Berlin. The world title was within touching distance, but luck
deserted Jake Dennis (GBR) during the farewell race for BMW in the
ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. Despite retiring from the
season finale at the BMW i Berlin E-Prix presented by CBMM Niobium
(GER), he completed his rookie season in Formula E with an
outstanding third position in the drivers’ standings. BMW i Andretti
Motorsport finishes the season in sixth place in the team
championship. This race marks the end of BMW’s works involvement in
Formula E after recording seven race wins in three years as a works
team and seven years as Official Vehicle Partner. The home race in
Berlin provided BMW Group with a stage to demonstrate the current
range of fully-electric production vehicles whose drivetrains
benefited significantly from the knowledge gained in the competitive
environment of Formula E.
Jake Dennis started the 15th race of the season from ninth on the
grid, just four points off the lead in the overall standings. The race
was quickly over for two of his title rivals after a collision between
Mitch Evans (NZL, Jaguar) and Edoardo Mortara (SUI, Venturi). That put
Dennis in a promising position for the restart, only for a jammed rear
axle to put paid to his world title ambitions as he slid into the wall
and was forced to retire. Nyck de Vries (NED, Mercedes) went on to
secure the title but Dennis was still able to finish third in the
drivers’ championship with 91 points despite his retirement – an
outstanding performance in his rookie Formula E season.
Maximilian Günther (GER) was 18th place in qualifying and a bold race
strategy was not enough for a points finish. He finished 15th, ending
the season in 16th position in the overall standings. BMW i Andretti
Motorsport completed its final season as a BMW works team in sixth
place in the team championship with 157 points.
Reactions to Race 15 in Berlin.
Roger Griffiths (BMW i Andretti Motorsport Team Principal,
team standings: 6th place):
“We came into this final race with a really good chance of winning
the World Championship with Jake. Practice sessions went not quite as
smoothly as yesterday and in qualifying he again just missed Super
Pole by a few hundredths of a second. Still, he was in a good position
having most of his title contenders behind him. Then at the restart
after the unfortunate collision between Mitch Evans and Edoardo
Mortara we suspect a technical issue with Jakes car that we yet have
to analyse. The rear axle locked and Jake was just a passenger. At
that point his championship hopes were over, but I told him: ‘You must
have had a pretty good season if you are disappointed with third place
in the championship’. If someone had offered that position to us after
the first two rounds, we would have bitten his hand off. Jake did an
amazing job in his rookie season with his two race wins. Maximilian
went in the wrong direction with his setup and didn’t really have a
competitive car in this race unfortunately. Today we are disappointed,
but once all has settled in, I think we can be very proud of what we
have achieved together as BMW and Andretti Formula E and of the hard
work that everyone has put into it to get us to this point. Of course
we would have loved to continue like this but it is not to be. We are
excited what Season 8 swill bring for us. I say thank you to
everybody, not only the team on the front line but also everybody in
the background who helped to make this project a success. Thank you
very much!”
Jake Dennis (#27 BMW iFE.21, starting position: 8th
place, race result: 5th place, points: 91, driver
standings: 3rd place):
“It’s a shame that the title fight ended like this – not only for me
but for Mitch Evans and Edoardo Mortara as well. Three title
contenders out of the race early. It felt like there was a technical
failure at the rear, but I don’t know yet what exactly happened. The
rear tyres complete locked before I even had a chance to do anything.
It’s a sad end, but nevertheless we had an incredible season and a
want to thank everybody for working so hard and giving me the chance
to fight for the world championship.”
Maximilian Günther (#28 BMW iFE.21, starting position:
18th place, race result: 15th place, points:
66, driver standings: 16th place):
“Starting from 18th, our aim was of course to make up as much ground
as possible. We went for a bold strategy but unfortunately that did
not pay off. I made some progress at the start and had a few good
fights but we noticed early on that the level of grip wasn’t quite
there, and that we were a bit off the pace. I gave it my all at the
end but a points finish was just out range, sadly. I would have liked
to have managed that to finish the season. Many thanks to BMW for some
great times in Formula E. It was an honour for me to be part of it for
two years. We enjoyed many great moments together as BMW i Andretti
Motorsport and I will never forget them.”
Summary: BMW i Andretti Motorsport in Formula E.
BMW i Andretti Motorsport competed as a works team for the first time
in Season 5 – and made a perfect start. António Félix da Costa (POR)
claimed pole position and the win as the BMW iFE.18 debuted in Diriyah
(KSA). Alexander Sims (GBR) also gave the team a perfect start to
Season 6 in the same location, recording two pole positions and a win
in the BMW iFE.20. Maximilian Günther (GER) then gave two triumphant
performances in Santiago (CHI) and at the home race in Berlin. Season
7 saw Günther claim his third win for BMW i Andretti Motorsport in the
BMW iFE.21 in New York City (USA). Jake Dennis topped the podium twice
in his Formula E rookie season, at Valencia (ESP) and at his home race
in London (GBR). In three seasons together, BMW i and Andretti
Autosport celebrated a total of seven wins, five pole positions and
twelve podiums.
Lessons Learned: Formula E as TechLab for BMW i production drivetrains.
After seven years as ‘Official Vehicle Partner’ for Formula E and
three seasons of works team racing, the BMW Group is withdrawing from
the race series. The farewell appearance included a look at the BMW
iX, the BMW i4, the MINI Cooper SE (energy consumption in kWh/100 km
combined (NEDC): 14.9 – 16.9 kWh/100km, combined CO2
emissions (NEDC): 0 g/km) and the BMW CE 04 Scooter, which are
spearheading the current range of fully-electric vehicles.
From the word go, the driving force behind the involvement of BMW i
and BMW Motorsport in Formula E was the development of innovative
technologies in the area of electromobility, which are also relevant
for series production. Most of the opportunities for technology
transfer between motor racing and production have largely been
exhausted. An enormous amount of knowledge gained has been included in
the fifth generation of E-drivetrains, which are already on the road
in the BMW iX3 (energy consumption in kWh/100 km: 17.8-17.5 (NEDC);
19.0-18.6 (WLTP); electric range (WLTP) in km: 450-458)* and will
continue to be applied in the BMW iX, the BMW i4 and other
fully-electric vehicle models.
Examples:
- The control software in the high-voltage range, which controls the
e-motor after the inverter, is used in the BMW Formula E car, as
well as in the current BMW i3, MINI Cooper SE, BMW iX3, and the
coming GEN 5 vehicles, including the BMW iX and the BMW i4. - Knowledge gained from the highly complex energy management in
Formula E can also be transferred to series vehicles when
considering how much energy to apply at which point in the driving
cycle, to generate maximum efficiency and range. - Tests, competitive racing and further development of extremely
effective cooling technologies and materials in Formula E contribute
to a significant improvement in energy efficiency for series drivetrains. - Power density of the e-motor, thanks to very compact design.
- Advance development of silicon carbide technology for future
generations of inverter. - Advantages of the silicon carbide technology:
- Maximum efficiency through MOSFETS with minimal switching and
conducting losses and an effective cooling system). - High gravimetric power density.
- Reduced weight thanks to kevlar housing.
- Maximum efficiency through MOSFETS with minimal switching and
- Increased experience with high-powered transmissions in Formula E
results in the development of a bandage for the rotor, which also
enables increased revs in series. - Optimised use of the constructed space in the vehicle thanks to
new knowledge about functional integration and packaging of the
drivetrain, including auxiliary units. - Experience in the handling and operation of 800V voltage level
including safety concepts.