| 2021 Valencia Test | ||
|---|---|---|
 The Valencia E-Prix Circuit hosted the 2021 pre-season test | ||
| Test Information | ||
| Date | 29 November - 2 December 2021 | |
| Location |  Cheste, Valencia, Spain
| |
| Lap length | 3.376 km (2.098 mi) | |
| Fastest Lap | ||
| Driver |  Edoardo Mortara
| |
| Time | Day | Laps |
| 1:25.763 | 5 | 200 |
| Testing Guide | ||
| Previous 2020 Valencia Test
|
Next TBA
| |
The 2021 Valencia Test, formally known as the 2021 Valencia Pre-season Test, was the first and only pre-season test staged ahead of the 2021/22 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, staged at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Cheste, Valencia, Spain, on 29 November - 2 December 2021.[1] The test was to be staged across four days with three actual days of running, with the series also trying out its new-for-2021/22 qualifying format.[2]
Edoardo Mortara would set the fastest outright lap of the test, recording a 1:25.763 on the third and final day of running.[3] Sam Bird had set the initial pace of the test after the first session, before being supplanted by Robin Frijns, while Stoffel Vandoorne recorded the fastest lap on the second day.[4]
Mercedes powertrains would dominate the test in terms of distance covered too, with their two factory cars piloted by Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries covering 226 laps each across the three days of running.[3] Their tally of 452 laps, when combined with the two ROKiT Venturi run cars of Mortara and Lucas di Grassi that came to 404 laps, meant that Mercedes had clocked up 2,889.856 km of running in three days.[3]
Elsewhere, the test would see Oliver Askew, Dan Ticktum and Antonio Giovinazzi all get their first tastes of a FE car in a public session, with Askew the fastest of the trio.[3] There would also be an appearance for Envision Racing development driver Alice Powell, as well as NIO's reserve driver Adam Carroll.[3]
Background
The announcement that Formula E would host a pre-season test ahead of the eighth FE season was made just three weeks before the test was scheduled, with the Series once again using the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain.[1] However, for the 2021 visit, the FE field would use the variant of the Valencia circuit that was used to host the Valencia E-Prix during the 2020/21 season.[1] There would also be a plan to complete a test of FE's newly announced qualifying system, which would see the fastest eight drivers compete in a knockout tournament to claim pole.[2]
Entry List
Below is a complete entry list for the full 2021 Valencia Test across each day:
Day One
The first day of the 2021 Valencia Test was held on 29 November 2021, and would be split across two, three hour long sessions.[1] There would also be time set aside for a practice run of the qualifying format, enabling the teams, drivers and the series organisers to get used to the system in a real world test, rather than as a thought experiment.[2]
Report
The morning session opened with the air temperature sat at a relatively low 13°C, while the track was a cool 8°C as the pits opened for the first time.[6] Stoffel Vandoorne was the first driver to set a flying lap, although the #5 Mercedes' effort was swiftly beaten by António Félix da Costa and then Maximilian Günther.[6] Oliver Rowland was the next driver to set a quick lap, a few seconds before Nick Cassidy hit the top of the field, before Jean-Éric Vergne dipped under the 1:30.000 mark for the first time, ten minutes into the session.[6]
After that the field would settle more into long running, with Nyck de Vries topping the timesheet for almost an hour with a 1:27.608.[6] Compatriot Robin Frijns then took command for the middle hour as the race based work continued, the two Mercedes cars ominiously completing over 40 laps apiece, before a final flurry of laps.[6] In that final flurry it looked as if Lucas di Grassi in his new ROKiT Venturi run Mercedes would end the morning fastest, only for Sam Bird to set the benchmark at a 1:27.169 with less than a minute to go.[6]
