Sacha Fenestraz: New venue ‘levels the playing field’

Rookie Sacha Fenestraz is hopeful that this weekend’s Hyderabad E-Prix will “level the playing field”, given that it’s the first time that the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship has visited India.

The Nissan Formula E Team rookie has had a solid start to life in the all-electric series, and actually claimed his and the team’s first points of the season in the second race in Diriyah just under two weeks ago. This weekend’s new venue could offer the Frenchman a chance to challenge for higher than the eighth place he managed in Saudi Arabia, with him having been strong during qualifying in particular.

Like the vast majority of the drivers, Fenestraz is “really excited” to be visiting India this weekend and is hopeful that he can continue “progressing” after being strong in Diriyah.

“I’m really excited about heading to Hyderabad. None of the drivers have raced here before, so it levels the playing field a bit for me as a rookie. I’m improving and learning at every race, getting accustomed to energy and tire management. I was pleased with the points in Diriyah, the signs have been good since the beginning of the season so we’re hoping to keep progressing and find the consistency needed to succeed in this championship.

“We’ve been putting in the hours to be ready for the race, getting used to the track in the simulator, so hopefully we can hit the ground running.”

“Physically it will be difficult due to the conditions” – Norman Nato

On the other side of the Japanese manufacturer’s garage, it’s been a tough start to life back in Formula E for Norman Nato, with the Frenchman yet to score a point since returning to the series.

So far this season, Nato hasn’t really shown his true-self yet and hasn’t performed particularly well in any of the races or qualifying sessions. So far this year, his best qualifying result is sixteenth, whilst his best race result is twelfth. Despite having struggled so far this season, the French driver believes himself and the team “made a lot of progress” in Saudi Arabia.

Looking ahead to this weekend, Nato is expecting a very tough weekend, with it set to be “hot and humid”, making a real test for all the drivers. Given how hot it’s due to be this weekend in Hyderabad, Nato is expecting reliability to play a factor.

“It’s always exciting to go to a new venue and discover a new track, so I’m really looking forward to the weekend. We made a lot of progress in Diriyah, Sacha did a great job to score our first points of the season and now we need to build on that to fight towards the front of the field.

“It’s really tight between the teams this year, but we know where we have to improve. It’s going to be hot and humid, so it will be interesting to see how it impacts the Gen3 cars. Physically it will be difficult due to the conditions, but we know what our targets are and it’s up to us to go there and achieve it.”