Fraser MasefieldThe NIO 333 Formula E Team, partnered by Acronis, has revealed a number of important changes since the culmination of the 2019/20 season in an effort to further propel the team up the grid for Season 7.
With the new season set to commence in January 2021, all things going to plan in the ever-changing COVID world, the team has announced changes to its operational and technical teams in both China and Europe, and the introduction of a new, bespoke powertrain package.
NEWS: New Organisational Structure & Powertrain @NIO333FormulaE Team Revealed for
2021 @FIAFormulaE World Championship Campaign https://t.co/pJERrV9WUt #NIO333FE #FIAFormulaE pic.twitter.com/9IZDpzWKry— NIO 333 Formula E Team (@NIO333FormulaE) October 15, 2020
Team principal Christian Silk will continue to oversee and grow the Technical, Research and Development and European Commercial and Marketing departments which remain based in the ‘Centre for Innovation & Enterprise’ near Oxford in the U.K.
The team also retains its second European location at Donington Park circuit, UK, in proximity to the Formula E Holdings Ltd. Operational HQ, to house its race cars and event team.
Following a transitional Season 6, which saw the second year of running the Formula E Gen2 cars, the team has continued to work hard towards being more competitive in 2021, and this means the manufacture of a bespoke powertrain, developed in conjunction with the NIO 333 R&D department in the UK.
It has been the greatest investment in the NIO 333 FE Team by its new owners to date, the powertrain unit specs for the NIO FE-001 season 7 car as follows:
- Weight: 27 kg – designed for optimum efficiency overweight
- Maximum race cycle temperature: 95˚C (max operating temperature 200˚C)
- Efficiency: > 98.5% on race power at race settled temperature
- Maximum Revs: 20 krpm
- Expected Life: 50+ hours between services
- Maximum Power: Limited to 250 kW by regulation
The NIO 333 FE Team shall announce who shall be racing alongside British driver Oliver Turvey, who is commencing his sixth full Formula E season with the team, at the official series Pre-Season 7 test being held in Valencia, Spain from November 27 – December 1, 2020.
“Obviously, during initial testing there are always bugs to iron out, but the way the car has run is truly impressive and a real credit to the hard work put in by everyone at NIO 333 FE Team,” commented Christian Silk, Team Principal, NIO 333 FE Team. “This reliability has freed up engineering resource to focus on pure car performance. Initial driver feedback has been positive both in terms of car balance, consistency and pace.
“After Berlin we knew we had several areas to focus on, and the hard work being put in by the team to resolve these issues is really paying off in terms of driver comments and the data collected from the car. Our plans for Season 7 are ambitious, but we are a proud team with a vast depth of experience and I know I can speak for everyone when I say we will do everything in our power to achieve these goals.”
Vincent Wang, CEO NIO 333 FE Team, added that he is optimistic that the gains made during winter testing will help propel the team further up the grid from 2021 onwards.
“We head into season seven with renewed optimism as we have completed some very encouraging test runs this month with our new powertrain,” added Wang. “We were an inexperienced team at the start of season six, using an old motor package to get us through the year, but we knew our strengths and weaknesses and are working swiftly to address them.
“We have ambitious plans for 2021 and are building up not only the technical side of the NIO 333 FE Team to improve our on-track performance, but also our operational side in both the UK and China. Everyone is extremely focused to ensure that the NIO 333 FE Team will be as competitive as possible before we head to Chile for the first FIA ABB Formula E World Championship race in January.”
Motorsport Technology
