With Abt out in front, Bird had also made a good start to get past the Techeetah car of Jean-Eric Vergne, and the top group ran nose-to-tail pulling out a small gap to the rest of the field. Before long, Bird started to make his moves towards the front, first picking off Lynn before launching a stunning inch-perfect move down the inside of Abt at Turn 6.

With the British driver now leading, there was plenty of action further back on the tight and technical Brooklyn street circuit. All eyes were on the Abt Schaeffler car of Lucas di Grassi, who, with championship leader Sebastien Buemi absent from the event, was aiming for a big points haul this weekend. Having qualified tenth, he spent the race picking off places and by the chequered flag had reached fourth, with 12 points closing the gap to the front to 20.

Having had a strong weekend last time out in Berlin, it was a difficult day for Mahindra, with Felix Rosenqvist spinning while trying to defend from the charging di Grassi, while Nick Heidfeld suffered a mechanical failure which brought out the safety car late on.

Once racing resumed, the pressure was on Bird to keep ahead of Vergne’s Techeetah car, while Daniel Abt suffered late heart-ache with technical issues dropping him down the order. This promoted Vergne’s team-mate Stephane Sarrazin to third place – his first rostrum finish since Long Beach in Season 2.

The FIA Formula E Championship returns to Red Hook in Brooklyn tomorrow, 16 July, for another action-packed day in front of the Manhattan skyline, with the race starting at the earlier time of 13:00 EST.

Sam Bird said: “It was incredible! Firstly, it’s incredible that we are here and congratulations to everyone at Formula E for putting this event on, I can imagine how difficult it was, but it’s been an amazing week so far. We had pretty good speed today. We learned a lot from Berlin and that was a real turning point for us, it may not have looked like it at the time, but I think we demonstrated that this weekend. Also hats off to my team-mate this weekend Alex Lynn, who did a scintillating job in Super Pole to take pole position.”

Jean-Eric Vergne said: “As a team we have worked really hard this season and finally it’s our first double podium with my team-mate and that’s what I feel most happy about. As for myself I believe the start cost me the win. It was extremely dirty off line and everybody who started on the left-hand side lost a position. I had a pretty safe beginning of the race, I lost a couple of positions, which I knew we would get back again, and that’s what I did and I finished the first stint in second position. I pushed hard to save more energy than this guy [Bird] but he didn’t make any mistakes and he deserved the win.”

Stephane Sarrazin said: “I feels very good, it’s a great day for us at Techeetah. I made a small mistake in qualifying which meant I started from P11, but I knew I had a good car for the race and I started to overtake, and then I got a bit lucky on the last lap with the Abt going straight on.”

2017 New York City ePrix (Rd 9) - Race results

1. Sam Bird, DS Virgin Racing, 52:29.275s (25)
2. Jean-Eric Vergne, TECHEETAH, +1.354s (18)
3. Stephane Sarrazin, TECHEETAH, +4.392s (15)
4. Lucas di Grassi, ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport, +6.155s (12)
5. Loic Duval, Faraday Future Dragon Racing, +8.428s (10)
6. Oliver Turvey, NextEV NIO, +8.952s (8)
7. Pierre Gasly, Renault e.dams, +9.321s (6)
8. Nico Prost, Renault e.dams, +10.036s (4)
9. Robin Frijns, Andretti Formula E, +11.019s (2)
10. Adam Carroll, Panasonic Jaguar Racing, +12.073s (1)
11. Nelson Piquet Jr, NextEV NIO, +12.977s
12. Antonio Felix da Costa, Andretti Formula E, +13.341s
13. Tom Dillmann, Venturi Formula E, +16.337s
14. Daniel Abt, ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport, +1 lap
15. Felix Rosenqvist, Mahindra Racing, +1 lap
16. Nick Heidfeld, Mahindra Racing, DNF
17. Maro Engel, Venturi Formula E, DNF (1)
18. Alex Lynn, DS Virgin Racing, DNF (3)
19. Jerome D'Ambrosio, Faraday Future Dragon Racing, DNF
20. Mitch Evans, Panasonic Jaguar Racing, DNF

Driver standings

Sebastien Buemi, Renault e.dams – 157
Lucas di Grassi, ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport – 137
Felix Rosenqvist, Mahindra Racing – 86
Nico Prost, Renault e.dams – 76
Sam Bird, DS Virgin Racing – 72
Jean-Eric Vergne, TECHEETAH - 70

Team standings

Renault e.dams – 239
ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport – 183
Mahindra Racing – 149
DS Virgin Racing – 125
TECHEETAH – 90
NextEV NIO – 59
Faraday Future Dragon Racing – 29
Andretti Formula E – 28
Venturi Formula E – 22
Panasonic Jaguar Racing - 21