a Formula Eelectric vehicle category, will be put into operation Sao Paulo for the first time. In the capital, São Paulo, a 2.96-kilometre runway will be constructed Al-Ahmabi complexincluding sambadrome and the Avenida Olavo Fonturain the northern region. The race takes place on March 25, a Saturday, and promises to gather 35,000 spectators.
In Formula E, Brazil has two representatives: the experienced Lucas de Grassi38, who leads the Indian Mahindra team, and young Sergio Set Camara, from the 24th, from the Chinese Nio 333. The Brazilian pilots hope that it will be a good start to gather new fans and reveal the importance of the class in the national scene. In addition to F-1, Brazil has already hosted an Indy, as well as a street circuit at Anhembi. This time, electric cars will not run along Marginal do Tietê, but cars will accelerate on the Sambódromo track.
“(Having Brazilian players) is a differentiator, but I think what was missing was having the race in Brazil. After the race, you spread the idea of a championship and people start following it more. Lucas is world champion and, this season, we were both in the top 10 Not every country has two drivers on the Formula E grid,” said Sette Camara, noting that France, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Brazil are the countries that have more than one driver on the grid.
“I try to keep my expectations at the same level in every race. I’ve never raced at home, because the lower classes, like Formula 3 and Formula 2, don’t race in Brazil. So I’ve never raced that experience in an elite championship. It would be A new experience for me. I think I will enjoy it, but also an added responsibility, there are relatives and friends there and you need to know how to prepare for it. I want to continue expecting the same and preparing as if it were any other step. I always devote to the maximum,” said Cet Camara .
Lucas di Grassi works Formula E Since its first season, in 2014. The 2016-2017 World Pilots Championship champion, the pilot has been lauded for the efforts made for years, between the comings and goings, to score a race in Brazil. “The first race in Brazil will be really great. We’ve been working for ten years for this. It’s exciting to have a race in Sao Paulo and show Formula E to Brazilians, and even more so for me, because I’m from Sao Paulo, so close friends and family is something Really cool “.
On the road
The drivers praised the layout used at the Cape Town Grand Prix. With high-speed curves, the track differs from the standard used in Formula E. In Brazil, the Anhembi circuit will have a layout more typical in the class, with strong braking prioritized to aid overtaking and recharge the car’s batteries.
Di Grassi revealed that he had mapped in the Ibirapuera park area, but the Formula E organization and the city of São Paulo preferred to use the Anhembi, particularly because of the structure already ready to receive fans.
“It’s a good track, by Formula E standards. Long straight at Sambódromo, Low profile, curves at an angle of 90 degrees. The one I drew in Ibirapuera was more like the one in Cape Town. It was a track going from the Monumento das Bandeiras to the Obelisk and back, a high speed track and in a place in São Paulo that I think is one of the most beautiful. From a cost-benefit point of view, Anhembi is more reasonable, the structures, such as the stands, are already there, the press rooms … In Ibirapuera you will have to build everything, even you can use the park as a base, it would be interesting. In the future, who knows, maybe we can record a race there. The track you designed has been verified and licensed by FIA (Federation of International Automobile). So it’s a question of wanting to do it, who’s going to pay and whether there’s going to be a lot of stands. The problem with Formula E is that while we’re racing in the city center, there isn’t a lot of space to receive the fans,” says di Grassi.
The race organization in Sao Paulo claims to have obtained permission from Formula E to remove the chicane of Anhembi’s original design at the back of the Sambódromo battery. The news is not good for Sette Câmara, which sees the potential change as an advantage for teams with good engines, such as Porsche, for example.
“It will be bad for my team, because it benefits those with a more efficient engine. The longer you stay at the bottom, you give the advantage to the big teams. What matters is that for the fans it’s an interesting race,” Sette Câmara wonders. “Formula 1 offers really great races in Brazil. For a Brazilian fan to be convinced that the championship is great, he needs an exciting race. It all starts with the design of the track and if overtaking is allowed, and apparently, in Brazil, it will be one of the easiest races to conquer on the long straights and the track wide.”
Despite the odds, the circuit layout is kept up to date with a chicane in the middle of the Sambadrome straight. Curves will be christened after the country’s great stars, and one of them will be named Elis Regina.
