Formula E

Ex-F1 driver missed out on chance to replace Lewis Hamilton when he was stricken by coronavirus but insists he has put that chapter behind him to focus on his own championship hopes. Stoffel Vandoorne wants to ease the pain of missing out on Lewis Hamilton’s seat in Bahrain by leading Mercedes to its maiden Formula E world championship. The Belgian was expected to replace either Formula One driver in the event of positive Covid-19 test this season in his role as Mercedes reserve driver, and upon news of Hamilton’s inability to take part in the Sakhir Grand Prix two weeks’ ago, Vandoorne was on the first flight out of Valencia as he left Formula E testing to travel to Bahrain. However, as fate would have it, the news came early enough in the week for Mercedes to call up development driver George Russell from Williams, allowing the Briton to qualify on the front row and come within a team pit-stop blunder of claiming his maiden Grand Prix victory. Vandoorne, who has not participated in an F1 race since McLaren replaced him in 2018, was forced to watch on agonisingly from the Mercedes garage. It would be understandable if it left Vandoorne with a point to prove, not so much a score to settle but the chance to show his team that he was more than ready to step up and deliver exactly what Hamilton’s stand-in did. But the likeable 28-year-old bears no grudge against either Mercedes or Russell, and through the inevitable frustration he can at least understand the decision. “It doesn’t necessarily feel like that,” Vandoorne tells The Independent. “I feel the situation was a bit different here because of what happened and the whole reserve driver role situation, shall we say, which obviously was a bit frustrating because I’ve invested so much time in travelling around, doing all the simulator work with Mercedes. “I was never really thinking about getting the opportunity to race or something, but when Lewis tested positive then it was normal to think there might be a chance to jump in. It was a bit frustrating at the time because I put in so much effort and so much time travelling around, to then not get the drive is just a bit frustrating.

The FIA has revealed the full and final entry list for the 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, with little over a month to go until Season 7 gets underway with a double-header in Chile, January 16-17. The grid at the Santiago season-opener will comprise the same 24 world-class drivers and 12 top-tier teams that took to the race track at Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo for the official pre-season test earlier this month. There, the field was separated by just over half-a-second, suggesting we’re in for the most closely-contested Formula E campaign to-date – in its first season as an FIA World Championship. DS TECHEETAH once again fields defending champion Antonio Felix da Costa and two-time title-winner Jean-Eric Vergne, with Nissan e.dams similarly maintaining an unchanged line-up of 2015/16 champion Sebastien Buemi and teammate Oliver Rowland. It is much the same story at Mercedes-Benz EQ, where Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries return for a second consecutive campaign, while newcomer Nick Cassidy joins Robin Frijns at Envision Virgin Racing. Rookie Jake Dennis joins Maximilian Guenther at BMW i Andretti Motorsport, with 2016/17 champion Lucas Di Grassi again partnered by Rene Rast at Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler. Sam Bird and Mitch Evans will team up at Jaguar Racing, as Pascal Wehrlein rejoins the championship with Porsche, alongside countryman Andre Lotterer. Mahindra Racing has an all-British line-up for 2020/21, with Alexander Sims partnering Alex Lynn, while Edoardo Mortara and new addition Norman Nato represent ROKiT Venturi Racing. DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT will run Nico Mueller and Sergio Sette Camara, as Oliver Turvey and Tom Blomqvist form another all-British partnership at NIO 333. The 2020/21 campaign – Formula E’s first as an FIA World Championship – will get underway on 16-17 January, with a double-header curtain-raiser in Chile for the Santiago E-Prix.