After a one hour break the test would resume, with the field informed that there would only be 90 minutes of running before a test of the new qualifying system.[7] As a result, most of the field would commit to qualifying practice ahead of the qualifying test, resulting in Frijns returning to the top of the timesheet with a 1:26.968.[7] Elsewhere, there would be two on-track stoppages for the two Mahindras as both Alexander Sims and Oliver Rowland hit trouble, but both got going without assistance, while de Vries and Vandoorne again committed to race sims rather than quali tests.[7]
Into the qualifying test and the session began with the field split into two groups, with the first group featuring those who finished in odd positions in the 2020/21 Championship, while the second group featured those who finished in even positions in season seven.[8] The two Venturis of di Grassi and Mortara would end up topping each group, before all 22 drivers entered the knock-out period, with first blood heading to Dan Ticktum by technical knockout, as Antonio Giovinazzi failed to leave his garage in time.[8] The rest of the field then duelled against one-another to set the "grid", before di Grassi and Mortara contested the "final" as the fastest two drivers.[8]
Mortara would ultimately win that duel courtesy of a better final sector, with the majority of the field battling against their teammates.[8]
Results
Below is the full result from the first day of the 2021 Valencia Test:
| 2021 Valencia Test Times | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Laps | Time | Gap | |
| S1 | S2 | ||||||
| 1st | 4 |  Robin Frijns
|
 Envision Racing
|
51 | 1:27.321 | 1:26.968 | — |
| 2nd | 25 |  Jean-Éric Vergne
|
 DS Techeetah
|
52 | 1:28.156 | 1:27.141 | +0.173s |
| 3rd | 13 |  António Félix da Costa
|
DS Techeetah
|
54 | 1:27.465 | 1:27.143 | +0.175s |
| 4th | 37 |  Nick Cassidy
|
Envision Racing
|
56 | 1:27.867 | 1:27.154 | +0.186s |
| 5th | 10 | Sam Bird
|
Jaguar Racing
|
55 | 1:27.169 | 1:28.213 | +0.201s |
| 6th | 36 |  André Lotterer
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
39 | 1:28.195 | 1:27.198 | +0.230s |
| 7th | 9 | Mitch Evans
|
Jaguar Racing
|
56 | 1:27.599 | 1:27.262 | +0.294s |
| 8th | 11 |  Lucas di Grassi
|
 ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
45 | 1:27.270 | 1:28.216 | +0.302s |
| 9th | 48 | Edoardo Mortara
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
50 | 1:27.415 | 1:27.890 | +0.447s |
| 10th | 27 | Jake Dennis
|
 Avalanche Andretti
|
48 | 1:27.602 | 1:27.459 | +0.491s |
| 11th | 30 | Oliver Rowland
|
 Mahindra Racing
|
42 | 1:27.577 | 1:28.619 | +0.609s |
| 12th | 17 | Nyck de Vries
|
Mercedes
|
60 | 1:27.608 | 1:31.434 | +0.640s |
| 13th | 5 |  Stoffel Vandoorne
|
Mercedes
|
61 | 1:27.623 | 1:30.983 | +0.655s |
| 14th | 23 | Sébastien Buemi
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
52 | 1:27.690 | 1:27.658 | +0.690s |
| 15th | 22 | Maximilian Günther
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
62 | 1:27.690 | 1:27.681 | +0.713s |
| 16th | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
49 | 1:28.145 | 1:27.839 | +0.871s |
| 17th | 29 | Alexander Sims
|
Mahindra Racing
|
48 | 1:28.099 | 1:27.903 | +0.935s |
| 18th | 7 | Sérgio Sette Câmara
|
Dragon/Penske Autosport
|
46 | 1:27.942 | 1:28.758 | +0.974s |
| 19th | 3 | Oliver Turvey
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
47 | 1:28.179 | 1:29.267 | +1.211s |
| 20th | 28 | Oliver Askew
|
Avalanche Andretti
|
50 | 1:28.399 | 1:28.340 | +1.372s |
| 21st | 99 |  Antonio Giovinazzi
|
Dragon/Penske Autosport
|
56 | 1:28.602 | 1:30.136 | +1.634s |
| 22nd | 33 | Dan Ticktum
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
46 | 1:28.834 | 1:29.260 | +1.866s |
| Source:[9][10] | |||||||
- Bold indicates a driver's fastest lap from the entire test day.
