2019–20 Formula E Championship Explained

The 2019–20 FIA Formula E Championship was the sixth season of the FIA Formula E championship, a motor racing championship for electrically powered vehicles recognised by motorsport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for electric open-wheel racing cars.

On 13 March, Formula E and the FIA announced a temporary suspension of the season in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[1] During the suspension, Formula E organised an esports racing series called Formula E Race at Home Challenge. The season resumed and concluded in August with six races within nine days at the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit.

The season's champion was António Félix da Costa who clinched his first title with two races left. DS Techeetah became team champions for the second time in a row.^[2]

Teams and drivers

All teams used the Spark SRT05e chassis and Michelin all-weather tyres.

Team	Powertrain		Drivers	Rounds
	Audi e-tron FE06^[3]	2	Sam Bird^[4]	All
		4	Robin Frijns	All
^[5]	Nio FE-005^[6]	3	Oliver Turvey^[7]	All
		33	Ma Qinghua	1–5
			Daniel Abt^[8]	6–11
	Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 01^[9]	5	Stoffel Vandoorne^[10]	All
	17	Nyck de Vries	All
	Penske EV-4^[11]	6	Brendon Hartley	1–5
		Sérgio Sette Câmara^[12]	6–11
		7	Nico Müller^[13]	All
^[14]	Audi e-tron FE06	11	Lucas di Grassi^[15]	All
		66	Daniel Abt	1–5
			René Rast^[16] ^[17]	6–11
	DS E-TENSE FE20	13		All
		25		All
^[18] ^[19]	Porsche 99X Electric^[20]	18	Neel Jani^[21]	All
		36	André Lotterer^[22]	All
	Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 01^[23]	19		All
	48	Edoardo Mortara	All
	Jaguar I-Type 4^[24]	20	Mitch Evans^[25]	All
		51	James Calado^[26] ^[27]	1–9
		Tom Blomqvist^[28]	10–11
	Nissan IM02	22	Oliver Rowland^[29]	All
		23	Sébastien Buemi	All
	BMW iFE.20	27		All
		28	nowrap	Maximilian Günther^[30]	All
	Mahindra M6Electro^[31]	64	Jérôme d'Ambrosio^[32]	All
		align=center rowspan="2"	94	Pascal Wehrlein	1–5
		Alex Lynn^[33]	6–11

Free practice drivers

• James Rossiter replaced Jean-Éric Vergne in the first practice session of the Marrakesh ePrix after Vergne fell ill.^[34]

Team changes

• Porsche joined the grid as a new entry.^[18]
• The Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team entered the championship while HWA, which had run customer Venturi powertrains as HWA Racelab in the previous season, are running Mercedes' trackside operations.
• Venturi switched to Mercedes powertrains, effectively ending their run as manufacturers.^[23]
• The Nio team was sold to Lisheng Racing,^[35] but will continue under the NIO brand. The team is not using its own powertrains and it instead acquired last year's powertrain from GEOX Dragon.^[7]

Driver changes

• Neel Jani returned to Formula E as a Porsche driver.^[21]
• André Lotterer moved from DS Techeetah to Porsche.^[22]
• Maximilian Günther moved from GEOX Dragon to BMW i Andretti Motorsport, replacing António Félix da Costa.^[30]
• António Félix da Costa moved from BMW i Andretti Motorsport to DS Techeetah, replacing Lotterer.
• 2019 Formula 2 Champion Nyck de Vries made his Formula E debut with the Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team.^[10]
• GEOX Dragon signed two rookies, with 2015 and 2017 World Endurance Champion Brendon Hartley partnering Nico Müller.^[11]
• 2017 GT World Endurance champion James Calado made his debut with Jaguar, replacing Alex Lynn.^[26]
• Ma Qinghua returned to Formula E as a NIO 333 driver, replacing Tom Dillmann.^[7]

