Double points. A gimmick? Raising the stakes? Ensuring a fight until the end?
Whatever your views, this will be the way of things when Formula E: Accelerate hits screens for the final time this season as the championship concludes on its new Rome E-Prix track tomorrow evening.
The penultimate round at Electric Docks caused some serious shockwaves amongst the title contenders in both championships so let’s take a closer look at who needs to get the job done and who needs a minor miracle.
Jajovski’s immaculate timing
Erhan Jajovski put his foot down early on this season with back-to-back successes in New York and Hong Kong. Even after a stumble in Berlin where his worst qualifying effort of the season heavily impacted his race potential, the only people even close to matching him on pace on a consistent basis were Kevin ‘Siggy’ Rebernak and Frederick Rasmussen.
Out of these two, only the BMW i Andretti driver was being considered as a serious threat to the Macedonian however and with good evidence to back this up. Dragon’s Dane had a rather unremarkable performance straight out of the gates in Round 1 and thus had been playing catch up from the get go.
It wouldn’t be until Electric Docks where Jajovski would find the top step of the podium again yet his timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Not only did he stop Rasmussen’s rise in form after he had won a week prior in Saudi Arabia, but Siggy had his worst result of the season.
There is a 26 point buffer back to everyone else and only two other people have a chance of overturning that deficit. Erhan’s mission on Thursday evening is simple – keep Siggy and Rasmussen in the rearview mirror. Position is irrelevant.
Remember, the drivers are competing for a drive in a real-life Gen2 Formula E car and a share of a minimum €100,000 prize pool. It’s all on the line tomorrow evening.
BMW i Andretti need a Hörzing down
As you collect yourself following that outrageous pun-ditry, cast your minds back two weeks when Jake Dennis won the All-Star event to bank his employers in Germany and the USA 25 points towards their virtual Teams’ championship hopes. It was a huge boost, especially off the back of a double podium in Berlin before the mid-season break.
As Round 4 progressed, keen eyes observed that this boost hid some serious answers being delivered in regards to the support acts of Jajovski and Siggy. Many wondered if Petar Brljak would kick on and continue to be a top-five presence. Many wondered if Lorenz Hörzing would actually contribute to the plight of his team or remain pointless by the season’s end.
Sitting here on the cusp of the Grand Final, Brljak’s form has dipped though this isn’t entirely of his own doing with an unfortunately first lap incident crippling his chances at Electric Docks. Meanwhile, his Austrian rival goes from strength to strength having scored his first points in Diriyah and then bringing home an impressive fourth in the following round.
The double points element affects these guys as well and if I was a professional analyst, which I am, then I’d place my bets on Hörzing to get the job done.
Of course, I may end up being completely wrong but in order to find out, you’ll have to watch the show for yourself!
Real-world drivers return
During tomorrow’s broadcast, viewers will also be treated to a race featuring 12 real-world Formula E drivers competing against each other on the same Rome track, just two weeks before the real-world Rome E-Prix.
Much like the event in Diriyah, the results of this race will also count toward the Formula E: Accelerate Team Standing points, so a good result could help their esports counterparts.
Stoffel Vandoorne, António Félix Da Costa and Pascal Wehrlein will be racing, amongst others. DS TECHEETAH Team Principal Mark Preston and YouTuber FailRace will be in the studio in-between the racing action.
WATCH Round 6 of Formula E: Accelerate live on Traxion
Remember that we will be providing coverage for this event LIVE on our YouTube and Twitch channels so feel free to subscribe and follow respectively before they go racing. 19:00 GMT / 20:00 CET / 15:00 EST / 12:00 PST, Thursday 25th March.