BMW has become the second manufacturer to announce it will leave Formula E at the end of the 2020-21 season, following Audi’s confirmation earlier this week. The German outfit made the announcement one day after completing pre-season testing ahead of the new season, where Maximilian Guenther topped the test for BMW Andretti on the final day in Valencia. In a brief statement, BMW confirmed it will withdraw from the series at the end of the upcoming season having “essentially exhausted the opportunities” to develop its technologies within Formula E. “Our journey in Formula E is hitting the home stretch. After seven successful years, BMW Group will end its involvement in the series at the end of the coming season,” a team statement read. “As a partner from the word go, BMW has been instrumental in the success story of Formula E. However, when it comes to the development of e-drivetrains, BMW Group has essentially exhausted the opportunities for this form of technology transfer in the competitive environment of Formula E. “As the strategic focus of BMW Group is shifting within the field of e-mobility, we will now concentrate on a model offensive and series production in large quantities with the fifth generation BMW E-drives.” BMW has underlined its plan to provide a full factory effort for the entire 2020-2021 Formula E campaign before devoting resources to any new projects. “Even though we are leaving, our sporting ambitions remain unbroken. In Season 7, the BMW I Andretti Motorsport Team will give its all to achieve as much sporting success as possible with the BMW iFE.21 and drivers Maximilian Guenther and Jake Dennis.” BMW’s withdrawal comes two days after Audi also confirmed it will leave Formula E at the end of the season, as it prepares to switch focus with a new LMDh programme in addition to a 2022 Dakar Rally assault, while Volkswagen has announced it will withdraw all of its factory motorsport programmes as part of a “realignment” within the company. BMW has also recently pulled out as a manufacturer effort in the DTM following the end of the Class 1 regulations at the end of the 2020 season.

Alex Lynn shot to the top of the times for Mahindra Racing on the second day of Formula E pre-season testing in an afternoon session that featured a simulated race. The Briton posted his fastest lap after the chequered flag had been waved for the three-hour run at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia to set the best time of the day. His 1m11.941sec effort eclipsed the FE circuit record set in the morning session by reigning champion Antonio Felix da Costa by just 0.007s. Lynn’s late advances pushed BMW Andretti driver Maximilian Guenther down to second place, with the German sitting 0.208s off the pace but pipping new team-mate Jake Dennis. Behind Dennis, the Jaguar Racing attack was led by Sam Bird in fourth ahead of Edoardo Mortara’s lead Venturi and the Dragon/Penske Autosport machine of Sergio Sette Camara – who deployed the 35kW attack mode a session-highest five times. Oliver Rowland headed the Nissan e.dams line-up for seventh place as the second Dragon of Nico Muller ran to eighth. Muller was the classified winner of a full-length but largely unstructured simulation race. After a morning vote, teams could opt out of completing the entire 45-minute plus one lap distance, with Rowland and team-mate Buemi having led for the early laps before pitting. The Nissans’ initial advantage came courtesy of being the first cars to line up in the pitlane in a session that featured a full-course yellow, penalty pitstop and safety car practices. The run-off area on the outside of the Turn 2 left-hander was used as the attack mode activation zone. Andre Lotterer, who topped the first day of testing and finished the practice race in third behind da Costa, ended the day in ninth ahead of Venturi rookie driver Norman Nato. Stoffel Vandoorne was the best-performing Mercedes in 11th, while the two NIO 333 cars of returning driver Tom Blomqvist and Oliver Turvey ran to 12th and 13th. Six drivers were cautioned for track limits offences under the new restrictions brought in for 2020 at Turns 1, 6 and 10, but it was the first session of four so far not to feature a red flag.

Reigning Formula E teams’ champion DS Techeetah will carry over its existing car into the upcoming 2020-21 season before introducing a new powertrain package in April. DS Techeetah, which has won both teams’ and drivers’ titles since the Gen2 FE car was brought in, revealed a revised livery during its online launch on Wednesday. It also confirmed it would continue with the DS E-Tense FE20 machine that won four races last season in line with new championship cost-saving regulations voted in as a result of the global health crisis. Teams now have three options: they can opt to continue with their 2019-20 powertrain, bring an all-new set-up to be retained for two years, or carry over their existing powertrain for the start of campaign before switching to a new package in April. DS Techeetah, which keeps hold of double FE title-winner Jean-Eric Vergne and reigning champion Antonio Felix da Costa as drivers, has decided on the latter. It will continue with the DS E-Tense FE20 for the opening rounds in Santiago and the double-header night races in Diriyah before swapping to its successor, which has been developed in tandem, for the Rome E-Prix on April 10. DS performance director Xavier Mestelan Pinon said: “Regarding this opportunity [with homologation cycles] we took the decision to develop two cars. “For the first two events, we will use the season six homologation but with brand new software. The software is very important in Formula E, it’s the key to performance. “After that, for the Rome E-Prix we will introduce the new homologation. It’s a brand-new powertrain with some ambitious technology. It’s very exciting as both drivers have already tested the [new] car and it seems to be very fast.” Mercedes has switched to an all-new powertrain, as has the NIO 333 team and Mahindra – with technical partner ZF developing the package. Da Costa added: “There are obviously ups and downs [to continuing with the current car]. We know exactly what we have going racing so I think we can really hit the ground running. We improved it, we’ve kept on moving forward with it. “The new car is just around the corner. That’s another step forward. I’m sure we’ll still be competitive, although I’m sure everyone else has taken a step forward.”

Mahindra has completed its driver line-up for the 2020/21 Formula E season after signing Alex Lynn alongside the previously-confirmed Alexander Sims.The announcement was made during an online presentation on Wednesday, in which Mahindra also unveiled its M7 Electro challenger for the seventh season of the all-electric championship. Ex-DS Virgin driver Lynn joined Mahindra for the final six races of the 2019/20 season in Berlin after the Indian team parted ways with Porsche-bound Pascal Wehrlein. The British driver logged three points finishes during that period, including a best result of fifth, to end the campaign just three points behind the outfit’s full season driver Jerome d’Ambrosio in the standings. It has now been confirmed that Lynn will remain with Mahindra for what will be only his second full-season in Formula E after his 2017/18 campaign with Virgin, although he has since competed in more than a dozen races at Jaguar and Mahindra. “I’m incredibly excited to be back for Season 7 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship and to be a part of Mahindra Racing,” said Lynn. “I’ve had the opportunity of driving the M7Electro on numerous test days and we’re all pretty proud of what we’ve come up with. We won’t know our competitiveness fully until the lights go out in Santiago, but we are here to consistently fight for wins and podiums; that’s what the team go racing for and so do I. “From that side I’m extremely excited and focused to be delivering the results that this hard-working team deserves.” Lynn will be joined in the team by former factory BMW driver Sims, who scored his maiden FE victory in the Saudi Arabia double header at the start of the 2019/20 season. Sims has replaced d’Ambrosio in Mahindra’s line-up, with the Belgian driver retiring from racing and taking up the role of deputy team principal at rival FE squad Venturi. In 2019/20, Mahindra endured its first podium-less campaign since the inaugural season of Formula E after being plagued by reliability issues following a change of gearbox supplier. It finished the season ninth among 12 teams, a drop of three places from its finishing position in 2018/19. “This is an incredibly exciting time for Mahindra Racing,” said team principal Dilbagh Gill. “We are heading into the championship’s (and the team’s!) seventh year in Formula E, and the first year ever as a World Championship series. “Formula E has gone from strength to strength over this time and we are extremely proud to have been part of that journey from the very beginning. “The team has been working incredibly hard to develop the M7Electro challenger and, with a strong driver pairing of Alexander Sims and Alex Lynn, I am confident that we will be back to securing podiums this season.”

Formula E will hold its first ever night races in Saudi Arabia for the 2021 Season. They will be using lighting systems powered by renewable energy. The third and fourth races of the 14-round 2020/21 calendar will take place on February 26-27 in Diriyah, and both will run in low-light conditions. A low-consumption LED set-up that reportedly requires 50 percent less energy than a conventional system will be used to illuminate the track. The remaining floodlights will then be fuelled by “high-performing low-carbon vegetable oil made from sustainable materials”. For the championship’s third visit to Saudi Arabia, the race start time will be pushed back from 1500 local time (1200 GMT) by five hours to 2000 (1700 GMT). FE co-founder and chief championship officer Alberto Longo said: “We are very proud to partner with Saudi to create Formula E’s first-ever night race. I am confident the race will be spectacular and lead to a style of competitive action we haven’t seen before. “As with everything we do, our first thought was about how to bring our sporting vision to life in a sustainable way. Before we innovate our racing product, we must be confident we can maintain the standards of sustainable practice we hold ourselves accountable to.” The inaugural Saudi E-Prix was the country’s first major international sporting event, with the 2019-20 races the first FE double-header to be held in the Middle East. Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki AlFaisal Al Saud, the Saudi Arabia minister of sport added: “In 2018, the ancient historical city of Diriyah made history in hosting the first fully electric race on the streets of the region. “The debut event sparked so much joy and energy to our sporting journey and was one of a number of major sporting firsts that have since inspired our people and helped to shine a spotlight on Saudi Arabia’s massive transformation under the Kingdom’s vision 2030. “In 2019, Diryah was the first to host back to back races during a race weekend and now once again we will make sporting history. “It is very fitting that a place so ancient will showcase the latest in sustainable technology as Diriyah lights up to shine bright for the world to see. We look forward to the dramatic racing and incredible scenes that are guaranteed to unfold under the lights.” Formula 1 will visit Saudi Arabia for the first time next year for a street race in Jeddah, which will also take place at night.

