Formula E goes into the unknown as rain promises Hong Kong E-Prix carnage

As Formula E celebrates its 50th race this weekend in Hong Kong, another milestone is looming in the dark clouds above Central Harbourfront. Sunday’s Hong Kong E-Prix is set to be the first wet Formula E race – it’s quite remarkable that it’s taken until the fifth season of the electric racing series to come. Heavy showers battered the street circuit intermittently on Saturday and it’s forecast to be similar on race day. But organisers are remaining positive. “I think it can be an amazing race, the thing is we need the right amount of rain,” Formula E founder and CEO Alejandro Agag said. “This amount of rain is perfect. Also the drainage in Hong Kong is really good. The streets evacuate the water really nicely here. “So we can have rain and a great race with rain. If we get torrential rain then we cannot race. But the chances are with this kind of drizzle, that it will actually be amazing for the show. It’s unknown, so it will be great, going into new territory. For me, I’m actually looking forward to the rain.” The race cannot be postponed because of agreements with the government regarding road closures. There are no floodlights either so the race would have to be finished by sunset, with Agag confirming the race cannot be moved up Sunday’s busy schedule, which also features the Jaguar I-PACE E-Trophy and the E-Race, as well as practice and qualifying for the main event. “Hopefully it won’t get to that,” Agag said. The stakes are high, however – this is also the first Formula E race being broadcast live on the BBC in the UK, which has become a huge market for the series, with a London race announced for season six. Hong Kong E-Prix: Formula E makes an electrifying return to the city for third instalment “It’s a big deal for us. I have no doubt it’s going to go ahead,” Agag said. “We need it to be a good race, and I think the rain with attack mode will guarantee it’s an incredibly exciting race, a really great show. “Millions could be watching and under the rain is where you see the real talent of the drivers. Everyone probably remembers the greatest race of Ayrton Senna’s life, or the best lap he did, was that lap in the rain on Donnington. That’s where history of racing is made, under the rain.” The drivers have mixed views on the rain, however. “You can’t prepare much, because you never know how hard it’s gonna rain and when and how it’s gonna be,” Daniel Abt of Audi ABT Schaeffler said. “But if it rains it’s gonna be very tough for everyone because on a street track you always have a lot of water standing, you don’t see very well. One little slide or mistake puts you in the wall. It’s not gonna be easy.” BMW’s Antonio Felix Da Costa, who won the opening race in Saudi Arabia, said: “It’s probably going to be one of the most challenging races we’ve ever seen in Formula E – the most challenging day even, starting from the morning with practice and all that. So we’ll see.” With the introduction of timed races (45 minutes plus one lap), attack mode and the new Gen2 car, which runs on one battery charge for the whole race, energy management has been a crucial part of season five. Just ask Pascal Wehrlein, whose battery ran out on the final 50 metres in Mexico City, with Lucas Di Grassi pipping him to victory. But that is likely to go out of the window in Hong Kong. “Theoretically it will be less energy, as we will be racing slower, so we will do less laps,” Jerome D’Ambrosio of Mahindra said. “Exactly how much we don’t know. But the probability of a low-management race is quite high, especially with the high possibility of the safety car.” The drivers did a track walk on Saturday morning and will have been mentally earmarking the zones where the rain will have most affect. “You forget about all of that by Sunday anyway,” Wehrlein joked. But unlike Formula One, there won’t be the issue of changing tyres – drivers naturally expect to have less grip. “No one’s driven this track in the wet,” Jaguar director James Barclay said. “We don’t have consistent tarmac formats. We have literally no idea what the grip level will be like. If it is wet, it will be a voyage of discovery for us and the drivers.” Formula E: Daniel Abt out to avenge Hong Kong E-Prix heartbreak – ‘we won fair and square’ Racing on public streets with manholes and traffic lines will also add to the madness as usual. “In Formula E you have to worry about every part of the track anyway,” Marrakesh winner D’Ambrosio added. “Street corners are bumpy, one corner isn’t like the next, so you have to be focused 100 per cent of the time. “I can see the last corner being a tricky one, it’s a high speed one. Very challenging with the braking zone. There’s a lot of white lines and so on. I don’t see one part of the track apart from the straight line where we’re gonna be relaxed.” It won’t be completely unknown territory – there were some wet practice sessions for the first race in Riydh, Saudi Arabia, as well as some rain during preseason testing in Valencia. “Everyone’s had a bit of a feeling for the car in the rain, but to go and do a whole race will be a new experience,” said HWA Racelab’s Stoffel Vandoorne. “That’s quite a cool thing, something I would personally enjoy going into the race with a bit of an unknown. “Without rain there’s already quite a few incidents in Formula E. I don’t think we need much more on top of that. But it will be extremely tricky. It’s one of the most clunky circuits here as well. A lot of tarmac changes. Keeping it on track will be the key to get some good results out of it.”