The science behind Formula E

Sylvain Filippi is sat next to the sleek chassis of a Formula E car, its smooth lines and contours designed for aerodynamic poise, its red, white and purple a sharp contrast to the sterile perfect white of the garage near Silverstone, UK. As chief technology officer for DS Virgin Racing, Filippi knows every part of this engineering marvel. A carbon fibre chassis; tyres designed to run on both slick and wet; a mix of aluminium and carbon in the rear-end and a battery that balances power, efficiency and weight. Every aspect of the car has been carefully considered, down to the last gram of weight. ‘In motorsport, if you can gain .5% efficiency somewhere, that’s huge and we’d throw everything at it. Translate it into lap time … that’s the difference between winning and being mid-field.’