- Purple indicates the fastest driver in each session.
Day Two
The second day of the Valencia Test was held on 30 November, and would see conditions remain dry and relatively cool as the winter approached southern Europe.[11] The schedule for the day would see the field get two, three hour sessions for the day, with the morning session seeing a race simulation held to try out the new Safety Car/Full Course Yellow rules.[11][12]
Report
Results
Below is the full result from the second day of the 2021 Valencia Test:
| 2021 Valencia Test Day Two Times | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Laps | Time | Gap | |
| S1 | S2 | ||||||
| 1st | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne
|
Mercedes
|
87 | 1:27.386 | 1:26.045 | — |
| 2nd | 48 | Edoardo Mortara
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
88 | 1:29.142 | 1:26.089 | +0.044s |
| 3rd | 27 | Jake Dennis
|
Avalanche Andretti
|
77 | 1:26.816 | 1:26.100 | +0.055s |
| 4th | 17 | Nyck de Vries
|
Mercedes
|
88 | 1:26.921 | 1:26.159 | +0.114s |
| 5th | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
85 | 1:28.903 | 1:26.176 | +0.131s |
| 6th | 9 | Mitch Evans
|
Jaguar Racing
|
86 | 1:27.011 | 1:27.302 | +0.257s |
| 7th | 11 | Lucas di Grassi
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
84 | 1:29.333 | 1:26.342 | +0.297s |
| 8th | 30 | Oliver Rowland
|
Mahindra Racing
|
85 | 1:26.849 | 1:26.363 | +0.318s |
| 9th | 29 | Alexander Sims
|
Mahindra Racing
|
94 | 1:27.855 | 1:26.456 | +0.411s |
| 10th | 36 | André Lotterer
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
74 | 1:28.769 | 1:26.481 | +0.436s |
| 11th | 28 | Oliver Askew
|
Avalanche Andretti
|
73 | 1:28.203 | 1:26.562 | +0.517s |
| 12th | 7 | Sérgio Sette Câmara
|
Dragon/Penske Autosport
|
86 | 1:30.319 | 1:27.577 | +0.532s |
| 13th | 23 | Sébastien Buemi
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
72 | 1:30.240 | 1:26.634 | +0.589s |
| 14th | 10 | Sam Bird
|
Jaguar Racing
|
88 | 1:27.138 | 1:26.673 | +0.628s |
| 15th | 37 | Nick Cassidy
|
Envision Racing
|
71 | 1:26.776 | 1:26.710 | +0.665s |
| 16th | 13 | António Félix da Costa
|
DS Techeetah
|
84 | 1:26.769 | 1:30.488 | +0.724s |
| 17th | 22 | Maximilian Günther
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
75 | 1:30.335 | 1:26.816 | +0.772s |
| 18th | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi
|
Dragon/Penske Autosport
|
91 | 1:29.281 | 1:26.894 | +0.849s |
| 19th | 3 | Oliver Turvey
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
82 | 1:27.347 | 1:27.138 | +1.093s |
| 20th | 33 | Dan Ticktum
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
76 | 1:31.883 | 1:28.791 | +2.746s |
| 21st | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne
|
DS Techeetah
|
84 | 1:29.392 | 1:29.141 | +3.096s |
| 22nd | 4 | Alice Powell
|
Envision Racing
|
78 | 1:31.432 | 1:29.724 | +3.679s |
| Source:[13][4] | |||||||
- Bold indicates a driver's fastest lap from the entire test day.
- Purple indicates the fastest driver in each session.
