Rookie Talks: Andre Lotterer

Anticipation is high as we look forward to the first round of season four of the FIA Formula E Championship, which is expected to be one of the most closely-contested season yet as Renault e.dams and Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler look to fight for title honours once again, but could be joined in the championship battle by the likes of Mahindra Racing, DS Virgin Racing and NIO.

With all eyes on Hong Kong this weekend, none will be more excited than the five rookies set to take part in their first ever E-Prix. Formula E’s popularity has been on the rise ever since season one and it shows in the calibre of drivers that joined the grid in the off-season, as we welcome former World Endurance Champions, DTM aces, an ex-F1 superstar and a former GP2 vice champion to the series.

In the first of our focus features on the Formula E rookies, we spoke to Andre Lotterer. Winner of the WEC title in 2012 and two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans victor, the versatile German will make his all-electric debut with the race-winning Techeetah team alongside experienced Formula E racer Jean-Eric Vergne.

First impressions

“To be honest I was trying to understand everything about the car and I was not shocked about not having 1,000 horsepower like I was used to because I realised in the corners, you don’t have the same potential and for me the braking and the cornering was the most challenging part. Obviously, the electric motor has very instant torque and with low speed corners, you have to handle the traction and it’s so different from everything [other forms of racing] it won’t be fair to compare it.”

Adapting to Formula E

“I just had three days in Valencia to adapt which is not even the real thing, because Formula E races are on city tracks and most of the job has been done on the simulator. I had a lot of sim work so hopefully that will prepare me for the best.”

Training

“You always have to be fit in your mind and your body. These cars don’t have power steering and in the corners, they’re really tight so you work in the car a lot and you can even get a sweat in the simulator even without any G-force. These are cars that are not as fast but are just as physical to drive because you’re fighting with them. While in the WEC cars, they are fast but you barely have difficulties because they feel super comfortable to drive, so I will find out what’s it like in a Formula E car.”

Battery management

“That was good in the simulator, I learned all the strategy of the software, so you really need to understand and the sim was really a great preparation because obviously energy management is a huge topic and you have to do the fastest race from the beginning to end.”

Qualifying

“To be honest it’s all the things I need to figure out. I haven’t been on the track yet and I need to feel comfortable with the roles first and see how I can push the car. Obviously in a car with a lot of downforce, when you’re driving with slick tyres and a lot of speed you just slam the brakes at the exact place. Here, I think every lap is a bit of a guess with the brakes and you need to have a completely different brake pressure approach so this will be the main thing, to find the limit in the corners and then you can start to push and feel comfortable in that zone.”

Braking

“It seems like because it’s a very dictating driving topic to place the car in the correct way in the corners and not to lose time.”

Racing in city centres

“It’s super cool. That’s the great thing about Formula E – we wouldn’t be able to do that with any other race series and that’s the whole point, that we can bring racing into cities and show the future of motorsport. The automobile industry is changing, cities are going electric and we are at the heart of this and being the platform that represents it and pushing technologies and racing with that and show the people that cars like this can be fun as well and to do it in the cities it sends a big message.”