Jaguar Back on the Prowl in Formula E
Mitch Evans (foreground) and James Calado in testing at Valencia (photo: under licence and © FIA Formula E)
Amid all the fuss being made about new manufacturers coming into Formula E, there is a team that is coming into its fourth season that will fancy its chances of being in the title race - Jaguar Racing. Mitch Evans, winner of the Rome E-Prix in Season 5, is one of the championship’s strongest competitors, as can be seen from footage of his training regime at home in Monaco. Evans is joined by a new team-mate for this season.
Awkwardly, I couldn’t remember where I’d met James Calado previously when he reminded me. ‘Calado’, in Spanish, can mean several things, but one of the definitions is the draught of a ship. In a way it seemed appropriate that the Englishman had seemingly swept into Formula E at the dead of night, having made strong progress over the past five seasons of racing in the World Endurance Championship Ferrari.
The new arrival at Jaguar, announced at the launch of the team’s Season 6 livery in September, surprised those who had seen Alex Lynn put in some spirited performances last season, and in Valencia testing Calado got his first chance at long-distance running in his new car.
Though the bulk of running had been in competition only with the clock, Calado may have been one of the few Formula E drivers who got something positive out of the simulation races run twice that week, organised ostensibly to try out new safety car procedures. “Actually, the first one was interesting, kind of a different experience to when I remember single-seaters last. The second we had some issues with the controls, and I had to box [pit] a lap early.”
Complex Adaptation
James Calado prepares for a run (photo: under licence and © FIA Formula E)
The new Jaguar driver, who will have to miss a race due to his parallel WEC contract taking precedence, commented on what it was like to step back into a single-seater after so long in sportscars. Since the beginning of 2014, Calado had specialised in the Ferrari 488 GTE for AF Corse and various other teams, though he had been on the radar of F1 teams due to his GP2 exploits in 2013, with Force India taking him to Monza as Third Driver after positive Friday running.
“It’s not strange - it’s like learning to ride a bike, you sit in it, and it’s there. What IS strange is all the energy management, and that it’s electric. That’s what’s really bizarre, and to get your head around how it is you can be efficient, that’s really key. That’ll be my weak point, not my one-lap performance, but we’ve been working in the [simulator]. I’m not expecting to just go into Saudi and win straight off, you’ve got to be realistic, so the aim is to score points and do as well as I can for the team.”
Evans, in the title conversation until the final race weekend in New York in Season 5, will be the strongest of benchmarks for Calado’s adaptation to electric motorsport. “It’ll take me a race or two. I’m brand new to it. When you look at Mitch, he’s super quick and he’s been doing it for three or four years, so it’s not easy. It’s great to have him in the team, I’ve been learning from him, he’s a fantastic reference point.”
Revolutionary Changes
Mitch Evans (right) with Team Principal James Barclay (photo: under licence and © FIA Formula E)
The New Zealander feels there are many reasons to be optimistic about Jaguar’s preparation for the season where the competition in Formula E is at its strongest, with Porsche and Mercedes-Benz entering the category. He pointed to marginal gains making far more of a difference than they had previously. “The margins are extremely fine, it’s actually unbelievable how tight it is. Everybody’s just refining little margins, so you just need that little edge and it has a big effect.”
“We’ve done some good work, the step forward we’ve made from last year is good, and it’s a completely new powertrain,” Evans said, adding that, rather than an evolution, the new powertrain was “revolutionary”.
Having taken their first victory in Formula E last season, Jaguar motorsport boss James Barclay and the rest of the team will be hoping Evans and Calado maintain the positivity against new opposition. Dark horses? More of a prowling big cat. Let’s see if the claws are out.
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