The world of electric motorsport rejoice: Formula E is BACK this weekend and this time, for season 11! This season is set up to be an epic weekend with thrillers, new circuits and more! So why not do some season and round 1 predictions!
Season 11
World Champion-Oliver Rowland
Yes, you read that correctly. I think that Oliver Rowland will be the ABB FIA Formula E World Champion of Season 11. Ollie was on a very high season in Season 10, picking up victories across the season including winning the final round last year in London, his home E-Prix!
Ollie could very well have entered the season 10 finale close to the championship contenders of Pascal Wehrlein, Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans had it not been for the one lap misconfiguration in Misano and missing the double header in Portland due to an illness.
While this will be a big challenge for Nissan and Ollie, considering they have shown that they have been able to push through and with Norman Nato returning to Nissan, Ollie will need a rear gunner if he is going to fight for the championship.
Teams Champion-Porsche
Not too much of a surprise given how well Porsche did in Season 10 and how well their driver lineup is. I think having the reigning world champion Pascal Wehrlein will certainly help their case too. Porsche were possibly the strongest team overall last season. Despite some challenges both from drivers and team strategy, considering they managed to get Wehrlein onto the champion row and with them being the only team with 2 different champions, this will give them the push they need.
Female representation at an E-Prix:
Over the past few months and even years, Formula E has been putting more of an emphasis on the female representation within motorsport, hosting an all-women’s test in Jarama during pre season testing and supporting FIA causes for such reason.
While I wish no driver to get ill or injured, sometimes accidents happen in our sport which are outside of our control. With a long calendar like this and new circuits and double headers such as the new Jeddah circuit for Formula E and the double header in Monaco, I think that if a driver falls ill or gets injured, a team will pop a female driver into the car to see what they are made of.
I also predict similar tests to be conducted across the season such as what happened in Jarama as many high profile figured in Formula E want to see more female encouragement. Speaking to selected media, including The Pit Crew Online, at the Red Bull F1 show run last month in Galway, David Coulthard stated that “I think it’s great that they had a test day for the women that are competing in various forms of motorsport. The real gauge of that isn’t a random test here and there. It’s when someone is given a full-time drive. And the goal of F1 Academy is to support women in motorsport.”
Different routes have been constructed by many series’ in order to try and guide women into motorsport with some succeeding and some failing. David Coulthard spoke about how F1 Academy will succeed where W-Series failed:
“Well, W Series failed because Formula One didn’t own it. I was involved in W Series, and it cost me several million pounds that I invested from my companies to help women in motorsport. And I sleep okay with that, because it has moved women in motorsport forward. Jamie Chadwick, racing in America. Alice Powell is part of heading up the Alpine Academy, helping Abby Pulling. Naomi Schiff is now a full-time professional broadcaster, out of the back of being in W Series. So, we’ve achieved the goal. And I did that because my younger sister raced. She never got the same chance that I did. Because I always regretted that she didn’t get the same support. And I wanted to be involved in something that makes sure that female talent is recognized and supported. F1 Academy is owned by Formula One. And the thing that we tried to do with W was get the teams to take teams. And it wasn’t allowed. F1 Academy is allowed to have teams. And that will, for the greater good, move that forward. And it’s obviously, it’s a great thing for women in motorsport.”
2 drivers mentioned there by David being Jamie Chadwick and Abbi Pulling have actually tested with Formula E teams being Jaguar TCS Racing and Nissan Formula E Team respectfully. Having this representation is incredible important.
Round 1: Sao Paulo
Winner: Mitch Evans
After what happened in Season 10’s Sao Paulo E-Prix, the kiwi will be on a mission of revenge and vengeance. Losing the race to his former teammate, Mitch Evans will be putting 110% into this performance in order to right the wrongs from last year and to get that win around Brazil.
Biggest Team Improvement: Kiro Race Co.
Kiro (formally ERT) went through some huge changes over the breaks between seasons, with new investors arriving at the team. Considering where Cupra Kiro were last year, I think they will make huge strides in the opening round in Sao Paulo with a double points finish with Dan Ticktum and rookie teammate David Beckmann.
What do you expect to happen in Formula E Season 11? Will we see Dan Ticktum get a podium? Can we see a rookie win a race? Let us know on our social media!