Have you ever experienced the roar of the F1 paddock up close on qualifying or race day? You either regard the high pitch roar as part of the atmosphere or you hate how it vibrates your eardrums despite wearing ear plugs.

So imagine being at Donington yesterday when a new 2015/’16 Formula E Championship car leaves the garage in silence? For me that is not a compromise and believe me, the performance of these cars is not compromised in any other way.

Schaeffler playing a major role
This was the final pre-season tests taking place at Donington before the fully electric single-seater cars will be loaded and shipped to Beijing. In the heart of the Chinese capital, on October 17th, when all the red lights are extinguished to start the first race of the 2015/16 Formula E Season, a new era in motorsports will begin for Schaeffler. As the exclusive technology partner of Team ABT Sportsline, the company has developed the powertrain of the new ‘ABT Schaeffler FE01.

While in the Formula E’s inaugural season all the teams were still competing with standard-specification cars, the development of the entire powertrain has been allowed for the 2015/2016 season. Its core element is the electric motor named ‘ABT Schaeffler MGU 01.’ The project was focused on achieving the best possible efficiency, high reliability and optimal thermal management due to modified cooling.

“Our motor has better torque and better efficiency than its predecessor,” Prof. Peter Gutzmer, Chief Technology Officer told us. Heis responsible for the developments at Schaeffler and was faced with a tight schedule. he added: “The first meetings took place about ten months ago and, only half a year later, the first parts were produced. The timing is tight, as always in motorsports, but we’re on schedule.”

Schaeffler has also developed a new transmission that is coordinated with the motor and was produced by the company’s renowned partner Hewland. It is stiffer and more compact. To achieve the goal of minimizing the number of shifting events per lap, the engineers opted for a three-speed variant. The suspension has been optimized as well, now featuring higher stiffness and improved kinematics. The connecting link between all the elements is the newly developed software that manages the interaction between all the components. The perfection of its functionality has been one of the focal aspects of the pre-season tests.

The ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport team members

“For us, it was clear from the beginning that we wouldn’t do anything by halves. That’s why we looked at all the areas released by the regulations and developed optimized solutions of our own together with our partners,” says Prof. Gutzmer (Schaeffler). This is a standard to which Schaeffler is committed outside motorsports as well.

“Electric mobility as a whole, including hybrid solutions as well as fully electric driving, will significantly define mobility of the future. The Formula E commitment is an ideal way of being at the forefront of this technology and sets an example: we want our engineers to push limits and to seek competition – in production just like in motorsports.”

Schaeffler has been involved in Formula E as a partner of the only German team from day one and is now taking the next step. “The collaboration with ABT Sportsline is outstanding. The team gelled in the first season, goes about its work in a professional and success-oriented manner, and is the perfect ambassador for our vision of ‘Mobility for tomorrow,’ says Prof Gutzmer.

Pictured (L-R) German driver Daniel Abt, Prof. Peter Gutzmer Schaeffler, and Brazilian driver Lucas di Grassi.

With the drivers the squad that has officially been entered under the name of ‘ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport’ has opted for continuity as well. Sitting in the electric race cars named ABT Schaeffler FE01 will again be German Daniel Abt (22) and Brazilian Lucas di Grassi (31), who took third place in the teams’ classification in the first season. Lucas di Grassi was in contention for the drivers’ title up to the last of the eleven races. No other race driver mounted the podium during the season as often as the South American sporting the Schaeffler colors.

Following this season (2015/6) opener in Asia, Formula E will be embarking on a world tour of South and North America and Europe. The round in the heart of France’s capital Paris will be new on the calendar. The home round from Schaeffler’s perspective will be held in Berlin on May 21st 2016. For the finale and the nearest opportunity for Irish motorsport fans to see this formula, the 20 drivers will be meeting in London (GB) on the first weekend in July 2016.

Pictured (L-R) at Donington on Monday were: Ian Allen and Jeff Earl from Schaeffler UK.

The Schaeffler Group is a leading global integrated automotive and industrial supplier. The company stands for the highest quality, outstanding technology, and strong innovative ability. The Schaeffler Group makes a key contribution to “mobility for tomorrow” with high-precision components and systems in engine, transmission, and chassis applications as well as rolling and plain bearing solutions for a large number of industrial applications.

With more than 82,000 employees, Schaeffler is one of the world’s largest technology companies in family ownership and, with approximately 170 locations in 50 countries, has a worldwide network of manufacturing locations, research and development facilities, and sales companies.