Formula E
Fenestraz "starting from blank paper" with move to Formula E
Nissan Formula E driver Sacha Fenestraz reckons he is "starting from a blank paper" to prepare for the Mexico season opener as he makes the transition from Super Formula.
Jake Boxall-Legge
Edited: Dec 20, 2022, 12:39 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The Franco-Argentine racer has shifted his focus to Formula E after finishing second in the standings in Japan's premier single-seater category, and concluding a race-winning campaign in SUPER GT.
He was handed a surprise chance to start his first Formula E race in Seoul at the end of the 2021-22 season, substituting for the injured Antonio Giovinazzi at Dragon Penske.
But with a full-time drive in his pocket as he starts his learning process with the Gen3 car, he says that the disparate philosophies between the Formula E machinery and the 'close to Formula 1' Super Formula car has required a complete rethink in his driving.
"It's very, very different to what I was used to," Fenestraz told Motorsport.com.
"Super Formula, they're the closest cars to Formula 1. And here is very fast, but it's just a different philosophy; here, we are talking about the future, in my opinion.
"It [the new car] is very tricky for us as drivers to handle. You see a lot of drivers making mistakes because we're trying to find our limit, and trying to know what is the limit of this car.
"It's interesting, and definitely very different to what I was used to in the past. For me, it's like starting from a blank paper, in terms of the pure driving is like starting from scratch."
Fenestraz says the quick turnaround in moving from Super Formula to Formula E, particularly with the large differences between the cars, means that he would prefer more time behind the wheel - but is adamant that he is catching up in preparation for the Mexico City E-Prix in January.
Sacha Fenestraz, Nissan
Photo by: Andreas Beil
"As a rookie, I would love to tell you, I wish I had two more months and to test every single day. But of course, that's not the reality.
"But I think most teams are in the same position as we are, we're not behind, we're not ahead. I think we're pretty much all on the same things, we see a lot of teams having issues, we have small issues, you know, we're all testing and trying to find the limits of the car.
Read Also:
"It's not like we're more or less prepared than the rest. It's just trying to find the issues that we have right now. And hopefully we don't have them during the season.
"Me as a driver, of course, I'm ready, I'm always ready. I'm very excited. And it's a lot of work. But it's true, I wish I had a little bit longer because I just finished my season in Japan not long ago.
"I knew that Formula E was coming up, but I had to do my job in Japan. So I was still 95% focused on that. And couldn't really 100% focus on Formula E so I came to the Formula E campaign a bit late.
"But now I'm catching up as fast as I can and working as hard as possible. But I'm really looking forward to Christmas to rest up a little bit - because it's been hectic since June."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Gunther ends Valencia Formula E test with fastest time
Next article Sette Camara: Drivers will need to "respect" limits of Gen3 Formula E car
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jake Boxall-Legge
More from
Sacha Fenestraz
Fenestraz: Ex-team-mate Rowland “easily on a par with Verstappen”
Formula E
Formula E Oct 10, 2024
Fenestraz: Ex-team-mate Rowland “easily on a par with Verstappen”
Nato rejoins Nissan Formula E team in place of Fenestraz
Formula E
Formula E
London ePrix II
Sep 11, 2024
Nato rejoins Nissan Formula E team in place of Fenestraz
Fenestraz dropped by Nissan for 2024/25 Formula E campaign
Formula E
Formula E Sep 5, 2024
Fenestraz dropped by Nissan for 2024/25 Formula E campaign
Latest news
How Qatar red flag helped Johann Zarco put Barcelona crash behind him
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
33 min
How Qatar red flag helped Johann Zarco put Barcelona crash behind him
McLaren to upgrade MCL40 car at its bogey F1 track Las Vegas
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Las Vegas GP
1 h
McLaren to upgrade MCL40 car at its bogey F1 track Las Vegas
Carson Hocevar and Cleetus McFarland win LeMullets 2026 in epic finish
General
Misc General 6 h
Carson Hocevar and Cleetus McFarland win LeMullets 2026 in epic finish
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe