The first impressions of Formula E's brave new era

By:

Jake Boxall-Legge

Jan 17, 2023, 11:51 AM

OPINION: Formula E kicked off its Gen3 era at Mexico City with keen anticipation - and anxiety - surrounding its new, more powerful cars. Here's how the new machinery got on in its first race, and what could be open to improvement later down the line

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The Hankook tyres wailed like banshees as the drivers tortured the last ounce of grip from them through the medium-speed corners. And, through the Peraltada, they were on a knife-edge; Rene Rast and Edoardo Mortara went beyond the limits in practice as the cars bucked under load and threw them into the wall.

Others corralled the new Formula E cars into complying with their inputs. In the qualifying semi-final shootout between Jakes Dennis and Hughes, the latter driver began to feel the rear of his Nissan-powered McLaren stepping out through the 180-degree Peraltada. It should have been a one-way ticket to the outside wall, but Hughes managed to put enough steering in to coax his car through the corner.

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Jake Boxall-Legge

Having studied Automotive Engineering with Motorsport at the University of Hertfordshire, West Country-born Jake's original ambition was to design racing cars. During a year between studies in which he accidentally rekindled a love of writing, he took up a Master's in Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes. Halfway through his master's year, he was offered a place on the Autosport Academy, conducting occasional freelance duties before becoming the press officer for Formula 2 and GP3 in 2018. Autosport offered him a return to the fold later that year to serve as its Technical Editor. His voice appears on a number of videos and podcasts, and can often be found writing about terrible Formula 1 cars in excruciating detail. In his spare time, Jake enjoys baking and blames his failure to make it past the Great British Bake-Off interviews on his tenuous grasp on choux pastry. His dream is to open a brunch cafe - and his willingness to make outrageous puns in inappropriate situations has earned him the contempt of his colleagues.