Day Three
Report
Results
Below is the full result from the third day of the 2021 Valencia Test:
| 2021 Valencia Test Day Three Times | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Laps | Time | Gap | |
| 1st | 48 | Edoardo Mortara
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
62 | 1:25.763 | — | |
| 2nd | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne
|
DS Techeetah
|
80 | 1:25.804 | +0.041s | |
| 3rd | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne
|
Mercedes
|
78 | 1:25.861 | +0.098s | |
| 4th | 9 | Mitch Evans
|
Jaguar Racing
|
75 | 1:25.884 | +0.121s | |
| 5th | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
66 | 1:25.895 | +0.132s | |
| 6th | 17 | Nyck de Vries
|
Mercedes
|
78 | 1:25.901 | +0.138s | |
| 7th | 37 | Nick Cassidy
|
Envision Racing
|
33 | 1:25.913 | +0.150s | |
| 8th | 4 | Robin Frijns
|
Envision Racing
|
62 | 1:25.918 | +0.155s | |
| 9th | 13 | António Félix da Costa
|
DS Techeetah
|
80 | 1:26.061 | +0.298s | |
| 10th | 29 | Alexander Sims
|
Mahindra Racing
|
75 | 1:26.107 | +0.344s | |
| 11th | 10 | Sam Bird
|
Jaguar Racing
|
74 | 1:26.162 | +0.399s | |
| 12th | 27 | Jake Dennis
|
Avalanche Andretti
|
77 | 1:26.197 | +0.434s | |
| 13th | 30 | Oliver Rowland
|
Mahindra Racing
|
60 | 1:26.197 | +0.434s | |
| 14th | 11 | Lucas di Grassi
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
75 | 1:26.256 | +0.493s | |
| 15th | 36 | André Lotterer
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
55 | 1:26.419 | +0.656s | |
| 16th | 23 | Sébastien Buemi
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
57 | 1:26.472 | +0.709s | |
| 17th | 28 | Oliver Askew
|
Avalanche Andretti
|
73 | 1:26.519 | +0.756s | |
| 18th | 22 | Maximilian Günther
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
60 | 1:26.765 | +1.002s | |
| 19th | 7 | Sérgio Sette Câmara
|
Dragon/Penske Autosport
|
83 | 1:26.859 | +1.096s | |
| 20th | 3 | Oliver Turvey
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
60 | 1:26.882 | +1.119s | |
| 21st | 33 | Adam Carroll
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
59 | 1:28.192 | +2.429s | |
| Source:[14] | |||||||
- Bold indicates a driver's fastest lap from the entire test day.
- Purple indicates the fastest driver in each session.
Combined Results
Below is the compined results from the 2021 Valencia Test:
| 2021 Valencia Test Combined Results | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Laps | Time | Gap | |
| T | S | ||||||
| 1st | 48 | Edoardo Mortara
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
200 | 1:25.763 | 5 | — |
| 2nd | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne
|
DS Techeetah
|
216 | 1:25.804 | 5 | +0.041s |
| 3rd | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne
|
Mercedes
|
226 | 1:25.861 | 5 | +0.098s |
| 4th | 9 | Mitch Evans
|
Jaguar Racing
|
217 | 1:25.884 | 5 | +0.121s |
| 5th | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
200 | 1:25.895 | 5 | +0.132s |
| 6th | 17 | Nyck de Vries
|
Mercedes
|
226 | 1:25.901 | 5 | +0.138s |
| 7th | 37 | Nick Cassidy
|
Envision Racing
|
160 | 1:25.913 | 5 | +0.150s |
| 8th | 4 | Robin Frijns
|
Envision Racing
|
113 | 1:25.918 | 5 | +0.155s |
| 9th | 13 | António Félix da Costa
|
DS Techeetah
|
218 | 1:26.061 | 5 | +0.298s |
| 10th | 27 | Jake Dennis
|
Avalanche Andretti
|
202 | 1:26.100 | 4 | +0.337s |
| 11th | 29 | Alexander Sims
|
Mahindra Racing
|
217 | 1:26.107 | 5 | +0.344s |
| 12th | 10 | Sam Bird
|
Jaguar Racing
|
217 | 1:26.162 | 5 | +0.399s |
| 13th | 30 | Oliver Rowland
|
Mahindra Racing
|
187 | 1:26.197 | 5 | +0.434s |
| 14th | 11 | Lucas di Grassi
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
204 | 1:26.256 | 5 | +0.493s |
| 15th | 36 | André Lotterer
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
168 | 1:26.419 | 5 | +0.656s |
| 16th | 23 | Sébastien Buemi
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
181 | 1:26.472 | 5 | +0.709s |
| 17th | 28 | Oliver Askew
|
Avalanche Andretti
|
196 | 1:26.519 | 5 | +0.756s |
| 18th | 7 | Sérgio Sette Câmara
|
Dragon/Penske Autosport
|
215 | 1:26.577 | 4 | +0.814s |
| 19th | 22 | Maximilian Günther
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
197 | 1:26.765 | 5 | +1.002s |
| 20th | 3 | Oliver Turvey
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
189 | 1:26.882 | 5 | +1.119s |
| 21st | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi
|
Dragon/Penske Autosport
|
147 | 1:26.894 | 4 | +1.131s |
| 22nd | 33 | Adam Carroll
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
59 | 1:28.192 | 5 | +2.429s |
| 23rd | 33 | Dan Ticktum
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
122 | 1:28.791 | 4 | +3.028s |
| 24th | 4 | Alice Powell
|
Envision Racing
|
78 | 1:29.724 | 4 | +3.961s |
| Source:[14] | |||||||
- Bold indicates a driver's fastest lap from the entire test day.
References
Images and Videos:
References:
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedValTA - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedQualiTest - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedD3R - ↑ 4.0 4.1 'Valencia Official Testing - Test Session 4', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 30/11/2021), , (Accessed 30/11/2021)
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedEL - ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 'SAM BIRD TOPS THE TIMESHEETS IN OPENING SESSION OF VALENCIA TEST', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 29/11/2021), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2021/november/valencia-test-monday-morning-bird-fastest, (Accessed 29/11/2021)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 'ROBIN FRIJNS OUT FRONT IN AFTERNOON'S RUNNING', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 29/11/2021), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2021/november/testing-monday-session-2-results, (Accessed 29/11/2021)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Josh Suttill; Sam Smith, 'MORTARA PREVAILS IN FORMULA E’S TRIAL OF NEW QUALIFYING FORMAT', the-race.com, (The Race, 29/11/2021), https://the-race.com/formula-e/mortara-prevails-in-formula-es-trial-of-new-qualifying-format/, (Accessed 29/11/2021)
- ↑ 'Valencia Official Testing - Test Session 1', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 29/11/2021), https://fe-results.s3.amazonaws.com/07_2021-22/00_R00%20Valencia/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/202111290900_Test%20Session%201/03_R01%20Classification_Test%20Session%201.PDF#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 29/11/2021)
- ↑ 'Valencia Official Testing - Test Session 2', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 29/11/2021), https://fe-results.s3.amazonaws.com/07_2021-22/00_R00%20Valencia/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/202111291400_Test%20Session%202/03_R01%20Classification_Test%20Session%202.PDF#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 29/11/2021)
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedD2R1 - ↑ Sam Smith, 'DE VRIES LEADS MERCEDES 1-2-3-4 IN FORMULA E 2022’S FIRST ‘RACE’', the-race.com, (The Race, 30/11/2021), https://the-race.com/formula-e/de-vries-leads-mercedes-1-2-3-4-in-formula-e-2022s-first-race/, (Accessed 30/11/2021)
- ↑ 'Valencia Official Testing - Test Session 3', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 30/11/2021), https://fe-results.s3.amazonaws.com/07_2021-22/00_R00%20Valencia/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/202111300900_Test%20Session%203/03_R01%20Classification_Test%20Session%203.PDF#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 30/11/2021)
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedResults
