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In Italian, it’s known as folgore. Sparks will fly, yet it’s said that lightning never strikes twice. That’s about to change, because this weekend, Maserati is coming home.
The feeling of a home race is special. There’s no denying it. It brings energy and some have claimed that racing at home is worth an extra few tenths every single lap.
If that is the case, a home race can also be a catalyst – the perfect ingredient to re-ignite passion and drive it forward to such a level that is, quite simply, indescribable.
Misano is a new circuit, and it’s also a new opportunity. In 2023, the Trident raced at home for the first time in 66 years. This weekend, it’ll happen again. This is what you should watch out for.
The Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli is the first purpose-built facility we will visit in 2024, after racing on the streets of Mexico City, Diriyah, São Paulo, and Tokyo, the Italian venue will serve a key difference in car setup.
In motorsport, car setup is one of the building blocks of performance and varies from circuit to circuit, shaped by countless factors including track configuration and corner type.
Fast and flowing, Misano rewards precision and skill, but in stark contrast to the street circuits we’re used to in Formula E, it’s also brilliantly smooth.
Combining the surface with Misano’s configuration serves up a fascinating range of setup options, but it all begins with the rare opportunity to run a lower ride height.
By running a lower ride height, teams will improve aerodynamic performance and therefore, optimise efficiency although maximising tyre performance alongside this is critical.
From entry to exit and back to entry, a high portion of Misano’s corners are combined and connected and are often taken at medium and high-speed.
To optimise pace as much as possible, having good lateral tyre support will be a necessity, while perfecting car setup is the first step on the road to success.
The 2024 Misano E-Prix will see the return of FP0 – a practice session specifically reserved for rookie drivers which was first held at the Rome E-Prix in Season 9.
With only one in-season test scheduled to take place at the Berlin E-Prix later this year, every opportunity we receive to carry out more running is critical, making FP0 invaluable.
At Misano, FP0 will replace Formula E’s traditional Shakedown session, and we’re delighted to be joined by Yann Ehrlacher who will drive the Maserati Tipo Folgore in the 30-minute window.
Two-time World Touring Car Cup champion Yann, who tested with DS Penske in 2023, is a proven, reliable, and distinguished hand, and with his help, we’ll be in a prime position for the weekend.
Expect to see teams take advantage of FP0 to evaluate car setup with the aim of opening opportunities to examine other areas of performance in FP1 and FP2.
When barriers mark the boundaries of a street circuit, monitoring track limits is straightforward, but as a permanent facility with countless runoff areas, track limits will be a contentious subject at Misano.
Because runoff areas make a circuit less punishing, drivers are free to explore the limit, but when exploring the limit, it’s often easy to overstep it which can, in turn, call a lap’s validity into question.
Track limits will be monitored throughout the Misano E-Prix, and to stay within the limits, drivers must keep at least one tyre on the racing surface and not go over the white lines which skirt the circuit.
As drivers start to push in Qualifying, the balance between risk and reward will be extremely fine, and any driver who exceeds track limits will likely have their lap time deleted.
For this reason, posting clean and consistently quick laps – especially in the group stages of Qualifying – will be vital.
Having a back-up lap could spell the difference between advancing to the Qualifying duels or starting outside of the top 10.
Earlier in 2024 at the São Paulo E-Prix, Formula E saw its first peloton race of Season 10, and at Misano, this high-octane style of racing is set to return.
This is a result of Misano’s extreme energy sensitivity, where, due to high energy consumption, drivers will be unable to conserve and recover enough energy through conventional methods.
Alongside regenerative braking and lifting and coasting, drivers will therefore leverage slipstreaming to their advantage and will use the benefit of less air resistance to reduce energy consumption and improve efficiency by up to 10%.
Based on simulations, Misano has a similar projected energy sensitivity level to those seen at the 2023 Portland E-Prix – a race which saw an astounding 403 overtakes in only 32 laps in Season 9.
At Misano, overtaking is inevitable but the path to victory can only be carved out by using a successful strategy, woven by intrigue and executed by intuition.
Watch closely as drivers save energy, attempt to lure others into consuming, and eye the opportune moment to attack late in the race.
In Formula E, momentum goes the distance and after winning the World Championship’s most recent race in Tokyo, momentum is most definitely with Maserati MSG Racing.
At surface level, performance starts and ends on track, but in practice, it stems from the morale, motivation, and energy within a team.
Following an intense run of races from South America to Asia and back to Europe, fatigue can sometimes start to set in, but a victory is the perfect catalyst for inspiration.
Thanks to our win in Japan, we’re at our peak, and our pursuit of the podium will resume once more at Misano.
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