“You respect it” – FE drivers on why street racing better than F1

Ahead of the Hong Kong ePrix, drivers have compared Formula E’s circuits to Macau and said street racing still provides a real skill test compared to ‘safe’ Formula 1 and that there is no need to introduce more safety features to the series.

Speaking about the proposed introduction of the Halo, Nelson Piquet Jr said that it was a step too far into safety, “You have to make it safe but there is a limit, you know. We’re racing drivers and we’re in a risky environment.”

Antonio Felix Da Costa said that there was no longer a risk in Formula 1, due to track run offs and escape roads at permanent circuits – “I agree with many years ago, when there was a safety problem and I say this now but if one of us gets hurt because we’re not using the Halo then I feel bad. 20 years ago it was cool because many were not completely on the limit because if you were then you would die.

“Now that factor is not here; you outbrake yourself – not here, in Formula E, this is Formula 1 – and you’re not in the wall, you just late press the set of brakes, save the tyres and cut the track. But I’m very happy that no one that I know gets injured or dies – that’s very good, nowadays but I don’t know, I’m impartial.”

Street racing can provide a balance, with the penalty for getting a corner wrong still high and driver skill playing an important part. Felix Rosenqvist said “That’s why everyone loves Macau, because there you still have the fear. You have the adrenaline and the respect – also in Formula E at some circuits you have some really cool corners that take some time.”

Felix da Costa agreed, saying street circuits demand drivers’ respect “You respect it. You don’t put someone against the wall completely because you know something’s going to happen.”

Rosenqvist said the ultimate challenge for drivers was what they craved the most, in order to definitively prove their skills “Actually all the drivers love when it’s like that. People think that we want everything to be safe but drivers like Spa, they like Macau, they like difficult tracks because it makes a gap between the boys and the men.”

Rosenqvist credited FE’s tight street circuits for the excitement of the racing, compared to Formula 1 “I think it’s just a matter of the tracks, the tracks are narrow – especially in the start you have to get the guys ahead and there are tracks where it’s almost impossible to get 20 cars to squeeze and naturally you have pressures and the cars are difficult to drive so I think that adds to it.

“I don’t think it’s the drivers though – the drivers here are the same as F1, same kind of drivers, same level. So we’re all aware and we race aware but sometimes it’s just really difficult.”

There are more overtakes during a single Formula E race than in an entire F1 season, despite the tightness of the circuits – race one of Season 4 starts tomorrow, on the streets of Hong Kong and we’ll be bringing you coverage of it all.