Formula E 2024/25 season to begin in Sao Paulo! Official F1 Journal 2024/25 Sao Paulo E-Prix Preview

Credit: Buda Mendes

This coming weekend, the 11th season of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is to get underway as the 2024/25 will begin in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The beginning of a new season will bring unpredictability once again and it could potentially see the 10th different champion be crowned in the championship's history or potentially a repeat champion with Pascal Wehrlein, the reigning champion, hungry for more success.

Pre-season testing was completed in the very early days of November and with 11 teams and 22 drivers confirmed to be part of the grid for the 2024/25 season, the 11th campaign will head to Sao Paulo for the only race of the season to be held in 2024.

Three rookies enter the grid with Kiro Race cars taking on Curpa and replacing ERT and Lola Cars becoming part of the ABT fold, in place of the Cupra brand. Whatever happens this season, it is bound to be exciting and it all begins in Brazil.

A look at the track: Sao Paulo Street Circuit - Sao Paulo E-Prix 

Credit: Buda Mendes

To start off the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship the very first race of the season will take place at the Sao Paulo street circuit in Brazil, for just the one round and one E-Prix across the weekend - taking place on Saturday.

Situated along the Sambadrome of Anhembi, the Sao Paulo street circuit is making a return to the calendar for its third ever visit from the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship and in both visits there has been a different winner, so it would not be a great surprise to see a third different winner in three events. 

Being the only South American venue on the calendar, the Sao Paulo street circuit is not too far from the iconic Interlagos circuit, roughly 27km to be precise, making Sao Paulo the motorsport capital in Brazil.

The circuit itself is made up of 11 corners and has a lap distance of 2.933km, which is equal to 1.822 miles. The Formula E lap record was set by Sam Bird in 2023 when the British driver was with Jaguar. The time was 1:13.684.

It will be the third ever visit to the Sao Paulo E-Prix circuit for Formula E and the second time within the calendar year of 2024, as Sao Paulo was visited in March to be part of the 2023/24 season, where Sam Bird took victory in a last lap duel with Jaguar's Mitch Evans.

The pole position would go to Pascal Wehrlein who took pole for Porsche after beating DS Penske's Stoffel Vandoorne in the final.

However, it would be Bird's day in the sun as he won the Sao Paulo E-Prix with a sensational final lap pass on Evans to get the win for NEOM McLaren. Evans was second for Jaguar while Oliver Rowland of Nissan completed the podium.

Sebastian Buemi would set the fastest lap  of the race after finishing 10th from 18th on the grid. Buemi's time for Envision Racing was a 1:15.717.
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2024/25 driver lineup confirmed

Only within a week of the opening round of the season would every single seat be confirmed for the 2024/25 season of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship as Cupra Kiro were the last ones to confirm their duo with it being returning Brit Dan Ticktum and German rookie David Beckmann.

As has been the case for many years, the grid will consist of 22 drivers on the grid, with 11 teams having two drivers each with many experienced drivers and three rookies all set to come in to make the grid freshened up, with young drivers looking to prove themselves in an FIA World Championship.

Three rookies include Beckmann who was awarded the full-time drive at Cupra Kiro after a strong performance in the pre-season testing in Madrid, as he finished fourth in the overall testing results from across the four days of running. 

Over at NEOM McLaren, Taylor Barnard will be enduring his first full season in the championship after standing in for three rounds in the 2023/24 championship for his now teammate Sam Bird, who was sidelined with a broken hand. This will make it the second all-British lineup in succession.

Lastly, flying over from his final Formula 2 race on December 1, in Qatar, Zane Maloney will become the first ever driver from Barbados to race in the championship as he is to partner Lucas Di Grassi at ABT Lola Cars. 

Here in full is the 2024/25 Formula E grid that will begin action for the racing season at Sao Paulo on December 6:

• ​Andretti Formula E - 27. Jake Dennis | 51. Nico Mueller
• DS Penske - 25. Jean-Eric Vergne | 7. Maximilian Gunther
• Envision Racing - 4. Robin Frijns | 16.Sebastian Buemi
• Jaguar TCS Racing - 9. Mitch Evans | 37. Nick Cassidy
• Kiro Race Co - 33. Dan Ticktum | 3. David Beckmann
• Lola Yamaha ABT Formula E Team - 11. Lucas Di Grassi | 22. Zane Maloney 
• Mahindra Racing - 48. Edoardo Mortara | 21. Nyck De Vries 
• Maserati MSG Racing - 55. Jake Hughes | 2. Stoffel Vandoorne 
• NEOM McLaren Formula E Team - 8. Sam Bird | 5. Taylor Barnard
• Nissan Formula E Team - 23. Oliver Rowland | 17. Norman Nato
• Tag Heur Porsche Formula E Team - 1. Pascal Wehrlein | 13. Antonio Felix Da Costa

2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship: Round 1 - Sao Paulo E-Prix session times

Track Time:

• Free Practice 1 06/12: 17:00-17:40
• Free Practice 2 07/12: 07:30-08:10
  
• Qualifying 07/12: 09:40-12:03
• E-Prix 07/12: 14:05-15:00
  

UK Time:

• Free Practice 1 06/12: 20:00-20:40
• Free Practice 2 07/12: 10:30-11:10
  
• Qualifying 07/12: 12:40-14:03
  
• E-Prix 07/12: 17:05-18:00
  

Brandon Whiteside
Writer & X Contributor - F1 Journal