Draft:2022 Seoul ePrix

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The 2022 Seoul E-Prix I, formally known as the 2022 Hana Bank Seoul E-Prix I, was the fifteenth and penultimate E-Prix of the 2021/22 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, staged at the Seoul Street Circuit in the Jamsil Sports Complex, Seoul, South Korea, on 13 August 2022.[1][2] The race was the first running of the Seoul E-Prix, after it had been postponed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.[3]

Qualifying had seen Oliver Rowland snatch a surprise pole position in the #30 Mahindra in wet conditions, defeating recently announced future teammate Lucas di Grassi in the final by 0.623s.[4] En-route to the final Rowland would defeat Sérgio Sette Câmara by default and Pascal Wehrlein in the Semis, while di Grassi fended off challenges from Jake Dennis and title pretender Mitch Evans.[4] Champion elect Stoffel Vandoorne, meanwhile, would grab seventh on the grid after being defeated in the Quarter-Finals by Wehrlein.[4]

The circuit was still very damp as the field lined up on the grid for the start, and this would undermine Rowland right from the get go as the #30 Mahindra launched straight onto a painted surface, killing his momentum almost instantly.[5] di Grassi and Evans duly went either side of Rowland to snatch first and second into the first corner, before Evans pulled an audatious move on di Grassi into turn one, slithering down the inside of the #11 ROKiT Venturi to claim the lead for himself.[5]

With that Evans was away, although before the end of the opening lap his lead would be wiped out by a red flag, moments after Rowland had retaliated and grabbed second from di Grassi.[5] The issue was at turn twenty/twenty-one where eight cars had ended up in the barriers, as a combination damp conditions, changing road surfaces and spray had caused chaos for those in the lower half of the field.[5] Norman Nato, the first man to slide into the wall, and Nick Cassidy would both escape and pit for repairs, while Sébastien Buemi found himself on top of Nyck de Vries after the Dutchman had slammed into the back of the #23 Nissan e.Dams and wedged the #17 Mercedes underneath it.[5]

After 45 minutes the accident had been cleared and the order untangled, which was set to how the field had completed the second sector of the opening tour, with Evans hence leading the field as they returned to the circuit behind the Safety Car.[5] After single tour the race resumed with Evans escaping into the lead ahead of Rowland and di Grassi, with status quo reigning behind throughout the early laps.[5]

Indeed, other than drivers taking Attack Mode the action would be rather limited in the first half of the race, the biggest incident of note being when Jean-Éric Vergne punted Edoardo Mortara out of fifth place, a result of the Swiss pilot weaving around in the braking zone in front of the Frenchman.[5] That move would also allow Vandoorne to pass the #48 Venturi as it rejoined the circuit, before Mortara had 5 seconds added to his woes for his overly aggressive defending.[5]

Mortara would make more questionable defensive manoeuvres when trying to hold Wehrlein at bay, before his race came to an end with a right-rear puncture, although Mortara did do a good job of slotting the #48 Venturi behind the barriers without outside assistance.[5] Out front, meanwhile, Evans was still in complete control ahead of Rowland, di Grassi and Jake Dennis, while Vandoorne inherited fifth from Vergne when the #25 DS Techeetah was abnormally slow exiting the penultimate corner.[5]

With five minutes to go the race was settled, Alexander Sims putting himself into the barriers in the Stadium and out of the race, the SC making its second appearance of the day to lead the field past the chequered flag.[5] Evans hence claimed an impressive victory to keep his slim title hopes alive ahead of Rowland and di Grassi, while Dennis claimed the bonus point for fastest lap in fourth.[5] Vandoorne finished in fifth to maintain a strong 21 point lead over Evans in the Championship heading into the final day of the season, with Vergne, Wehrlein, Robin Frijns, António Félix da Costa and Cassidy securing the remaining points.[5]

Background edit

After fourteen races in nine cities the 2021/22 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship arrived in Seoul, South Korea, for its season finale, to be held across two races centred upon a former Olympic stadium.[2] Inedd, the Jamsil Sports Complex in the South Korean capital would play host to the Seoul Street Circuit, which was to stage both the inaugural Seoul E-Prix as well as the 99th and 100th FE races, a significant milestone in FE's history.[2] The races would also be the last of the Generation 2 era for FE, with the Spark SRT05e to be retired at the end of the race weekend having served as the Series' base chassis since 2018/19.[6]

