started doing it, it’s very impressive.
In terms of my preparation as a driver, you can now fully practice pole position laps and know it’s going to be extremely close to what you’ll be delivering.
JOSE MARIA LOPEZ - DS VIRGIN RACING DRIVER
Rob Watts: Pechito, you're four races into your Formula E career; what has surprised you the most so far, and what has been the most enjoyable aspect of driving these cars?
Jose Maria Lopez: It’s the same for any driver who has been driving in Formula E. Before Formula E, it’s always about being as quick as you can, and you don’t really care about the energy you have. In a normal care you will spend more energy - more fuel, more brakes, more tyres, but here you have a limited amount of energy to spend in the stint, so you need to manage.
Sometimes your engineer says ‘go quicker, but spend less [energy]’ so it’s very difficult to adapt and know how to do it. With lift and regen and all the systems the car has.
I would say I'm getting better at every race at this, and I'm really enjoying it. The thing I enjoy the most is the competition - the level of the drivers is very good; it’s one of the best of any series. Also to race in the heart of the cities is very nice, because at normal circuits, even though we travel around the world, we are far from the cities.
RW: Having raced in the World Touring Car Championship for several years, are there any skills that you've been able to transfer across to Formula E, or has it been a complete reset for you?
JML: No, it’s not a total reset. We have a saying in my country ‘when you learn to ride a bike; you will always ride a bike’ even if you come back after ten years. For sure, there is a period of adaptation, but it’s not like a normal single seater. It’s a heavy car, we don’t have the grip with the tyres, we have carbon brakes, so there are a lot of things that make Formula E different from anything else.
Image: Natt Twiss