Mid-season changes

• Daniel Abt was suspended from Audi after he was found to have used a ringer in a "Race At Home" eSports series race during the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. He was replaced by René Rast.
• Pascal Wehrlein left Mahindra Racing with immediate effect in June 2020.^[36] He was replaced by Alex Lynn.
• Ma Qinghua was unable to attend the final six races in Berlin due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.^[37] He was replaced by Abt.
• Brendon Hartley left GEOX Dragon team with immediate effect in July 2020.^[38] He was replaced by Sérgio Sette Câmara.
• James Calado missed the final two rounds with Jaguar and was replaced by Tom Blomqvist.^[39] Calado was already set to leave Jaguar Racing at the end of the season, having Sam Bird take his place.^[40]

Calendar

The 2019–20 championship was due to be contested over fourteen rounds in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, North America, and South America. The layouts are on street circuits, except for the Mexico City ePrix - held on a permanent road course and the Berlin ePrix - held on the access roads of Tempelhof Airport.

Round	ePrix	Country	Circuit	Date
1		Saudi Arabia		22 November 2019
2				nowrap	23 November 2019
3	Santiago ePrix	Chile	Parque O'Higgins Circuit	18 January 2020
4	Mexico City ePrix	Mexico	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez	15 February 2020
5	Marrakesh ePrix	Morocco	nowrap	Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan	29 February 2020
6		Germany	Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit	5 August 2020
7				6 August 2020
8				8 August 2020
9				9 August 2020
10				12 August 2020
11				13 August 2020
Source:^[41]
	Sanya ePrix	China	Haitang Bay Circuit	21 March 2020
	Rome ePrix	Italy	Circuito Cittadino dell'EUR	4 April 2020
	Paris ePrix		Paris Street Circuit	18 April 2020
	Seoul ePrix		Seoul Street Circuit	3 May 2020
	Jakarta ePrix	Indonesia	Jakarta National Monument Street Circuit	6 June 2020
	nowrap	New York City ePrix	United States	Brooklyn Street Circuit	11 July 2020
	London ePrix		ExCeL London	25 July 2020
				26 July 2020

ePrix locations

Calendar changes

Three ePrix were taken off of the calendar. The Swiss ePrix was taken off as the 2019 Swiss ePrix was run as a one-time event.^[42] The Monaco ePrix was removed from the calendar as the race only happens every other year. The Hong Kong ePrix was originally due to take place but it was replaced with the Marrakesh ePrix due to the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests. The season started a month earlier than the 2018–19 season - November instead of December - with the opening round, the Diriyah ePrix, taking place as a double-header with one race on the Friday and another on the Saturday.^[43]

The New York City, Paris, Rome, Sanya, London and the inaugural Jakarta and Seoul ePrix had been due to take place but were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^{[44] [45] [46]} In their place six ePrix were scheduled across three different layouts at the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit between 5–13 August.^[47]

Regulation changes

Technical regulations

• The usage of twin motors was banned.^[48]
• The Attack Mode power was increased by 10 kW, from 225 kW to 235 kW.^[49]
• Drivers are no longer allowed to activate the Attack Mode during Full-Course Yellow and Safety Car periods.^[49]
• For each minute spent under Full Course Yellow or Safety Car conditions, 1 kWh is subtracted from the total available energy measured from the point at which the race was neutralised.^[49]

Sporting regulations

• During a race suspension, the countdown clock now stops, unless otherwise announced by the Race Director, with the aim of completing the full race time.^[50]
• The fastest driver in the group qualifying stage is awarded one championship point.^[50]

