Reigning Formula E champion Lucas di Grassi says he expects “at least five or six” teams to be in contention for winning races this season.
Ahead of the 2017-18 season opener in Hong Kong next week he said that he was expecting Renault e.dams and Mahindra Racing to continue their strong for from last season.
However he also identified DS Virgin Racing, MS&AD Andretti and Panasonic Jaguar Racing as capable of fighting at the front of the grid.
Di Grassi said, “I have very strong expectations of Renault and Mahindra. At the same time, we should have Virgin, Andretti and Jaguar on our radar as well.
“There are at least five or six teams in contention for winning races.”
He also highlighted the strong calibre of the new drivers coming into the series, especially former Le Mans winner Andre Lotterer.
“In André Lotterer, Edoardo Mortara and Kamui Kobayashi there’ll be some strong new drivers, so it’s near-impossible to make any predictions,” di Grassi commented.
“The only thing we can be sure of is that this will be the hardest fought season in Formula E history to date.”
Pre-season testing showed that the Brazilian’s Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler team to be the pace setters, and di Grassi said that the transition from being an Audi supported team into a factory effort had gone smoothly.
“The transition from an Audi-supported team to a full-fledged factory-backed commitment was exciting and went smoothly.
“Now we’re wishing for a good weekend in Hong Kong – preferably with as much success as the one we ended last season with.”