Ex-Formula 1 driver Jerome d’Ambrosio has joined the Venturi Racing Formula E team as its deputy team principal in addition to announcing his formal retirement from professional driving. The 34-year-old Belgian contested the 2019-20 FE season for Mahindra Racing and finished 16th in the standings, having failed to start the second Saudi Arabia E-Prix – the only race he has missed in the championship’s six-year history. But for the 2020/21 campaign, Mahindra has signed Alexander Sims from BMW Andretti. Although Mahindra has not confirmed it second driver, it is expected to retain Alex Lynn – who replaced Porsche-bound Pascal Wehrlein for the six-race Berlin season finale – with the Briton still active in the team’s simulator alongside outgoing Haas F1 racer Romain Grosjean. D’Ambrosio, a three-time FE race winner, has now confirmed his professional driving retirement and has signed as deputy team principal for the Monaco-based Venturi concern. The former Marussia and Lotus F1 driver said: “My experience as a driver over the past 26 years has undeniably shaped me as a person and, when I decided after Berlin to hang up my helmet, I knew I wanted to stay involved in motorsport in some capacity. “I’m still a very competitive person. That hunger to win doesn’t leave you when you decide to step out of the car, and I want to put that passion to good use.” D’Ambrosio will report to team principal Susie Wolff, with the Mercedes powertrain customer team having promoted its reserve driver Norman Nato to partner Edoardo Mortara next season. Rebellion LMP1 racer Nato in turn replaces 11-time grand prix winner Felipe Massa – with the Brazilian’s exit revealed only moments after the chequered flag of the final Berlin race. D’Ambrosio continued: “When Susie and I started talking about potentially taking my first step into a management role, I knew in my gut that the opportunity was perfect for me. “It’s time for a new challenge and I have a lot to learn, but I know that I’ll be learning from one of the best and I can’t wait to see what lies ahead. Wolff added: “When I took on the role of team principal in July 2018, one of my main areas of focus was to ensure that we have the right people in the right roles. Understandably, as we evolve as a team, our needs change and grow. “Jerome taking on the role of deputy team principal will serve to strengthen the team – he will play a pivotal role with our drivers and engineering team and act as my right hand in Monaco. “I know what it’s like to hang up your helmet and I also know how important the next move is at any pivotal stage of a person’s career. “Like Jerome, I’m someone who follows their gut instincts and I think that we’ll make a fantastic team moving forward.”

Double DTM champion Rene Rast has been signed full time by the Audi Formula E team to contest the 2020/21 season alongside Lucas di Grassi. Rast, part of the Audi driver programme since 2009, was called up to replace Daniel Abt at the team after the two-time E-Prix victor was sacked for having a sim racer take his place in an Esports competition. As a result of the disruption to the FE calendar caused by the global health crisis, Rast was able to take the seat when the stand-in six-race season finale in Berlin did not clash with his German touring car commitments. In the last of three double-header events at the Tempelhof Airport venue, Rast scored a maiden podium and then followed it up with a fourth-place finish in the final race of the season. Rast, 34, said: “The races in Berlin have definitely whetted my appetite for more, so I’m now looking forward to my first full season in Formula E. “Starting in this world championship for Audi is the next exciting chapter in my career and I am really looking forward to it.” The announcement gives Rast a core motorsport programme for the 2021 season, with the Team Rosberg driver set to exit the DTM at the end of the current campaign on the back of Audi quitting the championship. However, following four straight wins in the most recent two rounds at the Zolder circuit in Belgium, Rast is on course for a hat-trick of DTM titles having surpassed Nico Muller at the top of the standings by 19 points with only a brace of races at Hockenheim remaining. Audi head of motorsport Dieter Gass said: “With his impressive performances in Berlin, Rene proved that he feels comfortable in Formula E and at the same time is also fast and successful. “He has absolutely earned his place in our Formula E team.” Ten-time FE race winner di Grassi, also the 2016-17 champion, will remain at the team for a seventh straight season and will maintain his record of starting every race in the championship’s history. “For me, it was extremely important to have two drivers who push each other to peak performance,” added Gass. “With Lucas and Rene, we have succeeded in doing this brilliantly. “Lucas is the most successful driver in the field and extremely hungry to win his second title. Rene has already left an impressive mark in Berlin. “We are enjoying his determination year after year in the DTM. “I am already looking forward to experiencing it in Formula E.”