Korean Captivation edit

The 2022 Seoul E-Prix I would be the first staging of the Seoul E-Prix, which had first been touted to join the FE Championship during the 2019/20 season after being included on that season's calendar.[7] That attempt at hosting the race had to be abandoned due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, while ongoing issues with the virus and in Seoul meant that the race was skipped over for 2020/21.[3] Regardless, the Seoul E-Prix would feature on the calendar for 2021/22, and with the virus in relative retreat in Korea, the Seoul E-Prix would finally debut, over two years after its originally planned date.[2]

Bird's Blight edit

Elsewhere, Sam Bird would be a no-show for the season finale, after the Brit was found to have broken his hand at the 2022 London E-Prix II, an injury he would carry throughout that race.[8] The British racer was taken to hospital for scans after complaining of a pain in his hand, with the Jaguar Racing squad later confirming that Bird had suffered a "displaced mid-shaft fracture on his left hand", which he had sustained on the opening lap of the second battle of London.[8] Ultimately Bird was required to have surgery on his hand, meaning he would have to miss the Seoul round despite initial optimism he would be able take part in what would be his 99th and 100th FE races,[8] therefore ending his streak of winning at least one race in every season entered.

On 5 August, the same date that Bird and Jaguar confirmed that the Brit would not take part in the Seoul E-Prix, it was revealed that Norman Nato would sub in for the British ace, having served as Jaguar's reserve driver throughout Season Eight.[9] It would hence be Nato's first appearance since the 2021 Berlin E-Prix II, a race that the Frenchman had won in the hands of a ROKiT Venturi to conclude the 2020/21 season.[9]

Mahindra Motivation edit

Ahead of the Seoul E-Prix one of the first driver line-up announcements for 2022/23 would be unveiled, as Mahindra Racing announced their capture of Lucas di Grassi for the campaign.[10] The move, which would see di Grassi join Oliver Rowland at the squad for Season 9, meant that di Grassi returned to being a factory driver for an FE team, and would arguably be the biggest driver deal Mahindra had made since securing Nick Heidfeld's signature in 2015.[10] The announcement was expected to set off a chain of other driver announcements during the Seoul weekend, while Alexander Sims, the man di Grassi would replace at Mahindra, was set to leave FE to reignite his sportscar career.[10]

Londinium Lunge edit

The title would be Stoffel Vandoorne's to lose heading into the final two races in Seoul, with the Belgian pilot holding a 36 point lead after his title rivals all failed to score in the second London race. Indeed, victory for Vandoorne in the first race in Seoul would earn him the title, with Mitch Evans needing to outscore the Belgian by at least seven points in the first Seoul race in order to keep his title hopes alive. For Edoardo Mortara the target in the first Seoul E-Prix would be to outscore Vandoorne by eleven, while Jean-Éric Vergne was still mathematically in the hunt, but faced a huge 57 point gap with only 58 left to fight for.

In the Teams' Championship it was likewise all in Mercedes' hands heading to South Korea, with the German squad holding a healthy 36 point lead over their closest challengers. Those challengers were in the form of customer team ROKiT Venturi, who would have to score at least nine points more than the factory Mercedes squad to remain in the hunt, while DS Techeetah had to best the factory Mercedes team by twenty in the first Korean bout to retain their hopes. Jaguar Racing in fourth, meanwhile, were 91 points behind and hence were still mathematical contenders, but would need a maximum score in both races and see Mercedes claim less than 3 points across the final two races.

Entry List edit

The full entry list for the 2022 Seoul ePrix is displayed below:

2022 Seoul ePrix Entry List
No. Name Entrant Constructor Car
3   United Kingdom Oliver Turvey   Chile NIO 333 FE Team NIO 333 FE 001
4   Netherlands Robin Frijns   United Kingdom Envision Racing Audi e-tron FE07
5   Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne   Germany Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 02
7   Brazil Sérgio Sette Câmara   United States Dragon/Penske Autosport Penske EV-5
9   New Zealand Mitch Evans   United Kingdom Jaguar TCS Racing Jaguar I-Type V
10   France Norman Nato   United Kingdom Jaguar TCS Racing Jaguar I-Type V
11   Brazil Lucas di Grassi   Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 02
13   Portugal António Félix da Costa   France DS Techeetah DS E-Tense FE 21
17   Netherlands Nyck de Vries   Germany Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 02
22   Germany Maximilian Günther   France Nissan e.Dams Nissan IM03
23   Switzerland Sébastien Buemi   France Nissan e.Dams Nissan IM03
25   France Jean-Éric Vergne   France DS Techeetah DS E-Tense FE 21
27   United Kingdom Jake Dennis   United States Avalanche Andretti Formula E BMW iFE.21
28   United States Oliver Askew   United States Avalanche Andretti Formula E BMW iFE.21
29   United Kingdom Alexander Sims   India Mahindra Racing Mahindra M7Electro
30   United Kingdom Oliver Rowland   India Mahindra Racing Mahindra M7Electro
33   United Kingdom Dan Ticktum   Chile NIO 333 FE Team NIO 333 FE 001
36   Germany Pascal Wehrlein   Germany TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team Porsche 99X Electric
37   New Zealand Nick Cassidy   United Kingdom Envision Racing Audi e-tron FE07
48   Switzerland Edoardo Mortara   Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 02
94   Germany Pascal Wehrlein   Germany TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team Porsche 99X Electric
99   Italy Antonio Giovinazzi   United States Dragon/Penske Autosport Penske EV-5
Source:[11]

