Season three is rapidly coming to an end, and thoughts are quickly turning to season four which kicks off in Hong Kong in five months.

However, with the main regulations changes coming for season five, teams are putting in more focus towards their season five car than the car that will take to the track just before Christmas.

DS Performance Director Xavier Mestelan Pinon explains to us why Ds Virgin Racing is putting more emphasises into their season five car than their season four car.

However, the team have spent time preparing for season four with some test sessions throughout the season to help them improve their efficiency problems that occurred in season three.

Season Four Tests

“First of all, from Mexico, we have had three tests before we went to the Monaco ePrix with the season three car and we have done a few more now as well,” explained Pinon.

“We have been looking at the software side of things to help develop this season’s car but also on how we can improve that for season four.”

“The season four car will be an evolution rather than a revolution. I think we as a team can gain a lot of software upgrades to improve the speed and efficiency of the car,” added Pinon.

Preparing for Season Five

“We haven’t been focusing on the season four car as much as teams would normally for a new season. This is due to the big changes coming in for season five. Season five will be a big challenge and is requiring a lot of energy and time for us as engineers to get to it right.”

“We are looking at ways to manage the weight of the car for season five. As the battery will be big to allow the car to go a full race distance without the need of swapping during the race.

“So we need to find ways to decrease the weight of the car dramatically so that the car is still light when the new battery will be fitted in season five.

“We will also have some new developments around the brakes for season five. We will be able to play with the brake-by-wire,” explained Pinon.

Testing the season five car

“In January 2018 we will plan to test our season five car for the first time. So we don’t have a lot of time to prepare everything. We are working flat out to make sure we are ready for January.

“We have been looking at developing the season five car for close to a year now. We have run some simulations to try and understand how the car may behave or how it will run.

“We are looking at ways to have the fastest car, that conserve’s it energy extremely well. So we are looking at parts like the gearbox. What system will work well to be fast and efficient? The same thing is happening with the inverter and the motor as well.

“In terms of our season three car, I already think we have a good baseline between our race lap times and our energy consumption. Now we have to build on that to be ready for season five,” Pinon explained.

Working with Spark

Every team will be working together with Spark Technologies to build their season five powertrain. Spark will be developing the chassis for season five. Their design will have a great impact on how the teams design their powertrains.

“Our relationship with Spark is very close,” said Pinon. “The design of the chassis is set to change for season five. The manufacturer will be in charge of all of the powertrain and other technology like the brake by wire.

“However, for us, the design of chassis is important so we know what size components we need to build and how the big the powertrain has to be to fit into the car.”

Customer teams

The thought of supplying another Formula E team with the Ds powertrain had not entered the mind of Pinion until we asked him. The Frenchmen was happy to supply the powertrain to another team but explained that this was not a priority.

“If a customer team wanted to buy our powertrain for season five we would listen, but it is not our target. Our target is to get it right with the Virgin team and make this car as fast as possible. If a customer wants to work with us though we would be happy to supply our powertrain to another team,” explained Pinon.

Season five is set to completely shake up how we view Formula E and possibly racing in general when the cars take to the track for the first time at the end of 2018.