Breaking news
Formula E New York ePrix
New York FE changes not good for title hopeful Bird
Formula E title contender Sam Bird says the track changes made for this season’s New York ePrix are “not going to help” his Virgin Racing squad.
Alex Kalinauckas
Edited: Jul 11, 2018, 5:20 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Bird won both races held in New York last season – the first time FE visited the city – but the Brooklyn Circuit has been altered for its second event.
The track is almost 0.3-miles longer, with four new corners extending the track from Turn 6 and replacing the tight hairpin that previously held that corner spot.
Bird, who trails FE standings leader Jean-Eric Vergne (Techeetah) by 23 points heading into the season four finale double-header, explained that the longer track would add to Virgin’s struggles with energy efficiency and mean taking more of the flowing turns that do not suit its package.
“It’s a completely different animal,” Bird told Motorsport.com.
“Last year we were very competitive, the car was behaving extremely well – great balance, the efficiency wasn’t so much an issue, a - in comparison to our rivals, and b - the track length was better for us.
“[The changes are] not going to help us, basically. The track is longer, which means efficiency is key. And there are some cars out there that are just more efficient than us.
“There’s no getting away from that, so we’ll have to just do our best, maximise the potential of the car and I need to maximise the driving and see where we go from there.
“[It will be a] very different race – I think it’ll have shades of Berlin [a 1-2 result for Audi], which might not be brilliant, but I still think it’ll be a fun spectacle.
“But it’s nice to go somewhere where you’ve got some great memories and we’ll see what happens on the day.”
Audi driver Lucas di Grassi reckons the changes to the Brooklyn track should increase overtaking and lead to a more exciting pair of races.
The alterations have been made in preparation for the faster Gen2 cars that will race on the track in season five.
“I think the changes are very positive, because they increase the length of the straight and they create another overtaking spot on the back straight,” di Grassi told Motorsport.com.
“Definitely New York, after we drove it last year, the track was not the most exciting track and now I think it has improved a lot.
“If I was to design an extension of the track I think the job they did is a super good one.
“I would have done a very similar design to increase overtakes and to make the track more exciting to drive.
“The venue was great. The place, everything. The track was not the most exciting but this small increment in the distance and the layout they chose will make the track much better, definitely in the right direction.”
Find out how you can follow the 2018 New York ePrix here.
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 De Vries gets Audi reserve role for New York
Next article Vergne: Formula E title rival Bird finding excuses
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Alex Kalinauckas
Who is Kimi Antonelli, F1 sprint polesitter at just 18?
Formula 1
Formula 1
Who is Kimi Antonelli, F1 sprint polesitter at just 18?
Why Bottas has the edge over Perez in 2026 F1 return race
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Why Bottas has the edge over Perez in 2026 F1 return race
What if Red Bull solved its second-car problem with a paint job?
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
What if Red Bull solved its second-car problem with a paint job?
More from
Sam Bird
McLaren Formula E team set to close without buyer
Formula E
Formula E
McLaren Formula E team set to close without buyer
Top 10: Ranking the best GP2 non-champions
FIA F2
FIA F2
Top 10: Ranking the best GP2 non-champions
Five things we learned from the Mexico City E-Prix
Formula E
Formula E
Mexico City ePrix
Five things we learned from the Mexico City E-Prix
More from
Envision Racing
Sebastien Buemi not ruling out Formula E comeback: “I don’t want to close any doors”
Formula E
Formula E
Sebastien Buemi not ruling out Formula E comeback: “I don’t want to close any doors”
Sebastien Buemi to leave Formula E after 12 seasons
Formula E
Formula E
London ePrix I
Sebastien Buemi to leave Formula E after 12 seasons
Sebastien Buemi criticises Berlin Formula E “convoy” racing as “too much”
Formula E
Formula E
Berlin ePrix II
Sebastien Buemi criticises Berlin Formula E “convoy” racing as “too much”
Latest news
Lamborghini | Barcelona selected to host the 2027 Super Trofeo World Finals
Lamborghini Super Trofeo
LBST Lamborghini Super Trofeo
World Finals - Monza 2026
9 min
Lamborghini | Barcelona selected to host the 2027 Super Trofeo World Finals
F1 United States GP live commentary and updates - FP3
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
29 min
F1 United States GP live commentary and updates - FP3
Lamborghini World Finals | AM-LC Race 1: An unstoppable Lewandowski dominates to win Race 1
Lamborghini Super Trofeo
LBST Lamborghini Super Trofeo
World Finals - Monza 2026
2 h
Lamborghini World Finals | AM-LC Race 1: An unstoppable Lewandowski dominates to win Race 1
Why Cadillac F1 boss provoked fresh intrigue by dodging driver question
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
4 h
Why Cadillac F1 boss provoked fresh intrigue by dodging driver question
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