Practice edit

FP1 edit

FP2 edit

Qualifying edit

Qualifying for the 2022 Seoul ePrix would be conducted according to the knockout format, introduced ahead of season eight.[12] The field would be split into two groups of eleven drivers, based on Championship position, with each group then getting ten minutes on track to complete as many laps as they wished at 220 kW.[12] The fastest eight overall would then proceed to the knockout phase, now running at the maximum 250 kW qualifying mode, with the fastest from group A against the fourth fastest from group B and so on, until four drivers were left.[12]

Those four would move on to the Semi-Final, with the winner of A1/B4 taking on the victor of A2/B3, while the triumphant driver of A3/B2 would take on A4/B1's winner.[12] The winners from those duels would then go into the final, with the winner of that duel taking pole, while the runner-up would start from second, before any grid penalties were applied.[12]

Group A edit

Group B edit

Knockouts edit

Quarter Finals edit

Semi Finals edit

Final edit

Post Qualifying edit

The final qualifying result for the 2022 Seoul ePrix are outlined below:

2022 Seoul ePrix Qualifying Results
Final
Heat Pos. No. Name Team Time Gap Grid
I Win 30   United Kingdom Oliver Rowland   India Mahindra Racing 1:35.406 1
Lose 11   Brazil Lucas di Grassi   Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing 1:36.029 +0.623s 2
Semi-Finals
Heat Pos. No. Name Team Time Gap Grid
I Win 11   Brazil Lucas di Grassi   Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing 1:35.692 F
Lose 9   New Zealand Mitch Evans   United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 1:35.884 +0.192s 3
II Win 30   United Kingdom Oliver Rowland   India Mahindra Racing 1:34.880 F
Lose 94   Germany Pascal Wehrlein   Germany Porsche Formula E Team 1:36.517 +1.637s 4
Quarter Finals
Heat Pos. No. Name Team Time Gap Grid
rowspan="2" QF/1 Win 9   New Zealand Mitch Evans   United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 1:31.293 SF
Lose 48   Switzerland Edoardo Mortara   Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing 1:32.442 +1.149s 6
rowspan="2" QF/2 Win 11   Brazil Lucas di Grassi   Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing 1:31.735 SF
Lose 27   United Kingdom Jake Dennis   United States Avalanche Andretti 1:32.424 +0.689s 5
rowspan="2" QF/3 Win 30   United Kingdom Oliver Rowland   India Mahindra Racing 1:32.590 SF
Lose 7   Brazil Sérgio Sette Câmara   United States Dragon/Penske Autosport 8
QF/4 Win 94   Germany Pascal Wehrlein   Germany Porsche Formula E Team 1:35.117 SF
Lose 5   Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne   Germany Mercedes 1:35.401 +0.284s 7
Group Stage
Pos. No. Name Team Time Gap Grid Group
1st 48   Switzerland Edoardo Mortara   Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing 1:22.397 QF/1 GA
2nd 27   United Kingdom Jake Dennis   United States Avalanche Andretti 1:22.441 +0.044s QF/2 GA
3rd 7   Brazil Sérgio Sette Câmara   United States Dragon/Penske Autosport 1:22.477 +0.080s QF/3 GA
4th 5   Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne   Germany Mercedes 1:22.542 +0.145s QF/4 GA
5th 23   Switzerland Sébastien Buemi   France Nissan e.Dams 1:22.732 +0.335s 10 GA
6th 13   Portugal António Félix da Costa   France DS Techeetah 1:22.793 +0.396s 12 GA
7th 99   Italy Antonio Giovinazzi   United States Dragon/Penske Autosport 1:22.837 +0.440s 14 GA
8th 4   Netherlands Robin Frijns   United Kingdom Envision Racing 1:23.057 +0.660s 16 GA
9th 3   United Kingdom Oliver Turvey   Chile NIO 333 FE Team 1:23.214 +0.817s 18 GA
10th 36   Germany André Lotterer   Germany Porsche Formula E Team 1:23.331 +0.934s 20 GA
11th 94   Germany Pascal Wehrlein   Germany Porsche Formula E Team 1:30.321 +7.924s QF/4 GB
12th 30   United Kingdom Oliver Rowland   India Mahindra Racing 1:30.345 +7.948s QF/3 GB
13th 11   Brazil Lucas di Grassi   Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing 1:30.726 +8.329s QF/2 GB
14th 9   New Zealand Mitch Evans   United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 1:30.755 +8.358s QF/1 GB
15th 25   France Jean-Éric Vergne   France DS Techeetah 1:30.811 +8.414s 9 GB
16th 10   France Norman Nato   United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 1:30.943 +8.546s 11 GB
17th 33   United Kingdom Dan Ticktum   Chile NIO 333 FE Team 1:31.577 +9.180s 13 GB
18th 17   Netherlands Nyck de Vries   Germany Mercedes 1:31.704 +9.307s 15 GB
19th 22   Germany Maximilian Günther   France Nissan e.Dams 1:31.840 +9.443s 17 GB
20th 37   New Zealand Nick Cassidy   United Kingdom Envision Racing 1:32.387 +9.990s 19 GB
21st 29   United Kingdom Alexander Sims   India Mahindra Racing 1:33.592 +11.195s 21 GB
Group A 110% Time: 1:30.636[13]
NC 28   United States Oliver Askew   United States Avalanche Andretti 1:50.546 +28.149s 22 GA
Group B 110% Time: 1:39.353[13]
Source:[13]

