Driving Audi's 2019 Formula E car | Behind the wheel

all right time to see what season five can do this is the future of motorsport sign me up [Music] [Music] formula EA has been around for four years now when the series launched it promised an early look at the future of motorsport all electric racing that was free of emissions but still full of excitements instead what we got felt a little bit half-baked ten teams entered that first season all of them racing cars that were exactly the same cars with less horsepower than a Honda Civic and ranged so limited it had to change cars mid race open wheel formula racing is supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsport but those first seasons they came up a little bit short for year five there's hope new teams new technologies and most importantly new cars cars with more power more range in a shape that is absolutely jaw-dropping ly gorgeous see what I mean this is the Audi e-tron feo v and with cars like this formula e is finally starting to look like the future far more simple than the overwrought designs you see on modern f1 grids the new formula e car looks like something that escaped from wipeout despite appearances these cars will stay very much on the ground where they'll have to live up to the standards set by last year's car the championship winning feo for helming the team is none other than allan mcnish three-time lamal winner and former formula 1 racer a man who knows a quick car when he sees it all right Alan walk me through the cars let's start with a season four car well if we go to this this is the season 1 to season 4 car and as you said it is a spec car in a lot of ways spec chassis spec aerodynamics spec tires spec most of it except the electric drivetrain however in the first season it was a spec electric drivetrain as well with a hundred and fifty kilowatts of power so in reality not a heck of a lot of power which is about 225 for our American viewers when we entered as OD into season four we developed that up to a maximum of 200 kilowatts in qualifying but as ever motorsport you need to move on and so we move on to the new car now probably one of the biggest limitations of this car is mid race changes but then it goes away with the new season five car yes here we basically have got double the energy into the battery and that allows us to go the full 45-minute race with votes at the car change now the car change was quite interesting though because it was a sporting dynamic of the race that actually allowed you an opportunity to sort of play around with some strategies and so know we've got a thing called attack mode just to replace that and attack mode means we will go with an extra mount of power for a period of time which is determined by the organising body and given to us just before the race starts so you know there's gonna be a bit of strategy in a game occasion there right messing up things a little bit making things more interesting or is that maybe a little playing with the results too much I don't think it's played with the results because it's the same for everybody so it does give everybody the same opportunity but it means that the guys that are gonna be ahead of the game they're gonna take advantage so this car looks radically different than the season 4 car and in my opinion a whole lot better but aerodynamically what's changed here well you're right it has and it starts at the front we've got no covers over the front wheel arches the fenders there it still got the Knaus traditional in a very similar way to this but then when you come back to the back of the car you can see it quite simply this has got a rear wing this doesn't however this has got this huge diffuser here to produce some downforce but the principle of the championship isn't about producing downforce it's a producing efficiency and this is the kind of arrow that a lot of people have been pushing for informal o12 to get cleaner wing and really open up the rear of the car to allow cars to race more closely to ultimately in a street racing series we've got quite a tight compact circuit and so we do need to be racing close to wheel-to-wheel and I can tell you they are very much wheel-to-wheel and you mentioned suspect bodywork and still spec chassis but a lot is able to be changed by the teams here - right in here right underneath here we have got an electric motor inverter system our gearbox our differential and rear suspension so that's the area of very much focus so there's the hardware aspects of it but at the same time it's the software that they can then develop through the season because this championship you homologate this car before you start the year and then once it's homologated you can't change it so we've got another 25% increase of power so in qualifying albeit 250 what's in season five I think is 340 horsepower ish we're talking about and the weight is a little bit higher in this car as well but still like the air the weight is 900 kilos so about 2,000 pounds and principally the battery even although it's got double the energy is slightly heavier and also we've got the new Formula One style Hilo system so the tire is an all-weather tired that tire has still got to be robust enough to deliver the performance through the whole 45-minute range and only tires for the wrist weekend only eight hours for the race weekend so it means that when you drive the car you're going to have to be careful with the throttle because one thing about the electric motor instant torque and with e-tron we've been developing that instant taught but also developing in the drivability so talking about drivability that makes me think of the e-tron road car which is coming to market next year is there any link between this thing and what you'll be able to buy at the enter 2019 the motorsport arm has always been there in advance of what's been coming to the production line one area that we've been able to learn a lot about this is an example of a crossover a technology is actually regeneration of energy under braking and that you normally you would lose but going back into the battery and so in races we recuperate just maybe a bit over 20 percent However energy but the e-tron will recuperate about 30% so therefore there's been an understanding of how you can actually use that lost energy and improve it and that will give you much much better mileage when you're actually driving your e-tron now I know you're gonna let me out to play in both these cars make me start in last year's guitar or what do I need to know what do I need to watch after well not very different the two cars Oh II just said this one is quite raw in its way okay what I think you have to be careful here is when you put combined loads into the car so when you're braking and turning in then that really you've got to be careful because again we're regenerating the energy into the battery if we go to the efi or five because of the break by wire systems and because of the way we've developed the software as well this car is a little bit more connected however you have got more power you can spin up these rear wheels