After Mexico City in mid-January, followed by the two races in Saudi Arabia two weeks later, the teams put their cars away for six weeks. This long break was unexpected at the start of the season and was the result of the cancellation of the Hyderabad round. For the French manufacturer DS Automobiles, entered in the championship with the American outfit Penske, this situation has generated a little frustration. The Franco-American team had scored some big points and finished on the podium once, but seemed to have found the rhythm that would enable it to take on the Jaguars and Porsches, who dominated last season.
The result is that everyone has been left wanting more, and is now eager to get back into the battle. "We miss the adrenalin of racing," says Eugenio Franzetti, head of DS Performance, the DS automobiles department which develops the DS Penske single-seaters. "We're really happy to be back in the championship, especially as there are some exciting races coming up."
For Formula E, this break was also damaging in terms of media coverage, especially as in February Formula 1 and the World Endurance Championship had not yet started. So the Formula E teams took to the media with photos and videos of the start of the season, and even of the 2023 championship, to remind their fans of the good times of past races.
At DS Penske, Stoffel Vandoorne's pole position in Sao Paulo for the championship's first appearance in Brazil was a choice moment. A choice moment, and a good omen because the Brazilian track, located in the district where the traditional carnival takes place, is precisely the next round on the calendar. But while the communications teams were busy, the engineers and drivers were not idle.
Source: Autosport