Results and standings

ePrix

Round	Race	Qualifying	Race
	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Winning team
1	Diriyah	nowrap	Sam Bird	nowrap	Alexander Sims	nowrap		nowrap	Sam Bird	nowrap	Envision Virgin Racing	Report
2	nowrap	António Félix da Costa	nowrap	Alexander Sims	nowrap	António Félix da Costa	nowrap	Alexander Sims	nowrap	BMW i Andretti Motorsport
3	nowrap	Santiago	nowrap	Mitch Evans	nowrap	Mitch Evans	nowrap		nowrap	Maximilian Günther	nowrap	BMW i Andretti Motorsport	Report
4	nowrap	Mexico City	nowrap	Mitch Evans	nowrap	André Lotterer	nowrap	Alexander Sims	nowrap	Mitch Evans	nowrap	Panasonic Jaguar Racing	Report
5	nowrap	Marrakesh	nowrap	Maximilian Günther	nowrap	António Félix da Costa	nowrap		nowrap	António Félix da Costa	nowrap	DS Techeetah	Report
6	Berlin	nowrap	António Félix da Costa	nowrap	António Félix da Costa	nowrap	António Félix da Costa	nowrap	António Félix da Costa	nowrap	DS Techeetah	Report
7		nowrap	Sébastien Buemi	nowrap	António Félix da Costa	nowrap	Stoffel Vandoorne	nowrap	António Félix da Costa	nowrap	DS Techeetah
8	Berlin	nowrap	Jean-Éric Vergne	nowrap	Jean-Éric Vergne	nowrap	Mitch Evans	nowrap	Maximilian Günther	nowrap	BMW i Andretti Motorsport
9		nowrap	Jean-Éric Vergne	nowrap	Jean-Éric Vergne	nowrap		nowrap	Jean-Éric Vergne	nowrap	DS Techeetah
10	Berlin	nowrap	René Rast	nowrap	Oliver Rowland	nowrap		nowrap	Oliver Rowland	nowrap	Nissan e.dams
11		nowrap	Sébastien Buemi	nowrap	Stoffel Vandoorne	nowrap		nowrap	Stoffel Vandoorne	nowrap	Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team
Source:^[51]

Drivers' Championship

Points were awarded using the following structure:

Driver DIR SCL MEX MRK BER BER BER valign=middle 1 António Félix da Costa 14* 10* 2* 2* 1* 1* 1* 4* 2* Ret* 9* 158 2 Stoffel Vandoorne 3* 3* 6* NC* 15* 6* 5* Ret* 12* 9* 1* 87 3 Jean-Éric Vergne Ret 8 Ret 4 3 NC 10 3 1 18 7 86 4 Sébastien Buemi Ret* 12* 13 3 4 7 2 11 3 10 3 84 5 Oliver Rowland 4 5 17 7 9 14 7 6 5 1 Ret 83 6 Lucas di Grassi 13 2 7* 6* 7* 8 3 8* 6* 21 6* 77 7 Mitch Evans 10 18 3 1 6 13 12* 9 7 7* 11 71 8 André Lotterer 2* 14* DSQ Ret* 8 2 9 5* 8 4* 14 71 9 Maximilian Günther 18 11 1 11 2 DSQ Ret* 1 Ret* Ret 12 69 10 Sam Bird 1 Ret 10 Ret 10 3 6 13 11 20 5 63 11 Nyck de Vries 6* 16* 5* Ret* 11 4 Ret* 18 4 14 2* 60 12 Robin Frijns 5 Ret 15 DSQ 12 Ret 4 2 DNS 2 Ret 58 13 Alexander Sims 8 1 Ret 5 Ret 9 19 10 13 11 13 49 14 Edoardo Mortara 7 4 Ret 8 5 17 8 14 14 8 10 41 15 René Rast 10* 13 Ret 16 3 4 29 16 Jérôme d'Ambrosio 9 DNS NC 10 13* 5 DSQ 7 15 16 18 19 17 Alex Lynn 12 11 17 9 5 8 16 18 Pascal Wehrlein 11 15 4 9 22* 14 19 James Calado 16 7 8 DSQ 16 15 20 Ret 17 10 20 Neel Jani 17 13 Ret 14 18 11 15 Ret 19 6 15 8 21 Daniel Abt Ret 6 14* Ret 14 18* 16* 15* 18* Ret* 20* 8 22 Felipe Massa 12 17 9 Ret 17 Ret NC 19 10 13 16 3 23 Brendon Hartley 19 9 Ret 12 19 2 24 Oliver Turvey 15 DSQ 11 13 21 16 18 16 22 19 21 0 25 Nico Müller DNS Ret 12 Ret 20 NC 14 12 20 17 22 0 26 Tom Blomqvist 12 17 0 27 Sérgio Sette Câmara DSQ* 17 Ret 21 15 19 0 28 Ma Qinghua 20 19 16 Ret 23 0 Driver DIR SCL MEX MRK BER BER BER valign=middle Source:^[52]

