Skip to main content

Formula E - Attack Mode explained

By
Recently, after one of the heartbreaking Formula 1 races,  I was watching highlights of a Formula E race when I came across an interesting concept called the "Attack Mode". Now for those of you who are unfamiliar with Formula E, it is a sister series of the more traditional and popular Formula 1 (F1) car racing competition. The difference is that the Formula E cars are battery powered electric vehicles. This series was started in 2011 to promote cleaner, environment friendly cars with the same spirit of competitive racing.

For those of you, who are bored by Formula 1 and its Drag Reduction System (DRS) which gives a free overtake if you don't hit you speed limiter, this is an innovative way of bringing "action" to racing.

In standard racing mode, all the cars are limited by a maximum power of 200 kW. So, during the race, all drivers are at the same level in terms of battery power. This increases the emphasis on driving skills rather than machinery/technology/engineering. From season 2018-19 onward, to make the racing more competitive, the organizers have come up with this great concept of "Attack Mode" wherein a driver will get additional 25 kW of power i.e. 12.5% increase in power for a limited amount of time. But there is a catch!

To get into the "Attack Mode", a driver needs to press a button on the steering wheel to arm the car and drive through an activation zone "off the racing line". When drivers leave the faster racing line and take a longer, slower route to get into the Attack Mode, they may lose track positions! And then, when they get into Attack Mode, they can use that extra power to try to get back the positions they have lost and possibly mount an attack on the drivers ahead of them.

Furthermore, the drivers have to execute a minimum number of Attack Modes in a race. Also, there is an upper ceiling on the duration for which you get the power boost as well as the maximum number of Attack Modes that can be used. Another interesting point is that this information about minimum, maximum number of Attack Modes and the duration of power boost is released by the organizers, only 60 minutes before the race. So, there is no overnight strategy decisions. Everything from racing preparation to race strategy with Strategy Plans A, B, C, etc need to be made in 60 minutes! And of course you don't know the strategy of your opponents so it is quite possible that they may have already trumped you in those crucial 60 minutes!

This is a nice video which explains the Attack Mode


In conclusion, qualifying will not be as much important now as the race. And even in the race there will be more importance to driving skills and strategy rather that just engineering. I only have one challenge for the Formula E organizers. Fit that Activation Zone at Monaco and I'll leave F1 :P
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Entry into the World of Credit Cards

By
After joining my job in June 2018, my salary account was opened in ICICI Bank. During the account opening process, I was offered a Life Time Free (LTF) credit card. Simply put, this was my first chance to get into the credit world without any extra hassle because first of all, neither was I aware of the concept of credit scores nor I had any credit history and secondly, I was just curious about credit cards after seeing of my father use his credit cards with extra caution and the monthly event of credit card bill payment that used to happen at my home. And in that sudden moment of joy, I made my first mistake in the credit world. Representative Image (Source: https://jessepollak.github.io/card/) Now if your guess is that I started spending crazy amounts of money which I couldn't repay, then you are WRONG! I am a miserly person. Money doesn't leave my hands and in general, my credit utilization has never exceeded 5% of my credit limit. So coming back to my first mis...
Post a Comment
Read more

ICICI Credit Limit Increase Offer

By
Recently, ICICI Bank offered me a free credit limit increase for my Lifetime Free ICICI Platinum Chip Credit Card. My limit is being increased by ~31%. For last couple of weeks, I was seeing increased available credit limit on my ICICI net-banking page. I also received an SMS stating that they are offering me a free credit limit increase, after the bill for the latest credit cycle was generated. The same limit enhancement offer is visible in iMobile app as well. See the last SMS message in the above screenshot In the Latest Bill tab you will see the Manage Limit option just above My Rewards. I have been using the card for around 10-11 months. Although this increase seems low, considering utilization, it seems fair. The highest credit utilization was around 15% once, while for the last couple of months, it was <1%. On average it was in 2-3% range. One can accept the increase through any of the three modes, SMS, netbanking or iMobile. It will immediately update the lim...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Japanese Constitution - Chapter 1

By
Chapter 1 - The Emperor Article 1 The Emperor shall be the symbol of the State and of the unity of the People, deriving his position from the will of the people with whom resides sovereign power. This article makes the post of emperor a symbolic one just like the post of Queen in UK or the post of president in a parliamentary democracy. It also emphasizes that the real power resides in the hands of people making it clear that there will be a democratic order of governance in Japan. Article 2 The Imperial Throne shall be dynastic and succeeded to in accordance with the Imperial House Law passed by the Diet. This article describes how the people will control the position of emperor through their elected representatives. Article 3 The advice and approval of the Cabinet shall be required for all acts of the Emperor in matters of state, and the Cabinet shall be responsible therefor. Article 4 The Emperor shall perform only such acts in matters of state as are provided for in th...
Post a Comment
Read more