Nissan e.dams will be retaining the services of Sebastian Buemi and Oliver Rowland for the seventh Formula E 2021 Season, that will be the the first FE season to be conducted as FIA World Championship in 2021. Sebastian Buemi has been driving for Nissan e.dams since its debut in the 2014 Formula E Season while Rowland joined the team in the 2019 Season 5 of the Formula E Championship as he came in as a late replacement for current Redbull Formula 1 driver, Alexander Albon who at the time joined Toro Rosso, the junior Redbull F1 team. In the two seasons the Nissan e.dams drivers have been in the team, they have secured six pole positions, 11 podium finishes and two race victories as they also secured the runners up spot in the 2020 season 6 teams championship. “Seb and Oli have done a great job for us,” said Nissan Global Motorsports Director, Tommaso Volpe. “We welcome the stability and consistency that retaining them brings to the team. “We look forward to building on our previous successes. However, winning is not our only goal in Formula E. “With each race we learn more about every aspect of our high performance EVs, which then informs our road car development. Through racing, we are continuously advancing our EV expertise.” With the announcement of Buemi and Rowland, Nissan e.dams confirmed the retention of Mitsunori Takaboshi who will remain as the team’s Reserve Driver while Jann Mardenborough will remain in his simulator role. Pre-season testing for Formula E’s seventh campaign will take place on November 27-December 1 at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia ahead of the first race of the season in Santiago, Chile, on January 16, 2021.

Shortened qualifying group sessions headline further cost-saving measures that will be introduced for the 2020-21 Formula E season following a meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council on Friday. After the 19 June session of the WMSC, a 25% cut in tyre allocation and a limitation for on-site team personnel attending each race meeting was announced in an effort to reduce the championship’s environmental impact. Now, as a result of the 9 October gathering hosted by FIA president Jean Todt, for next season the group qualifying sessions will be shortened from six to four minutes in length. The other key alterations impact the amount of data each of the 12 teams can accrue with a restriction on sensors and vehicle control units imposed. The FIA bulletin read: “As Formula E prepares to switch status and become a world championship starting next season (2020-21), the FIA World Motor Sport Council has approved the next series of cost-consolidation measures. Following measures already adopted by the WMSC on June 19, 2020, production parts – not mandatory related to a single supplier – and spare parts have been limited. “In addition, data acquisition has been restricted to a certain number of sensors. It has also been decided that each entry will now use no more than one VCU (Vehicle Control Unit) software update per competition. It has also been decided to reduce the amount of track time for each qualifying group from six to four minutes.” Due to the fallout from the current global health crisis, FE has also amended its powertrain homologation regulations. Next season, teams can opt to either carry over their 2019-20 set-up or introduce a new package which they must then retain for two seasons. The introduction of the facelifted Gen2 Evo standardised aerokit has also been pushed back a season, but could be scrapped altogether with the more powerful Gen3 body kit set to come in the following season

