Rosenqvist says Formula E his toughest series to adapt to yet
Having made his Formula E debut in the Hong Kong ePrix, Felix Rosenqvist says the series is the toughest category he has had to adapt to in his career.
Photo by: FIA Formula E
In his first Formula E race weekend, the 24-year-old qualified sixth, but a brush with the barrier in the race meant he would eventually bring the car home in 15th place.
The Swede still scored a point courtesy of registering the fastest lap of the race in a strategic move from Mahindra.
Even though Rosenqvist has vast experience in single-seaters and has enjoyed much success on street circuits, the Swede admitted the all-electric series was not easy to get used to.
"In one way, I do feel like a rookie still since this is definitely the hardest championship as a newcomer," said Rosenqvist to Motorsport.com.
"Then at the same time, I don’t think I’ve ever had as much preparation before a season as I've had with Mahindra Racing.
"My race engineer Andres Castillo has been pumping me with useful info every day. In the beginning, it felt like it was almost too much to take in.
"But now after the first weekend, you start putting the puzzle together and things start making sense in a different way."
Despite the crash, Rosenqvist is confident he'll be able to strive for standout results in the near future.
"I think in the race there is definitely more to come - my driving efficiency was very good in Hong Kong," he added.
"But it’s also a question of being able to be accurate and calculating with your energy allowance, and that will take a couple of races to learn.
"When it comes to pushing the car to the limit between the walls, I think I have enough experience now to get into it quickly and do the job, so on that side I don't feel like a rookie at all.”
Heidfeld not complacent despite podium
Rosenqvist's teammate Nick Heidfeld claimed a third-place finish for the Indian squad in Hong Kong, having started from 10th.
"I knew that we had made a good step forward, and I think after the first race, and what many other people think as well, is that everyone is much closer than last year," the German told Motorsport.com.
"In terms of the competition, we saw at Donington that Techeetah were quite quick and they have the Renault drivetrain.
"I think they had a few technical problems in Hong Kong and not everything went smoothly, but over the course of the season, they will be able to maximise more of their potential.
"[Overall] it’s possible that in qualifying it will stay quite close, but we might have bigger gaps in other races because the circuit in Hong Kong was very short at 1.8 kilometres.
"I assume it will stay tight, and I hope that this will give us a chance to fight for more podiums or hopefully also win this season, which would be great."
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