The closer level of competition in Formula E makes it a fairer championship for drivers to participate in, says ex-F1 driver Pascal Wehrlein.
The former Sauber and Manor driver took a second-place finish and a pole position in his first three Formula E starts for Mahindra.“Formula E is really competitive,” Wehrlein told the Inside Electric podcast. “We have a lot of manufacturers and the level is really high.
“But what I enjoy is that it’s still fair. You have other series where there are bigger brands and smaller teams and obviously you see a big difference in competitiveness and lap times. And that’s just because one team can spend a lot of money and the other is unfortunately not able to spend so much. And therefore they are just, in my opinion, participating.”
Formula E’s limits on car development make the championship more competitive than F1, said Wehrlein.
“I like the idea of Formula E that some parts of the cars are spec parts so you’re not allowed to change the aerodynamics and so on. So on one hand that’s still very simple for the teams.
“But they are still able to develop their own powertrain and so on. So the teams can make a difference in those areas, but they are are a lot smaller than what you’ve got in Formula 1, for example. Which means that the teams are a lot closer together.
“It’s more fair for the drivers. There’s not only one or two teams which are able to win, there are a lot of teams, nearly all of them have the chance to win, and I really like that. So on a good day, you really feel like you’ve achieved something great. And I like that: You are driving against all the drivers.”
Wehrlein admitted he was disappointed by the difficulties he faced competing with drivers in faster cars during his F1 career.
“I have been in Formula 1 and I always had the feeling, in Manor or in Sauber as well, we are just driving against one or two teams. Which means you are driving against four drivers, maybe five or six drivers.
“On a bad day I was just driving against my team mate, when the car was not good enough on some tracks. So that for me is not the ideal of sports.”
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GtisBetter (@)
24th May 2020, 14:44
I for one am happy with different types of championships. We don’t need everything to be spec series or butchered by BOP.
Jamie B
24th May 2020, 16:04
I quite like spec series (or spec chassis) for this reason. I would love to see something similar to F1 as a spec series (in addition to F1, of course). Like Indycar, but faster and global
Balue (@balue)
24th May 2020, 19:14
Obviously F1 is mostly about cars, not drivers. I wish more people would take this on board.
F1oSaurus (@)
24th May 2020, 21:51
Yes F3 is also much more equal. Even more so since there is even less difference between the cars and perforamce will be similar to Formula E.
Sort of similar in F2 as well, although there you already seeing the teams make a difference. Even within a team drivers do not always have the same budget and therefore are not competing on the same level.
F1 is about constructors. So yes there will be more difference between the car performance levels. That’s how it’s supposed to be though.
JMDan (@danmar)
24th May 2020, 22:39
I’m glad FE is good for drivers. That’s not going to make me watch.
Jose Lopes da Silva
25th May 2020, 13:01
“Major League Soccer,” Ibrahimovic told the Inside Electric podcast. “We have a lot of clubs and the level is really high.
“But what I enjoy is that it’s still fair. You have other leagues where there are bigger clubs and smaller teams and obviously you see a big difference in competitiveness and goals scored. And that’s just because one team like Real Madrid and Manchester United can spend a lot of money and the other like Getafe or Swansea is unfortunately not able to spend so much. And therefore they are just, in my opinion, participating.”
xcm
26th May 2020, 1:34
T-ball will always be “more fair for the children”… but nobody gets tingly feels from t-ball. If thats your thing… great! Have fun! Ill be here anxiously awaiting the return of formula1.