'Formula E teams DS and Jaguar secretly testing new braking system'
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F1 News
- GPblog.com
Last week and behind closed doors, two Formula E teams tested a new braking system at the request of the FIA. According to The Race DS and Jaguar trialled the system before giving it to the other teams on Thursday - the day before the e-Prix weekend in Saudi Arabia starts with the shakedown.
It will be only the second race of the season and thus the second with the Gen3 cars, but already adjustments needed to be made due to safety concerns. During the test in Valencia and also during the practice sessions of the e-Prix in Mexico, several drivers crashed because of problems with the brakes.
Not enough braking power
This is because the new generation of Formula E cars has a new braking system, where traditional brake discs at the rear of the car have been replaced by motor units. As soon as drivers needed to brake suddenly (due to technical problems, for example), the front brakes alone did not provide enough braking power to come to a stop in time.
With the reintroduction of the rear brake, the problems should be a thing of the past. To give the other teams a chance to test the brakes as well, there will be an extra-long shakedown in Jeddah, 30 minutes instead of 15. Not many details are known about the new system. It can reportedly only be used once, only to have to be reset for another session. The company Magneti Marelli supplies these brakes.