Thunderbozz

The next round of the 2016/17 Formula E championship season will take place around the Moulay El Hassan circuit in Marrakesh. The race on November 12 will be the first time the series has visited Africa, and has been scheduled to coincide with the international climate change conference, COP22 . The track, which has recently been remodeled, hosted two races in the  World Touring Car Championship earlier this year. It runs along public streets for much of its length, before entering a section of purpose-built track around the old paddock. At almost 3km (1.8 miles), it is also significantly longer than the likes of Paris, London and Hong Kong. Indeed, it is currently the longest track on the calendar, so drivers will need to think carefully when planning race strategies. Sébastien Buemi tops the drivers' standings after the opening race in Hong Kong.

Sébastien Buemi took the first race victory of the new Formula E season in Hong Kong. In a breathless race that saw virtually every driver suffer from a crash or a technical issue, championship rival Lucas di Grassi finished second. But the results don't tell the full story, which saw the lead change hands several times, and high drama throughout the field. Following an unusual qualifying session, Nelson Piquet Jr started on pole, flanked by his NextEV team-mate, Oliver Turvey. The front of the field made it through the start safely, but behind them the concertina-effect at the second corner saw Ma Qing Hua, António Félix da Costa, Daniel Abt and Lucas di Grassi (who started on the back row) all sustaining damage to their cars and forcing early pit-stops. Fortunately for di Grassi, a front wing swap was all that was required, and he was able to quickly rejoin the race. Away from the drama, Piquet was able to build up a comfortable lead in the opening laps. Initially, the NextE

The decision by race directors to change the kerbs on the Harbourfront circuit's chicane – but without informing any of the drivers – was the story that dominated a bizarre qualifying session in Hong Kong. The reason for an unannounced five-minute delay to the start of the session suddenly became clear to drivers in the first qualifying group when they realised a secondary kerb – which most drivers were using as a marker for their racing line – had been removed. The result was that anyone who missed the line would be catapulted into the barriers. Initially, the change resulted in far slower times than would have been expected after the free practice sessions. However, in the second qualifying group, di Grassi and Ma took damage when their cars went airborne and into the barriers, only to be followed by Frinjs in group three. Ma escaped with only minor damage, but the other two shunts caused their sessions to be red-flagged. Frinj's Andretti car came off worse, with signific

The Formula E season gets underway on Sunday with the inaugural Hong Kong ePrix. New to to the calendar, all track records will be up for grabs this weekend. In today's "shakedown" session, Techeetah's Ma Qing Hua set the fastest time, but it won't be until the completion of the practice sessions first-thing tomorrow that a true picture of the teams' standings becomes clear. One thing that is certain is that the harbour-front circuit is tight, narrow and challenging. There are two hairpin bends that will be tricky to manoeuvre, particularly in the opening laps when the 20-strong field will be tightly bunched up. The long, sweeping straight that immediately follows turn 1 will show us very quickly which cars have the best straight-line speed, whilst sector 2 will play into the hands of those teams with better cornering. What to look out for Formula E drivers need to swap cars at the mid-point of the race. In previous seasons, this usually comes after e

Mercedes-Benz Motorsport  signed an agreement this week that gives the German manufacturer an option to enter a Formula E team in season 5 (2018/19). The team are the incumbent Formula 1 champions, and their interest in electric racing has been seen as a huge vote of confidence in the series. "Racing has always been a technology R&D platform for the motor industry, and this will make Formula E very relevant in the future” , said Toto Wolff, executive director of Mercedes' F1 team. This line of thinking is clearly shared by many of the major car manufacturers, as evidenced by the involvement of Renualt, Audi and BMW. Both on and off the racetrack, electric and hybrid-electric engines are becoming mainstream technology, and the pace of development has been blistering. Which brings us to 2018... Why are all eyes on Formula E season 5? BMW and now Mercedes have (all but) confirmed that they will enter Formula E teams in the 2018/19 season. Several other manufactures h

The third season of Formula E gets underway on Sunday in Hong Kong. Here's a look at the runners and riders for the 2016/17 championship.