Formula E debutant Felipe Massa admits experience will count for nothing in all-electric series
Former McLaren and Sauber men Stoffel Vandoorne and Pascal Wehrlein are also rookies this year
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Your support makes all the difference.New boy Felipe Massa admits his experience will count for nothing as he gears up for a new challenge in Formula E when the Brazilian makes his debut in the all-electric series this Saturday at 12pm.
With a futuristic new car, new faces on a fiercely competitive grid and a completely revamped racing format, there has been plenty of buzz around Formula E in a busy off-season.
It’s not all down to Massa’s involvement either, with the ex-Ferrari star joined by former McLaren and Sauber men Stoffel Vandoorne and Pascal Wehrlein as the big-name electric rookies looking to muscle into the points this season.
With 45-minute races rather than traditional set laps and the unique ‘Attack Mode’ - which will give drivers a power boost for a period after they have gone through a section that veers from the racing line - there is plenty to get to grips with even for the veterans.
But despite being in the enviable position of being both a rookie and the driver with the most eyes on him, Massa insisted that he’d hold his expectations until after he had raced competitively for his Venturi Formula E Team.
“There is a lot to learn but with anything you have to start from zero,” he said. “So I don’t know actually what I am compared to the other drivers and also it is a little bit difficult to know where our team is compared to other teams.
“This is the first race but I don’t know any tracks – I know a little bit of the Monaco track we’ll race on and the last corner of Mexico City but that is it.
“Even though I’m an experienced driver of 16 years in Formula One I think this is a completely new challenge – and I like new challenges.
“What I can say is that in testing from the first day to the last that it went pretty ok. So we’re ready for the challenge and I’ll have an answer for [how prepared I am] tomorrow after the race.”
The Brazilian may have hoped that having moved out of the Formula One politics he would face a more relaxed time in the series’ electric cousin but with four former champions on the grid and some intense rivalries built up in that time he’ll have no such luck.
Reigning champion Jean-Eric Vergne has a new French manufacturer in DS Techeetah and reigning team champions Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler’s Lucas di Grassi will be back in the mix – the pair’s constant wheel-to-wheel battles a highlight of the back end of Season 4.
And with BMW and Nissan joining the grid alongside Mercedes affiliate HWA Racelab there will be no shortage of competition both on the track and in the garages.
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