Nick Cassidy has warned Formula E about making the Gen3 car faster after calls from several drivers about making the current machines quicker.
The consensus from most of the field when speaking to Total-Motorsport.com is the drivers want more grip from the tyres and a faster car, with Jean-Eric Vergne going as far as stating the Gen2 car was better than Gen3.
Lucas di Grassi has claimed the Gen3 car could be up to 10 seconds faster, while there are plans are being firmed up for Gen3.5, which could be introduced in 2025.
“My personal opinion is we have to be careful because passing will be so much more difficult,” Cassidy, who has joined Jaguar for 2024 to be Mitch Evans‘ new teammate, exclusively told Total-Motorsport.com.
“If you make the cars faster, and they are already quick in qualifying, in the race passing will be tough.”
Evans and Ticktum have their say
The high drag of the Gen3 car has led to cycling-esque peloton style racing at tracks where there was a low energy usage and few areas to regenerate the battery.
In Berlin and Portland, the whole field would almost be together approaching slow corners, which some drivers were unhappy about.
Jaguar‘s Evans alluded to the different racing in 2023 due to the car, plus the problems on tighter tracks which could be an issue if the car if faster.
“I think the Gen2 car was overall really successful in terms of the way it behaves,” said Evans. “I would prefer having a bit more bodywork [now], to be honest. I think it just allows for a bit closer racing or less penalising if you make contact.
“The tyre was a bit different as well [with Gen2], so the racing was very, very good. Gen2 suited most of the tracks we visit but with Gen3, it’s just different.
“When I say it’s different I mean, the overall product is still very, very good, but it’s making some tracks very tricky for us – like London was quite tight. We have not seen the full potential of the Gen3 car yet.”
More grip needed?
Hankook were in their first season as Formula E‘s official tyre supplier in 2023 and created a very hard tyre that didn’t degrade, which was requested by the FIA.
Nio driver Dan Ticktum alluded to the tyre element when asked discussing how successful Gen3 had been in its first season.
“There are pros and cons,” said Ticktum. “Having more power and less weight are the headline draws. I think we would benefit from some more tire grip, which I’m sure Hancock are more than capable of doing.
“I do like the fact that you can push on the tyre and they don’t go away. It kind of reminds me of my days Formula 3 when Hankook was the supplier as well. That was a great tyre.
“I just think we should have a bit more mechanical grip from the tyre, we can’t have too much downforce because of the drag and it’s inefficient, so just a bit more grip would be good.”
When is the 2024 Formula E season?
The new Formula E season begins with pre-season testing from Valencia at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo from October 23-27, with Mexico City hosting the 2024 opener on January 13.
