2/20/2024
André Lotterer enjoyed a six season career in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship with half of those seasons spent with the TAG-Heuer Porsche Formula E team between 2019 and 2022.
In that time, he sampled some unique challenges on a variety of fast and difficult street circuits. Here he takes you through the five that really stood out for him.
For Lotterer the Diriyah street track in Riyadh “is definitely number one.”
“I think in terms of driving challenges it is up there with the best and the driving just comes naturally with this ultra-quick layout."
“There's nothing like it from Turn 1 to Turn 16 as it is just left, right, left and you’ve got to hit it good and be brave.”
The Diriyah track was the scene of Lotterer’s debut podium for Porsche in December 2019 when he fought through from seventh on the grid to follow home winner Sam Bird by just over a second.
“That was a great memory because it was the first race for Porsche in Formula E. We were not expected to score results like that straight off so it was a very special feeling,” summarised Lotterer.
The EUR track in the suburbs of Rome is generally acknowledged as one of the best Formula E tracks ever and Lotterer agrees.
“This was an epic street track and so much fun to drive,” he says.
“It had pretty much everything from the fast blast up the hill to some really technical sections and also a nice downhill part with a kink too. It was a real challenge to get right because sections were also very bumpy.”
Lotterer had several memorable moments in Rome, including a close second place after a fantastic fight with Jaguar’s Mitch Evans in April 2019.
“That was a nice battle with Mitch,” adds Lotterer.
“We explored all the circuit that day! I only lost the race to Mitch with a really marginal move by him when he touched me going in to a chicane. But generally, it was a nice fight and a great memory on a wonderful track.”
The February 2023 visit to the ‘Mother City’ witnessed drivers wowed by a fast and flowing circuit which went to the edge of the Atlantic Ocean where blue whales were frolicking in the summer sun.
A beautiful backdrop welcomed the Formula E paddock and the circuit didn’t disappoint with a mega challenge that saw speeds top 165mph on parts of the track.
“This was a nice track and very satisfying to get right,” recalls Lotterer.
“The good thing about it was that it had a nice rhythm. The sectors were very different and you could really hustle the car in parts. I loved racing there.”
Lotterer describes the one-off Swiss city track as “gnarly, but in a good way” and “a little like the Pau street track too.”
Anyone who witnessed Formula E cars on the scenic configuration in June 2019 will not be surprised to read those words from Lotterer, as the circuit ducked and weaved through the plush glacial Aare river which ran alongside the track.
“The track was being finished right up to when we went out for practice but once we were on it, it was really nice,” says Lotterer.
“The downhill section was like a skiing run and there was a really challenging kink before a tight left at the bottom of the hill.
“The one slight issue was a silly chicane but we also needed these for energy recuperation through braking. But I have a nice memory of this track because it was quite old-school in the way it as designed.”
Another track that was used for one race only was the downtown Santiago circuit in the heart of the Chilean capital.
In January 2018 Lotterer arrived at the track after two difficult events in his rookie season but at Santiago it clicked for him and his DS Techeetah teammate and great friend Jean-Eric Vergne.
“It was a great track but really bumpy,” recalls Lotterer.
“We had a great weekend, JV and me. It ended with us running 1-2 in the late stages of the race and on the backstraight I tried a move and it almost ended in disaster as we touched.
“I was still learning about how to lift and coast properly and save energy and I got too close. It looked worse than it was but there were a few questions from the team afterwards!
“But it was ok in the end and we scored the first ever 1-2 in Formula E, so I have really happy memories from a track that made you concentrate super hard because of the surface and some of the quick corners.”
