The Nissan e.dams Formula E team will be unable to count on its new powertrain for the next round in Rome due to a parts supply delay imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nissan officials announced in an interview that the brand had adhered to the upcoming Gen3 championship rules and that they would not start the season with a new car.
In that sense, the International Automobile Federation (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, FIA) amended the approval windows for the 2021 campaign in response to the pandemic in an effort to reduce costs and take into account possible delays in the manufacture of the equipment.
Along with teams’ champion DS Techeetah and Dragon Penske Autosport, Nissan e.dams decided to wait until after April 5 to add a new powertrain.
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However, Nissan has postponed the introduction of the new system, the IM03 until at least the next Valencia E-Prix, which has been boosted into a double race from April 24-25.
“With the agreement of the FIA, we have rescheduled the debut of the new Nissan e.dams Gen2 Formula E powertrain due to a covid related delay of parts. We would like to thank the FIA for their flexibility,” a Nissan representative told Autosport.
The brand’s current car, the IM02 already has a powertrain disadvantage following the ban on the 2018-19 Nissan twin-engine configuration. All teams, including Nissan, agreed to ban this setup in order to limit development costs in the championship.
Previously, former DS Virgin squad experimented with a similar twin-engine design during the 2015-16 season, but drivers Sam Bird and Jean-Eric Vergne struggled with excessive weight balance at the rear.
Written by | Gabriel Sayago
