Match point in the USA – will the Formula E World Championship be decided at the Hankook Portland E-Prix?

- The new world champion for Season 10 of Formula E could be crowned as early as the Hankook Portland E-Prix
- The 22 drivers line up at “Portland International Raceway,’ which is located roughly ten kilometers north of the city center and has regularly been used by the IndyCar series in recent decades
- The optimized Hankook iON Race and the Gen3 Evo cars will travel again around the world and Hankook iON Race will make its debut in Miami for Season 11

Seoul, Korea, June 25, 2024 – The excitement just keeps on coming in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. The new world champion for Season 10 of Formula E could be crowned as early as the Hankook Portland E-Prix, which takes place on the west coast of the USA from 28th to 30th of June. Coming into the penultimate event of the season, the drivers best placed to clinch the title are championship leader Nick Cassidy (167 points/Jaguar TCS Racing) and his closest rivals Pascal Wehrlein (142 points/TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team), Mitch Evans (132 points/Jaguar TCS Racing) and Oliver Rowland (131 points/Nissan Formula E Team). The strength in depth throughout Formula E is reflected in the overall table: nine drivers still have a mathematical chance of winning the title going into the finale two double-headers of 2024.

Hosting races 13 and 14 of the current Formula E World Championship is the US city of Portland, which has a population of roughly 650,000. It is the largest city in the state of Oregon and lies on the banks of the river Columbia and the river Willamette, not far from the snow-capped peak of Mount Hood, which stands at 3,425 meters above sea level. The 22 drivers line up at “Portland International Raceway,” which is located roughly ten kilometers north of the city center and has regularly been used by the IndyCar series in recent decades.

Manfred Sandbichler, Hankook Motorsport Director, said “The track surface at Portland International Raceway is very varied in places, meaning the grip levels are different. Concrete slabs have been laid before Turn 1, at the end of the start/finish straight, which the drivers approach at top speed. In contrast, the asphalt in the long right-hander after Turn 9 is badly eroded and slippery. If the drivers manage to keep our Hankook iON Race in the optimal working window, then our tire will provide them with good performance and offer them maximum support on the track.”

Formula E has presented the initial draft of the calendar for Season 11. The optimized Hankook iON Race and the Gen3 Evo cars will again travel around the world, with 11 rounds and 17 races between December 2024 and July 2025. The start of the season is scheduled for after the official test days in Valencia, Spain, in November. On December 7, São Paulo in Brazil will host the opening race. After stops in Mexico and Saudi Arabia, and another venue yet to be announced on March 8, the Hankook iON Race will make its debut in Miami. The city in Florida replaces Portland and returns to the Formula E calendar after a ten-year absence. The next two highlights in Monaco and Tokyo each receive an extra race, making them double-headers. After races eleven and twelve in the Chinese city of Shanghai, Jakarta in Indonesia makes its Formula E comeback on June 21. Back in Europe, the Hankook iON Race will showcase its performance at the final four races in Berlin and London. The final race calendar will be released in the autumn, after the FIA World Motor Sport Council Meeting.

Formula E and its partners are bringing youngsters on board. The new educational program “Driving Force”, which has been launched by the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, sheds light on environmental and social issues. The program is aimed at children aged between eight and twelve years, living in the host cities for the E-Prix events. It consists of different models dealing with the topics of air pollution, renewable energies, circular economy, diversity, equality, and inclusion. The initiative is raising awareness of the environment and sustainability through online and offline workshops.

An attention-grabbing idea from Nissan in China: the Hankook iON Race not only impresses on the cars of the Nissan Formula E Team, but now also as a perfume. Nissan presented the scent “Smell My Dust” during the Shanghai E-Prix. A perfumer in Shanghai developed the unusual composition from cherry blossom and remnants of the Hankook iON Race. The “Eau de Pneu” smells of cherry blossom branches, rosemary, and caramel with woody notes. To mark the release, the Nissan Formula E Team lined up at the Shanghai E-Prix with a special livery, featuring a cherry blossom design.

The double-header at the Shanghai E-Prix really put the 22 drivers to the test, especially when it came to choosing the right tactics. The key to success at Shanghai International Circuit was optimal energy and tire management. Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) from New Zealand was the impressive winner of the opening race on the Saturday. German Porsche driver Pascal Wehrlein ended the race in second place. He was followed home in third by Evans’ team-mate and compatriot Nick Cassidy. The delighted winner of race twelve of the season was Portuguese driver António Félix da Costa (TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team). Second place in the Sunday race went to Britain’s Jake Hughes (NEOM McLaren Formula E Team), ahead of Norman Nato (Andretti Formula E).

The most exciting and impressive images from Shanghai can be found here in the Hankook Highlight Clip.

As well as on YouTube, regular news and information on Hankook’s involvement in Formula E can also be found on X and Instagram.

You can find the current Hankook Press Kit for the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, with a preview of the coming race weekend in Portland here.