Bold – Pole Italics –  – Fastest in group stage * – FanBoost

Teams' Championship

	Team		DIR	SCL	MEX	MRK	BER		BER		BER		valign=middle
1	DS Techeetah	13	14	10	2	2	1	1	1	4	2	Ret	9	244
	25	Ret	8	Ret	4	3	NC	10	3	1	18	7
2	Nissan e.dams	22	4	5	17	7	9	14	7	6	5	1	Ret	167
	23	Ret	12	13	3	4	7	2	11	3	10	3
3	Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team	5	3	3	6	NC	15	6	5	Ret	12	9	1	147
	17	6	16	5	Ret	11	4	Ret	18	4	14	2
4	Envision Virgin Racing	2	1	Ret	10	Ret	10	3	6	13	11	20	5	121
	4	5	Ret	15	DSQ	12	Ret	4	2	DNS	2	Ret
5	BMW i Andretti Motorsport	27	8	1	Ret	5	Ret	9	19	10	13	11	13	118
	28	18	11	1	11	2	DSQ	Ret	1	Ret	Ret	12
6	Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler	11	13	2	7	6	7	8	3	8	6	21	6	114
	66	Ret	6	14	Ret	14	10	13	Ret	16	3^G	4
7	Panasonic Jaguar Racing	20	10	18	3	1	6	13	12	9	7	7	11	81
	51	16	7	8	DSQ	16	15	20	Ret	17	12	17
8		18	17	13	Ret	14	18	11	15	Ret	19	6	15	79
		36	2	14	DSQ	Ret	8	2	9	5	8	4	14
9	Mahindra Racing	64	9	DNS	NC	10	13	5	DSQ	7	15	16	18	49
	94	11	15	4	9	22	12	11	17	9	5	8
10	ROKiT Venturi Racing	19	12	17	9	Ret	17	Ret	NC	19	10	13	16	44
	48	7	4	Ret	8	5	17	8	14	14	8	10
11	GEOX Dragon	6	19	9	Ret	12	19	DSQ	17	Ret	21	15	19	2
	7	DNS	Ret	12	Ret	20	NC	14	12	20	17	22
12	Nio 333 FE Team	3	15	DSQ	11	13	21	16	18	16	22	19	21	0
	33	20	19	16	Ret	23	18	16	15	18	Ret	20
	Team		DIR	SCL	MEX	MRK	BER		BER		BER		valign=middle
Source:^[53]