Race edit

Report edit

Result edit

The final classification of the 2022 Seoul ePrix is displayed below, with the fastest lap setter indicated in italics, and the pole sitter shown in bold:

2022 Seoul ePrix Race Result
Pos. No. Name Team Laps Race Time Fastest lap Pts.
1st 9   New Zealand Mitch Evans (FanBoost)   United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 30 1:29:55.478 1:25.919 25
2nd 30   United Kingdom Oliver Rowland   India Mahindra Racing 30 +0.820s 1:25.901 21
3rd 11   Brazil Lucas di Grassi (FanBoost)   Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing 30 +1.393s 1:26.129 15
4th 27   United Kingdom Jake Dennis   United States Avalanche Andretti 30 +1.902s 1:25.497 13
5th 5   Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne (FanBoost)   Germany Mercedes 30 +2.470s 1:25.863 10
6th 25   France Jean-Éric Vergne   France DS Techeetah 30 +3.957s 1:26.182 8
7th 94   Germany Pascal Wehrlein   Germany Porsche Formula E Team 30 +4.149s 1:25.576 6
8th 4   Netherlands Robin Frijns   United Kingdom Envision Racing 30 +4.508s 1:25.935 4
9th 13   Portugal António Félix da Costa (FanBoost)   France DS Techeetah 30 +4.970s 1:26.219 2
10th 37   New Zealand Nick Cassidy   United Kingdom Envision Racing 30 +5.325s 1:25.947 1
11th 22   Germany Maximilian Günther   France Nissan e.Dams 30 +5.610s 1:26.402
12th 7   Brazil Sérgio Sette Câmara   United States Dragon/Penske Autosport 30 +6.121s 1:28.055
13th* 10   France Norman Nato   United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 30 +57.545s 1:28.371
Ret 29   United Kingdom Alexander Sims   India Mahindra Racing 26 Accident 1:25.780
Ret 99   Italy Antonio Giovinazzi   United States Dragon/Penske Autosport 24 Retired 1:27.784
Ret 48   Switzerland Edoardo Mortara (FanBoost)   Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing 20 Puncture 1:28.268
Ret 23   Switzerland Sébastien Buemi   France Nissan e.Dams 0 Accident
Ret 33   United Kingdom Dan Ticktum   Chile NIO 333 FE Team 0 Accident
Ret 17   Netherlands Nyck de Vries   Germany Mercedes 0 Accident
Ret 33   United Kingdom Oliver Turvey   Chile NIO 333 FE Team 0 Accident
Ret 36   Germany André Lotterer   Germany Porsche Formula E Team 0 Accident
Ret 28   United States Oliver Askew   United States Avalanche Andretti 0 Accident
Source:[13]
  • (FanBoost) Indicates a driver was awarded FanBoost during the race.
  • * Nato served a five second time penalty for falling more than ten car lengths behind the car ahead during a Safety Car period.[14] The penalty made no difference as he finished the race last.

Milestones edit

Standings edit

Stoffel Vandoorne had failed to secure the Championship at the first time of asking in the first Seoul E-Prix, although the Belgian pilot remained the overwhelming favourite heading into the final day of the season. Indeed, only a victory with Vandoorne retiring would realistically hand Mitch Evans the title, while sixth, regardless of what Evans did, would be enough for Vandoorne to claim the crown. Evans could also win the Championship with Vandoorne failing to score and him finishing in second with pole position, which would leave the New Zealander as the Champion on countback by holding four wins to Vandoorne's two.

Like their lead driver it was Mercedes' title to lose in the Teams' Championship ahead of the final race of the season, the German manufacturer's factory team holding a 31 point lead over their closest challengers. Indeed, only their customers ROKiT Venturi Racing could overhaul them on the final day, and would require a double podium, and likely need see their sister team fail to score at all, in order to secure the title for themselves. DS Techeetah could theoretically tie with Mercedes on 301 points with a maximum score on the final day, but the title would still head to Mercedes on countback, as they would hold three victories to DS Techeetah's theoretical two.

References edit

  1. ^ 'Hana Bank sponsoring the Seoul E-Prix 2022', koreajoongangdaily.joins.com, (Korea JoongAng Daily, 07/07/2022), https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/07/07/business/finance/korea-seoul-eprix-hana-bank/20220707175725558.html, (Accessed 01/08/2022)
  2. ^ a b c d 'SEASON 8 CALENDAR: Cape Town, Vancouver and Seoul feature on most expansive Formula E schedule yet', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 08/07/2021), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2021/july/season-8-calendar-announcement, (Accessed 08/07/2021)
  3. ^ a b 'Formula E and FIA take decision to temporarily suspend season', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 13/03/2020), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2020/march/formula-e-season-suspended, (Accessed 13/03/2020)
  4. ^ a b c 'Rowland seals pole in rain-soaked qualifying for Seoul E-Prix Round 15', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 13/08/2022), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2022/august/seoul-qualifying-round-15-report, (Accessed 13/08/2022)
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 'Evans cuts Vandoorne's points lead with Round 15 win in Seoul', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 13/08/2022), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2022/august/seoul-e-prix-round-15-report, (Accessed 13/08/2022)
  6. ^ Alex Kalinauckas, 'Fast-charging idea could bring back Formula E pitstops', motorsport.com, (Motorsport Network, 31/10/2019), https://www.motorsport.com/formula-e/news/fast-charging-pitstop-return-gen3/4589738/, (Accessed 18/06/2020)
  7. ^ '2019/20 calendar revealed: London and Seoul star in sixth Formula E campaign', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 14/06/2019), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2019/june/2019-20-season-calendar-revealed, (Accessed 14/06/2019)
  8. ^ a b c Jake Boxall-Legge, 'Bird drove in London Formula E race with broken hand', motorsport.com, (Motorsport Network, 31/07/2022), https://www.motorsport.com/formula-e/news/bird-drove-in-london-formula-e-race-with-broken-hand/10346938/, (Accessed 01/08/2022)
  9. ^ a b 'Nato to step in for injured Bird at Jaguar in Seoul', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 04/05/2022), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2022/august/nato-bird-jaguar-seoul, (Accessed 05/08/2022)
  10. ^ a b c Jake Boxall-Legge, 'Di Grassi joins Mahindra for 2022-23 Formula E season', motorsport.com, (Motorsport Network, 12/08/2022), https://www.motorsport.com/formula-e/news/di-grassi-joins-mahindra-for-2022-23-formula-e-season/10351962/, (Accessed 12/08/2022)
  11. ^ EL
  12. ^ a b c d e 'Updated calendar, faster racing and knockout qualifying for Season 8', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 15/10/2021), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2021/october/season-8-sporting-update, (Accessed 16/10/2021)
  13. ^ a b c d Results
  14. ^ NatPrP

Category:EPrix articles Category:2021/22 EPrix Category:Seoul EPrix