The 2022 Seoul ePrix, formally known as the 2022 Hana Bank Seoul E-Prix, was a pair of Formula E electric car races staged at the Seoul Street Circuit in the Jamsil Sports Complex, Seoul, South Korea, on 13 and 14 August 2022. They served as the fifteenth and sixteenth rounds of the 2021-22 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship,Hana Bank sponsoring the Seoul E-Prix 2022. Korea JoongAng Daily. July 7, 2022. Accessed August 1, 2022.SEASON 8 CALENDAR: Cape Town, Vancouver, and Seoul feature on most expansive Formula E schedule yet. fiaformulae.com. FIA Formula E. August 7, 2021. Accessed August 7, 2021. The race was the first and only running of the Seoul ePrix after it had been postponed since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was raced as the first ePrix in South Korea and fifth Asian country to host an ePrix, following China (including Hong Kong), Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia. The second race was the 100th race in Formula E history.
It was the first time in nine years that South Korea has hosted large motorsports events since the last Formula One Korean Grand Prix held in 2013.
History In 2004, before Formula E was founded, the American based Champ Car (Formerly CART) World Series was planning a race in Asia, with South Korea being a potential location for a date on the 2004 calendar, being a street race in Hangang Park in the capital of Seoul. The race was supposed to be held on October 16, the week before the Lexmark Indy 300 in Surfers Paradise, Australia. The race was cancelled due to track construction being behind schedule. The race never returned on the provisional schedule in 2005 and instead planned to race in nearby Ansan. Unlike the proposed one at Seoul, the race was also scheduled to be on October 16 ahead of the race at Surfers Paradise. The race was cancelled in 2005 and 2006, and the site became part of a set for the South Korean version of Top Gear. The race did not come back on the provisional 2007 schedule and in February 2008, Champ Car and its competitor IndyCar merged. And in the mid-2010s, the track was demolished for apartments. A Champ Car race in South Korea never happened.
South Korea's previous attempts at hosting motorsport events include the Korean Grand Prix situated at Yeongam, which ran from 2010 to 2013. Low attendance figures, five hours of traveling time from Seoul and unfulfilled resort facilities around the track were the main reasons for the event's short existence.
On 30 November 2018, Formula E CEO, Alejandro Agag signed an agreement with Moon Jae-sik, chairman of JSM Holdings. South Korea was given the right to hold the ABB Formula E Championship from 2020 to 2025. The aim was to expand the Asian market and provide a platform for cooperation between Formula E and South Korean automobile industrial technology and eco-friendly innovations.
The Formula E race would be served as an attraction for motor sport fans from nearby countries such as China and Japan.
Three other candidates in the Asia-Pacific region considered for hosting included Australia, Russia, and New Zealand.
The inaugural Seoul ePrix was cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, then it was due to take place on 23 May 2021 as the 9th round of the 2021 Formula E season. But due to the ongoing situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, the race's first running would be on the 2022 Formula E season. On 19 June 2021, Seoul city government announced that the race's first running would be set to form part of the Seoul Fest celebrations on the days of 13–14 August 2022.
The Seoul ePrix was set to return for the 2022-23 Formula E season on 20 and 21 May 2023, but renovation works to the Jamsil Stadium meant that the event would not be able to take place, and it was replaced by the Cape Town ePrix. The track was later left off the calendar for the 2023–24 Formula E season.
Circuit On 23 July 2018, a feasibility study on candidate areas including Gwanghwamun in Seoul was completed. As a result of the survey, the popular tourist area around Gwanghwamun Square and City Hall Square was selected as a candidate region.
Then, the proposed layout was revealed in July 2019, which was located around the Seoul Olympic Stadium and some part of the track was inside of this stadium.
Before the 2022 race, the circuit layout was still located within the Jamsil Sports Complex, however the layout was revised and shortened from .
Background After fourteen races in nine cities, the 2021-22 Formula E World Championship arrived in Seoul, South Korea, for its season finale. The Jamsil Sports Complex would play host to the Seoul Street Circuit, which was to stage the 99th and 100th FE races, a significant milestone in FE's history. The races were also the last of the Generation 2 era for FE, with the Spark SRT05e to be retired at the end of the race weekend having served as the series' base chassis since the 2018-19 season.Kalinauckas, Alex. Fast-charging idea could bring back Formula E pitstops. Motorsport Network. October 31, 2019. Accessed June 18, 2020.
