Formula E will be a laboratory for new technology, according to motorsport great Alain Prost, while Bruno Senna said drivers will face a “lottery” when electric car racing kicks off in Beijing today.
The nephew of Ayrton Senna was speaking yesterday as he prepared to line up against the son of fourtime Formula One champion Prost, rekindling one of the greatest rivalries in motorsport.
The pair will be competing in the first-ever Formula E race, in the shadow of the Bird’s Nest stadium in the Chinese capital.
“Beyond a competition, Formula E needs to be a sort of laboratory… especially for completely new technologies,” said Prost, co-founder of E Dams Renault, which has his son Nicolas as one of its drivers.
Prost said the race itself will be “quite complicated” and the winning driver will need to work closely with the car’s engineers, given that the teams are using identical vehicles for the inaugural season.
“Just by pushing like hell is not going to be good, at least at the beginning,” he said.
Senna said that drivers were expected to run into “a few bits and pieces of trouble” in the new series.
“I think the first few races will probably be a bit more of a lottery,” said Senna, signed up by Mumbaibased Mahindra Racing.
Prost and Senna will be lining up on the grid with Nelson Piquet Junior, whose father was also a formidable racer in the 1980s and ‘90s.
“I think it is exciting for sure and is good for the championship to revive some of the old school battles,” Senna said. “Of course for me, Nico and Nelson we have a great relationship which is a bit different to what our family members had before,” he added while laughing, and peering towards Prost senior.