Notes and References

1. News: Formula E and FIA take decision to temporarily suspend season. 13 March 2020. 13 March 2020. fiaformulae.com.
2. Web site: Da Costa crowned ABB FIA Formula E Champion and DS Techeetah seals Teams' title as Vergne wins Round 9. fiaformulae.com,date=2020-08-09.
3. audiformulae . 1167753901443100675 . 31 August 2019 . Watch this space! Our new Audi e-tron FE06 is on its way. .
4. Web site: Bird, Frijns to Remain at Envision Virgin for 2019-20 – e-racing365. Smith. Sam. e-racing365.com. en-US. 11 June 2019. 20 June 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190620133406/https://e-racing365.com/formula-e/bird-frijns-to-remain-at-envision-virgin-for-2019-20/. dead.
5. Web site: Entry List. 15 October 2019.
6. News: Provisional Formula E entry list revealed for 2019/20 ahead of the Valencia test. 11 October 2019. FIA Formula E. 11 October 2019.
7. Web site: Ma to Make Formula E Return with NIO 333. Smith. Sam. e-racing365. 10 October 2019. 10 October 2019. 8 December 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191208172353/https://e-racing365.com/formula-e/ma-to-make-formula-e-return/. dead.
8. Web site: 1 July 2020. Abt to contest Berlin rounds with NIO 333 after Audi dismissal. 1 July 2020. GPToday.net. en-GB.
9. News: Successful track debut for the new Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 01. 17 July 2019. 3 July 2019. www.mercedes-benz.com/. 17 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190717141823/https://www.mercedes-benz.com/en/eq-formulae/driven/successful-track-debut-mercedes-benz-eq-silver-arrow-01/. dead.
10. News: Kalinauckas. Alex. Mercedes signs Vandoorne, de Vries for debut FE season. 11 September 2019. 11 September 2019. motorsport.com.
11. Web site: GEOX Dragon Signs Hartley for 2019-20. e-racing365.com. Smith. Sam. 8 August 2019.
12. Web site: Sette Camara replaces Hartley at Dragon for Berlin. Motorsport.com. Klein. Jamie. 22 July 2020.
13. Web site: Nico Mueller Completes GEOX Dragon Lineup. Smith. Sam. e-racing365.com. en-US. 18 September 2019.
14. Web site: Season 6 manufacturers confirmed. 10 April 2018. 30 November 2018.
15. News: Smith. Sam. Audi Keeps Unchanged Lineup for 2019-20. 18 July 2019. e-racing365.com. 11 July 2019. 11 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190711174247/https://e-racing365.com/formula-e/audi-keeps-unchanged-lineup-for-2019-20/. dead.
16. Web site: 26 May 2020. Daniel Abt loses Audi Formula E drive over esports controversy. Crash.Net.
17. Web site: Double DTM champion Rene Rast joins Audi until end of the season. 19 June 2020. FIA Formula E. en.
18. Web site: Now official: Porsche's entry into Formula E. 4 October 2018. 30 November 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181202070752/https://newsroom.porsche.com/default/en/motorsports/porsche-formula-e-entry-fia-confirmation-electric-racing-series-motorsports-2018-e-performance-15186.html. 2 December 2018. dead.
19. Web site: TAG Heuer teams up with Porsche as Title and Timing Partner. FIA Formula E. en. 26 August 2019.
20. News: Smith. Sam. Porsche 99X Electric Unveiled. 31 August 2019. e-racing365.com. 28 August 2019.
21. News: Klein. Jaime. Porsche names Neel Jani as its first 2019/20 Formula E driver . 19 December 2018. Autosport.com. Motorsport Network. 14 December 2018.
22. Web site: Lotterer joins Jani at Porsche for season six. e-racing.net. Smith. Topher. 17 July 2019.
23. Web site: Venturi Switches to Customer Status With Mercedes. Smith. Sam. e-racing365. 3 October 2019. 3 October 2019. 3 October 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191003211102/https://e-racing365.com/formula-e/venturi-switches-to-customer-status-with-mercedes/. dead.
24. News: MITCH EVANS COMMITS HIS FUTURE TO PANASONIC JAGUAR RACING. 26 September 2019. media.jaguarracing.com.
25. News: Kalinauckas. Alex. Jaguar retains Evans for 2019/20 Formula E season. 26 September 2019. 26 September 2019. motorsport.com.
26. News: Kalinauckas. Alex. Calado completes Jaguar's Formula E line-up. 2 October 2019. 2 October 2019. motorsport.com.
