BMW and the MS&AD Andretti Formula E Team have been working closely for quite some time now. BMW plans to enter the ABB FIA Formula E Championship next year with the end results of the iFE.18 prototype showed for the first time this week. In this regard, some BMW drivers are already working closely with the MS&AD Andretti team and they will be behind the wheel of their cars in Rome this weekend.
This will be the first time the ABB FIA Formula E Championship will host a race in Rome. BMW works drivers António Félix da Costa (POR) and Tom Blomqvist (GBR) return to the cockpits of the MS&AD Andretti cars. Blomqvist was behind the wheel of the BMW iFE.18 in Maisach (GER) last Tuesday and completed the roll-out for the car, which BMW will be using for the works entry in Season 5 of Formula E.
Despite starting well, with MS&AD Andretti taking points at each of the first four venues in Season 4, neither Félix da Costa nor Blomqvist scored at the last event, Punta del Este. However, Félix da Costa’s starring performance in Mexico City (MEX) showed there is excellent pace in the Andretti ATEC-03, and both drivers have proven the car’s efficiency at race pace. They will look to spring forward at this brand-new event in Rome.
The MS&AD Andretti Formula E team is in its fourth season of Formula E in 2017/18. So far, Michael Andretti’s (USA) team has contested 39 races, claimed three pole positions, and scored 222 points. BMW works driver Félix da Costa is again in action at the wheel of the number 28 MS&AD Andretti ATEC-003 in Season 4. Joining the Portuguese driver is fellow BMW works driver Blomqvist, racing car number 27.
As the Rome E-Prix is the first electric motor race ever held in the iconic city, the brand-new circuit will be a trial for the team and driver. Most of the turns are tight, but the fast, sweeping turns three/four and seven/eight will challenge drivers and their set up. The race will start on the tree-lined Via Cristoforo Columbo, speed around the towering Obelisco di Marconi and sweep past the iconic Colosseo Quadrato, on the second longest track of the season: 2.84km.