Driver changes Sam Bird missed the season finale, after he was found to have broken his hand at the 2022 London ePrix, an injury he would carry throughout that race.Boxall-Legge, Jake. Bird drove in London Formula E race with broken hand. Motorsport Network July 31, 2022. Accessed August 1, 2022. Bird's streak of winning at least one race in every season was ended. Jaguar's reserve driver Norman Nato would sub for the British driver. It was Nato's first appearance since the 2021 Berlin ePrix.Nato to step in for injured Bird at Jaguar in Seoul. fiaformulae.com. FIA Formula E. April 5, 2022. Accessed May 8, 2022.
Sacha Fenestraz, having been a reserve driver for Jaguar in 2021, replaced Antonio Giovinazzi and made his Formula E debut for the second round after Giovinazzi suffered a hand injury during the first event.
Championship standing before the race 58 points were available for the Drivers' Championship in the final two rounds. Stoffel Vandoorne led the championship with 36 points over Mitch Evans, 41 points over Edoardo Mortara and 57 points over Jean-Éric Vergne.
In the Teams' Championship, 94 points were still available. Mercedes held a 36-point lead over ROKiT Venturi, a 47-point lead over DS Techeetah and a 91-point lead over Jaguar Racing.
Race 1
Qualifying
Oliver Rowland took the pole position in the wet condition, defeating Lucas di Grassi in the final by 0.623s.Rowland seals pole in rain-soaked qualifying for Seoul E-Prix Round 15. fiaformulae.com. FIA Formula E. August 13, 2022. Accessed August 13, 2022.
Group drawGroup A VAN MOR DAC FRI DEN LOT BUE ASK TUR SET GIOGroup B EVA JEV DIG DEV WEH CAS SIM ROW GUE TIC NAT
Qualifying duelsOverall Classification
Driver Team 1 30 Oliver Rowland Mahindra 1:30:345 1:32:590 1:34:880 1:35:406 1 2 11 Lucas di Grassi Venturi-Mercedes 1:30:726 1:31:735 1:35:692 1:36:029 2 3 9 Mitch Evans Jaguar 1:30:755 1:31:293 1:35:884 3 4 94 Pascal Wehrlein Porsche 1:30:321 1:35:117 1:36:517 4 5 27 Jake Dennis Andretti-BMW 1:22:441 1:32:424 5 6 48 Edoardo Mortara Venturi-Mercedes 1:22:397 1:32:442 6 7 5 Stoffel Vandoorne Mercedes 1:22:542 1:35:401 7 8 7 Sérgio Sette Câmara Dragon-Penske 1:22:477 8 9 25 Jean-Éric Vergne Techeetah-DS 1:30.811 9 10 23 Sébastien Buemi e.dams-Nissan 1:22:732 10 11 10 Norman Nato Jaguar 1:30:943 11 12 13 António Félix da Costa Techeetah-DS 1:22:793 12 13 33 Dan Ticktum NIO 1:31:577 13 14 99 Antonio Giovinazzi Dragon-Penske 1:22:837 14 15 17 Nyck de Vries Mercedes 1:31:704 15 16 4 Robin Frijns Envision-Audi 1:23:057 16 17 22 Maximilian Günther e.dams-Nissan 1:31:840 17 18 3 Oliver Turvey NIO 1:23:214 18 19 37 Nick Cassidy Envision-Audi 1:32:387 19 20 36 André Lotterer Porsche 1:23:331 20 21 29 Alexander Sims Mahindra 1:33:592 21 22 28 Oliver Askew Andretti-BMW 1:50:546 22Source:
Race
Report The circuit was very damp at the start of the race. Di Grassi and Evans passed pole sitter Rowland in the first corner. Evans then overtook di Grassi to claim the lead, before di Grassi dropped behind Rowland.Evans cuts Vandoorne's points lead with Round 15 win in Seoul. fiaformulae.com. FIA Formula E. August 13, 2022. Accessed August 13, 2022.
