The FIA ​​reveals more details about the Formula E fire in Valencia

The accident occurred on Tuesday afternoon in the garage of battery supplier WAE (formerly Williams Advanced Engineering) at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia.

Pre-season training has been postponed indefinitely while the FIA ​​and WAE conducted a full investigation before the governing body He confirmed that testing could resume Thursday afternoon.

The FIA ​​revealed more details about the accident that occurred when… Robert Schwartzman’s DS Penske plane stopped on the runway During the first session, which lasted three hours on Tuesday morning.

The car’s automatic battery safety system has been activated. Which led to it stopping with the appearance of a red light in accordance with safety protocol before returning it to the pits. The battery was removed and transported to the WAE garage.

The FIA ​​stated that “while manually inspected by the battery’s sole supplier team, An electrical arc and some sparks occurred, leading to a localized fire“.

The fire damaged the WAE and Mahindra garages, forcing the team to… Run only one car for the rest of the test, While one person was taken to hospital as a precaution before being released.

The FIA ​​confirmed that all batteries used by the teams have been inspected and that “None of the batteries suffer from the same type of symptoms as a unit that has failed“.

The FIA ​​statement continues: “Research and results presented by the sole battery supplier to Formula E cars and reviewed by the FIA ​​confirm that the use of battery packs, in accordance with the recommendations and requirements of the sole supplier, Within acceptable safety tolerances for a motorsport environment Therefore, it is acceptable for tracking activity to continue.

“The sole supplier of batteries for Formula E cars has evaluated the available data for all batteries and confirmed that none of the batteries are showing the same type of symptoms as the unit that failed. The batteries will have the same specifications as those used in twenty-two cars and sixteen races last season“.

A four-and-a-half-hour session was held on Thursday afternoon following the investigation, and ten hours of on-track action will take place on Friday at the Valencia circuit.

This morning the race was simulated, led by Robin Frijns, but it has already started New security measures to avoid more problems. Exercises included SJust simulated stops with fast charging Which will be introduced this season, while the drivers Limited to 300 kW of power.

The FIA ​​added: “In addition to normal supervision, to mitigate risks, a number of additional safety measures have been introduced including reducing power to 300 kW and Investigate the immediate impact of any potential problem or similar event“They concluded.