Mahindra has taken a move to ‘snatch’ former Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains team leade Josef Holden as the team continues to prepare and restructure for the 2021 Formula E season. Holden has already taken and started to work his new role as the performanc edirector at Mahindra as he will be incharge of trackside performance for the UK based, Indian team. The team has been in the process of making an in-house team so as to reduce outsourcing engineering and operational purposes. The team debuted in 2014 in association with Carlin Motorsport but later switched to QEV Technologies which is spanish based for 4 years up to 2019. Though Mahindra parted ways with the company in 2019, they still use QEV affiliated staff for consultancy services including Tony Cuquerella who is currently liasing with Josef Holden. Holden’s has extensive experience in motorsport apart from the former Mercedes role that also includes having key engineering roles in Formula Renault 3.5 and a spell with the Marussia F1 team. Mahindra team principal Dilbagh Gill described Holden as having an experience that will prove invaluable as the team looked forward to building on the many positives of last season and taking the team back to where it belongs- the front of the grid.” Josef Holden in a statement said, “The next chapter for me is to continue this pursuit with Mahindra Racing, technology is forever marching forward and I strongly believe that Formula E leads the charge for the future of pioneering, high-performance motorsport.” Mahindra finished 9th in the 2019/2020 Formula E season as they experienced gearbox issues that led to the team changing back to the 2018/2019 powetrain for the final 8 races of the season. Alex Lynn will expect to be confirmed by the team in the 2020/2021 drivers’ lineup as ex-BMW Alexander Sims signed to drive alongside him for 2020/2021 season. Lynn was brought in for the Berlin races after Pascal Wehrlein split with Mahindra ahead of his move to Porsche, while Sims will be replacement for long-time driver Jerome D’Ambrosio.

FIA has extended the deadline for the manufacturer to put in action the set of generation 3 rules for the 2022/2023 Formula E season. The manufacturers are now required to make the decisions at a board level by July 2021 opposed to earlier mentioned January 2021 deadline. The change in time comes as a result of several meetings held by Formula E stakeholders during the lockdown period this year due to the covid-19 pandemic. The extension of time will mean the stakeholders will be able to manage themselves after months of lower sales and dwindling finances. Frederic Bertrand who is the FIA Formula E Innovative Motor Sports Projects department director said the discussions between the Formula E stakeholders led to the consensus of time extension. He continued to add that the motivation behind the extension of the timeframe is to ensure that the manufacturers recover from the pandemic and come to a situation where the visibility of the business and confidence in thre tomorrow will be better. “So we, first of all delayed the commitment period so that we can commit later in 21. No commitment is expected by the end of this year it will be more than the first part of 2021 where we start to commit from the beginning of 2021, but we will accept up to June 2021.” It is also believed that the manufacturers will be expected to issue a purchase order before the end of 2021 besides budgeting for the development of their own cars, this comes as manufacturer Gen3 cars delivery is still fixed for January 2022 with race car deliveries still set for May 2022. “Nobody has to put any money on the table before early 2022, and we understand that it still means that the manufacturer will have to go through validation process, presentation process through the boards and development process of their own cars but no cash is expected by the suppliers before 2022,” said Frederic Bertrand. The status of the Formula E’s future is considered to be very strong as the sustainability relevance of formula E and substantial budget overlay has actually paid off. Additional manufacturers are also eyeing programmes for 2022 and 2023. “We got strong support on all the current ones (manufacturers), and also good signals from potential newcomers thinking that the job done here was something interesting for them,” said Frederic.

Porsche Tag Heuer’s new signing Pascal Wehrlein has completed his first test for the Porsche Formula E team since replacing Neel Jani for the 2020/2021 Formula E season. The ex-Formula 1 driver sized up the track in a first test outing with the team last week as data was gathered for the development of season 7 powertrain. 688 Kilometres(430 miles) were covered in Germany alongside his teammate Andre Lotterer in the Porsche 99x electric car. The test lasted for two days. “The team has given me a warm welcome,” said Pascal. “I felt right at home from the word go, It was nice to be back in a Formula E car after almost six months away and it is a fantastic feeling to experience the acceleration and forces again.” “Generally speaking, I have a very good feeling in the Porsche 99X Electric. I must now continue to get used to everything.” Andre Lotterer secured a podium for the Porsche team during the maiden Diriyah grand prix and another at Tempelhof airport making the team rank eighth in the drivers’ running and teams’ championship. “The break after the races in Berlin was a short one,” Andre said. “It was an extremely productive test and at the same time, it was interesting to see what experience Pascal has brought with him from his time in Formula E. The cooperation with him has been good and the development for Season 7 gives me great optimism.” Amiel Lindsay, the head of Formula E operations for porsche said it was a very successful first test which was so soon after the end of their first Formula E season adding that the powertrain for the coming year was tested. “Wehrlein is coming in from a different team and brings his experience with him. His feedback was very positive and we are looking forward to working with him.”