Eight cars ended up in the barriers at turns 20 and 21 at the end of the opening lap which caused a red flag, due to the damp conditions and the changing surfaces. Norman Nato and Nick Cassidy both rejoined the race and had the race cars repaired. The accident had been cleared after 45 minutes.
Edoardo Mortara weaved around in the braking zone in front of Jean-Éric Vergne, causing a collision between the two. The incident allowed Vergne and Vandoorne to pass Mortara before Mortara had a 5-second penalty added for the overly aggressive defending. Mortara would make more aggressive defensive manoeuvres trying to hold off Wehrlein, before his race came to an end with a right-rear puncture.
With five minutes to go, Alexander Sims put himself into the barriers in the Stadium and was out of the race. The safety car made its second appearance of the day to lead the field past the chequered flag. Evans claimed the victory to keep his title hopes alive. Rowland and di Grassi finished on the podium. Dennis claimed the bonus point for fastest lap in fourth. Vandoorne finished in fifth to maintain a 21-point lead over Evans in the Championship heading into the final race. Vergne, Wehrlein, Robin Frijns, António Félix da Costa and Cassidy secured the remaining points. Evans would become the only championship contender to Vandoorne after the race.
Result Driver Team Time/Retired Points1 20 Mitch EvansJaguar 30 1:29:55.478 3 252 30 Oliver Rowland Mahindra 30 +0.820118+33 11 Lucas di Grassi Venturi-Mercedes 30 +1.393 2 154 27 Jake DennisAndretti-BMW 30 +1.902 5 12+15 5 Stoffel Vandoorne Mercedes 30 +2.470 7 106 25 Jean-Éric VergneDS Techeetah 30 +3.957 9 87 94 Pascal Wehrlein Porsche 30 +4.149 4 68 4 Robin FrijnsEnvision-Audi 30 +4.508 16 49 13 António Félix da CostaDS Techeetah 30 +4.970 12 210 37 Nick CassidyEnvision-Audi 30 +5.325 19 111 22 Maximilian Günthere.dams-Nissan 30 +5.610 1712 7 Sérgio Sette Câmara Dragon-Penske 30 +6.121 813 10 Norman NatoJaguar 30 +57.545 11 Ret 29 Alexander Sims Mahindra 26 Accident 21 Ret 99 Antonio Giovinazzi Dragon-Penske 24 Retired 14 Ret 48 Edoardo Mortara Venturi-Mercedes 20 Puncture 6 Ret 33 Dan Ticktum NIO 0 Accident 13 Ret 3 Oliver Turvey NIO 0 Accident 18 Ret 28 Oliver AskewAndretti-BMW 0 Accident 22 Ret 17 Nyck de Vries Mercedes 0 Accident 15 Ret 23 Sébastien Buemie.dams-Nissan 0 Accident 10Ret 36 André Lotterer Porsche 0 Accident 20 Source: Notes: – Pole position. – Fastest lap.
Standings after the race Stoffel Vandoorne had failed to secure the Championship in the first Seoul E-Prix. Mitch Evans had to win the final race with Vandoorne retiring to take the title. A sixth-place finish would be enough for Vandoorne to claim the title, regardless of where Evans would finish. Evans could also win the Championship with Vandoorne failing to score and him finishing in second with pole position.
Mercedes' still held a 31-point lead over ROKiT Venturi Racing, their closest challenger and the only other team that could take the title mathematically. Venturi would require a double podium to win the Team' Championship. DS Techeetah could theoretically tie with Mercedes on 301 points with a maximum score on the final day, but Mercedes would still take the title, as they would hold three victories to DS Techeetah's two victories in theory.
Drivers' Championship standings PosDriverPoints 1 Stoffel Vandoorne 195 2 Mitch Evans 174 3 Edoardo Mortara 144 4 Jean-Éric Vergne 136 1 5 Lucas di Grassi 126
Teams' Championship standings Pos Team Points 1 Mercedes 301 2 ROKiT Venturi-Mercedes 270 3 DS Techeetah 254 4 Jaguar 225 5 Envision-Audi 177
Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
Race 2
Qualifying