NextEV ready after tough season two

NextEV are hoping that changes made in the off season will stand them in good stead as the third Formula E season gets underway this weekend.

The team won the inaugural championship with Nelson Piquet Jr. but suffered an abysmal 2015/16 season with Oliver Turvey's sixth place in the opening round of the season in Beijing the team's best result.

Since then the team has chosen to persevere with their twin-motor design, but have worked hard to drastically reduce the weight of their car.

"I think it's a massive difference from last year," Turvey told Autosport. "The team structure has changed a lot and the whole approach from the team with the design of this year's car has been completely different. Although it's the same concept it's effectively a new car and a fresh start.

"I believe in what the team has done and they believe the concept can work.

"We can see we've made good step forward, in all aspects the car has improved – the powertrain and chassis stiffness."

Team mate Piquet was just as optimistic, insisting: "I'm sure we're going to have a much better year."

"NextEV has put a lot of resource into making the best team possible, taking the operations in house," said the Brazilian, who has also raced in WEC and Red Bull GRC this year. "We had such a hard second season, so the team has put a huge amount of effort for a long time into making this new car the best possible."