Formula E: Nico Müller and the X factor 🎥
NEW CAREER CUT With X-Design in black and white, Nico Müller starts the 2019/20 FIA Formula E Championship this week at Geox Dragon Racing. He wants to make his mark in the only private team. If the Americans have come up with as many technical ideas as they have with the X-Design, then things can only go well for Nico Müller... After Formula Renault, [...]
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If the Americans have come up with as many technical ideas as they have with the X design, then things can only go well for Nico Müller...
After Formula Renault, GP3, World Series, DTM, GT3, LMP2 and rallycross, Nico Müller will tackle a new motorsport discipline on Friday. The 27-year-old from Bern has plenty of experience in Formula E as a test and simulator driver for Audi Sport.
With Geox Dragon Racing, however, this year's DTM runner-up no longer has a works team behind him - the Americans are the only private team with the Penske EV-4 developed in the USA.
Top or flop?
Where the team led by Jay Penske, the son of racing legend Roger Penske, will end up is therefore one of the great unknowns before the start of the sixth multi-year FIA Formula E season. In this respect, the black and white X design of the Penske EV-4 fits in well with this uncertainty. The X stands for the title sponsor and for those factors that distinguish Geox Dragon Racing from other teams.
Two years ago, Neel Jani turned his back on the team after one race. However, both he and Nico Müller are now convinced that Dragon has made enormous progress since then. Proving this on the track is now the task of Nico Müller and his team-mate Brendon Hartley, who drove with Jani in Porsche's LMP1 team.
Nico Müller: "I do believe that we can set one or two exclamation marks. It will be extremely difficult for us as the only private team, but we have done everything we can in preparation."
What is the third best time worth?
Müller set the first exclamation mark back in October at the tests in Valencia, where he achieved the third-best lap time over three days behind the Germans Maximilian Günther (BMW) and Pascal Wehrlein (Mahindra). We will see what this is worth on Friday and Saturday in Saudi Arabia, where the first two races will take place on the 2.5-kilometer circuit in Diriyah, a suburb of the capital Riyadh.
Nico Müller: "This is one of the most difficult tracks on the calendar. It is extremely technical and flowing. There are walls everywhere, so you can't afford to make any mistakes."
With previous best test times with Audi, Müller proved that he has a good feel for handling electric racing cars. He is therefore not lacking in self-confidence and is also convinced of his car's potential.
Nico Müller: "Our basis seems to be very good. I see the greatest potential in the software and in fine-tuning. Because the field is so close together, it's the details that will ultimately decide who wins and who loses."
Four Swiss at the start
Nico Müller's opponents in the twelve two-car teams include three other Swiss drivers, Sébastien Buemi (Nissan), Neel Jani (Porsche) and Edoardo Mortara (Venturi).
The races start on Friday and Saturday, November 22 and 23, at 3 p.m. local time (1 p.m. CET). As usual, they will last 45 minutes plus one lap. Free practice, qualifying and the race will all be held on the same day, which is one of the peculiarities of Formula E. MySports Switzerland and Eurosport will broadcast all 14 races live in 2019/20.
