The excitement of Formula One may be over for another week or so before the teams all come together for the opening practice of the Chinese Grand Prix, but that doesn’t mean the racing stops.
Alain Prost, who was present in Australia for the F1 season opening GP, but he is now on his way to Mexico for this weekend’s fourth round of the Formula E Championship series.
This weekend’s race will take place at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico, the same track that hosts the annual round of Formula One.
After three successes in Hong Kong, Marrakesh and Buenos Aires, Prost’s Renault e.dams team will tackle this race with 111 points in the Ttams’ standings thanks to Buemi and Alain’s son, Nicolas Prost, who respectively have 75 and 36 points in the Drivers’ standings.
Here Alain gives us his impressions ahead of this weekend’s race…
3 wins out of 3 races for Renault e.dams. What are your expectations for this weekend?
It is a special weekend because it’s a unique race track in Formula E. Mexico is indeed a track that is not really a street circuit. It’s on a permanent circuit that takes over part of the F1 circuit. We don’t have big doubts about that but we will approach the race in a different way. Buemi also arrives early on Saturday morning so there is more stress for us as a team and he as a driver. Our expectations are the same as what we have done so far, trying to make the best possible performance and scoring big points in the championship. We know that everything is working well at the moment but we have to make it happen again and again. We also know that the competition with ABT and Techeetah will intensify so we must continue to score points with our drivers.
What do you think are the challenges of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez? Are there many possibilities to overtake?
There will be some changes to the circuit with the modification of the first chicane, it is going to be a different, more traditional turn but we have not seen it yet. There will therefore be an area of considerable overtaking. Last year, it was not easy to overtake so it will bring a real opportunity. The particularity of this circuit is the fast part associated with the Stadium which is a slower but very spectacular part for the fans and the drivers. It is a track that should suit us because we like long tracks. So we are pretty confident.
The drivers are used to drive on street circuits. How do you manage the adaptation to a permanent track in Formula E?
The drivers have done tests and simulator sessions on this kind of track, so they know the circuit. The particularity will be perhaps the first modified turn, it will be wider and more spacious. But for the rest, most is done during the preparation from the simulator sessions and the rest will be done on Saturday during Free Practice. There are three chicanes, it will be necessary to manage the entry on the chicanes. We were good last year so it should not be very different. The track is maybe a bit wider with more walls, but it’s not that different from a street circuit. We look forward to the weekend.
