The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship continues this weekend with a double-header around the Autódromo Miguel E. Abed for the Puebla E-Prix, and Alexander Sims is excited to see how the series adapts to a track very different to anything they’ve raced on before.
The race was moved to Puebla as it was impossible for the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez to host it’s planned Formula E race due to the circuit playing host to a medical centre centred on COVID-19.
The track will utilise part of the oval, and Mahindra Racing’s Sims feels it could be a very interesting weekend around a track that will have many more high-speed parts than usual.
“Puebla is pretty different to anything Formula E has done before, using part of a high-speed oval, and I think it will be very interesting,” said Sims. “It will be a high-load start to the lap and there are a lot of long corners, which we don’t usually see in this championship.”
The race weekend will see two races once more and Sims says he hopes to be fighting for points across both events as he bids to kickstart his season that has seen him score points only twice in seven races.
“We’ll be qualifying in group 3, so we are in a good position from that standpoint to be fighting for reasonable points, as is always the aim,” said Sims.
“Having the rest of the season as double-header events is nice; so much effort goes into preparation, so it is good to get more in terms of opportunities to get results out of that work.”
“It’s completely different to anything we’ve raced before in Formula E” – Alex Lynn
Team-mate Alex Lynn is also excited for the challenge of racing around a circuit that is not a traditional track for Formula E, and he says it will bring a lot of new challenges to the drivers.
He does not believe the track will be as hard on the battery as the Santiago E-Prix weekend was early in the year, but he is expecting a tough challenge when it comes to energy management as he aims to score his fourth top-ten finish of the 2020-21 season.
“I’m excited to be going back racing after the mid-season break and I think it’s going to be good,” said Lynn. “It’s going to be the first time at this track for everyone and it’s a contemporary race track; it’s quite fast and flowing and open for Formula E.
“It’s completely different to anything we’ve raced before in Formula E so that will bring a new set of challenges. It will be hard on tyre degradation and we’ll be running in high temperatures and in high altitude.
“I don’t think it will be as stressful on the battery as Santiago, but it’s going to be pretty tough nonetheless.”