and once you spin them up and be careful at the next one because it's easier to spin up again so it's I would say right foot gentleness in this car and probably left foot braking gentleness on not go all right I can't wait to go it's all about your dancing feet oh I got good dancing feet after a few introductions to the team a bit of pedal fitting and a quick rundown of all the buttons on that lovely carbon-fiber steering wheel it was time for me to make a somewhat awkward entry into the narrow cockpit of the feo 4 and hit the track [Music] oh it sounds like I'm taking off this is cool all right here we go any on the pits in the form of the ECAR for the first time I confess to being a little bit nervous in this one because everyone has told me how likely this car is to spin under braking the steering is very light and there is ZERO brake feedback at all feels like I'm stepping on a brick this is a very interesting circuit a lot of different types of asphalt a lot of surface imperfections actually it compares pretty closely to a lot of the other formula te circuits out there most of which are on city streets now I know it only has about 250 horsepower but boy oh boy got a lot of torque and no traction control other than my right foot the other thing that happened the dish warned me about was the breakaway characteristics of these tires they're a Street tire so I expected that they have a pretty big kind of get things sideways if I wanted to but apparently that's actually not the case buh-buh-buh-buh so windy blustery day here in Majorca but I am snug as a bug in a rug and this thing lying flat on my back strapped in tight I am actually pretty comfortable I got a stay wrapped in a carbon fiber blanket that cost more than my house but we will think about that too much right now I can actually hear that tyres talking back to me which is not something I'm used to when driving a racecar incredibly nimble can really hustle it through that she came very quickly very confidence-inspiring actually surprisingly so okay time to head in the pitch boy it's nice to have a bunch of guys waiting for me in the pits I could get used to this [Music] that was a lot of fun it was more exhausting I thought the steering is light but still requires a lot of upper-body strength to keep this thing moving as ever with v's it feels like it's got a lot more horsepower than it does because it got so much torque but honestly I'm ready for a go in season five and then the moment I've been waiting for I've already said how good I think the new car looks but of course none of that matters if it's awful to drive I could not wait to strap in and find out [Music] all right time to see what season five can do it's my first time driving in a car with the halo device which is this kind of thumb flip-flop looking thing over my head here and from the outside I know they look like they take up a lot of you but actually from in here I don't even really notice it right in front of me it's only maybe the width of my thumb ergonomic said the season 5 car pretty similar to the first put my elbows are actually even tighter in than before so I'm having to use my fingers in my wrists even more to to steer than I did in the season 4 car he's five we got a little more weight good bit more power more advanced suspension systems which on total make this car much nicer to drive and I can immediately feel the difference even just to the first few corners feel so much more planted honestly maybe even a little bit less fun to drive but it does feel much quicker than before yeah it does feel so much more planted under-braking really secure but overall this feels like a big step forward that's it expect five your newer car with a lot more development from Audi and then reread still has that great point in the squirt feeling of the first gen car guy through the chicane we are kicking out a little bit there over all these different asphalt imperfections bumps everywhere it's very very planted all the time if this is the future of motorsport sign me up now I know a lot of people are gonna rag on the sound of these cars because they don't sound like a screaming v10 and I miss those days do what you got to be honest those things are gone and they're not coming back frankly I love the sound of this car I think it sounds absolutely amazing it sounds exactly what I imagined that car from the future would sound like when I was a kid and I got to tell you I feel so incredibly lucky to be driving this today yes that was a bit of a motion you might have picked up in my voice there this was one of those special experiences that don't come along every day at leasts not unless you're a professional racer no this isn't the fastest race car on the planet but it is certainly one of the most exotic and one that I think will hold major significance in the long run of motorsport history to say that I felt privileged to drive it doesn't begin to tell the story and as if that weren't enough having a load McNish waiting the pits for a post stint debrief this is properly special stuff all right thank you very much 15/0 that mean I get a contract for the season are you looking for any drivers we need to have a look at you and we'll need to look into the data how was it from your point of view much more composed much more planted really solid really good chassis point of view relative to the feel for yeah definitely an under braking a lot more stable as well to be able to hear what Jen was breaking loose disc it was one more element of feedback that I'm not used to so that was really nice and I love the sound of electric motor and in the you know the reduction gear set and how everything whines we're finding that different manufacturers were slightly different concepts I've got a different noise it's starting to separate off where you'll be able to identify an Audi relative to something else now I'm thinking confirm a pleasure congratulations thank you very much and don't worry we'll give you a shout it suffice to say it's gonna be a little while before formula II cars or quicker on a track than Formula One but that's okay the series has only been around for five years and frankly faster cars don't necessarily equal better racing more importantly I actually like the direction that Formula e is headed I can't say the same about a lot of the recent decisions from the form of the one organisers so as a lifetime f1 fan it pains me to say it this really is the future of motorsport [Music]

Channel: CNET Cars

Views: 257,013

Keywords: Formula E, ePrix, brooklyn, ny, nyc, pits, grid, walk through, sound, crash, pit stop, behind the scenes, formula e racing, how formula e works, what is formula e, testing, race, driving, audi, roadshow, cnet, on cars, oncars, vs formula 1, 0-60, how fast, tires, formula drift, open wheel, motorsports, new formula e cars, e-tron fe05, fe05, fe05 vs fe04, alen, up close, car change, gamification, e-tron, e tron, torque, horsepower, steering wheel, carbon fiber, abb, gen 2, gen2

Id: r-zzj_fuUF4

Length: 15min 17sec (917 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 16 2018