27. Web site: James Calado Completes Panasonic Jaguar Racing Driver Line-up. 2 October 2019. media.jaguarracing.com. 2 October 2019.
28. Web site: Blomqvist set to replace Calado for final Berlin races. Kew. Matt. Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. July 30, 2020. July 30, 2020.
29. Web site: Smith. Topher. Nissan e.dams retains Buemi and Rowland for season six. Downforce Radio. 5 September 2019. 5 September 2019. 19 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211219045222/https://www.downforceracing.uk/nissan-e-dams-retains-buemi-and-rowland-for-season-six/. dead.
30. Web site: Smith. Topher. BMW i Andretti signs Günther to replace da Costa. Downforce Radio. 9 September 2019. 9 September 2019. 19 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211219045219/https://www.downforceracing.uk/bmw-i-andretti-signs-gunther-to-replace-da-costa/. dead.
31. News: Kalinauckas. Alex. Mahindra to debut 2019/2020 FE powertrain at Goodwood. 5 July 2019. 3 July 2019. motorsport.com.
32. Web site: Mahindra Confirms ZF Deal; Unchanged Driver Lineup. Kilshaw. Jake. e-racing365.com. 4 October 2019. 4 October 2019. 6 October 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191006004446/https://e-racing365.com/formula-e/mahindra-confirms-zf-deal-unchanged-driver-lineup/. dead.
33. Web site: Lynn replaces Wehrlein at Mahindra. Kew. Matt. Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. 24 June 2020. 24 June 2020.
34. News: Kew. Matt. Marrakesh E-Prix: Da Costa sets FP1 pace with Vergne absent. 28 February 2020. Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. 28 February 2020.
35. News: Smith. Sam. REVEALED: NIO Shake-Up Hastens New Team Structure. 31 August 2019. e-racing365.com. 29 July 2019. 2 August 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190802152838/https://e-racing365.com/formula-e/revealed-nio-shake-up-hastens-new-team-structure/. dead.
36. Web site: Kew. Matt. Wehrlein quits Mahindra FE team with immediate effect. 9 June 2020. Autosport.com. en.
37. Web site: Ma Qinghua to miss six-race Berlin finale. 1 July 2020. FIA Formula E. en.
38. Web site: 2020-07-16. Brendon Hartley leaves Dragon Racing ahead of Formula E season finale. 2020-07-17. Motorsport Week. en-GB.
39. Web site: Klein. Matt Kew, Jamie. Jaguar's Calado set to miss final two Berlin FE races, Blomqvist likely to fill in. 2020-07-30. Autosport.com. en.
40. Web site: 2020-07-14. Jaguar confirms Sam Bird for 2021. 2020-07-30. Formula E Zone. en-US.
41. News: Smith. Sam. Calendar Confirmed: Marrakesh Replaces Hong Kong. 5 October 2019. e-racing365.com. 4 October 2019.
42. News: Smith. Sam. 25 June 2019. Bern Start Location Questioned. e-racing365.com. 31 August 2019.
43. Web site: Kalinauckas. Alex. First Formula E night race in Saudi Arabia a "possibility" for 2019. 2020-07-03. Autosport.com. en.
44. Web site: 1 May 2020. London E-Prix officially cancelled. 1 May 2020. formulaezone.com.
45. Web site: Statement on the Jakarta E-Prix. 11 March 2020. FIA Formula E. en.
46. Web site: Kalinauckas. Alex. 30 November 2018. Formula E to expand to Korea in season six. 30 November 2018. Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. 8 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201108124157/https://www.motorsport.com/formula-e/news/formula-e-seoul-korea-season-6/4306562/. dead.
47. Web site: 17 June 2020. FIA Formula E Returns to Racing with Six Races in a row in Berlin. 17 June 2020. fia.com.
48. Web site: Kalinauckas . Alex . Twin motors banned in Formula E next season . motorsport.com . 15 June 2019.
49. Web site: Formula E changes rules to encourage energy management . motorsport.com . 15 June 2019.
50. Web site: 2019/20 calendar revealed: London and Seoul star in sixth Formula E campaign . fiaformulae.com. 15 June 2019.
51. Web site: Formula E Results 2019. Motorsport Stats. 13 August 2022.
52. Web site: Driver Standings. FIA Formula E. en. 22 November 2019.
53. Web site: Team Standings. FIA Formula E. en. 22 November 2019.