Calado: Single-seater absence makes “no difference” in FE
ByMotorsport.com
Published 15/10/2019 at 12:00 GMT
New Jaguar signing James Calado insists that his lengthy absence from any form of single-seater racing will have no bearing on his prospects for his first season of Formula E.Calado was revealed as Jaguar's second driver for the 2019/20 campaign at the start of this month, replacing Alex Lynn alongside Mitch Evans. It will mark his first foray into open-wheel cars since the conclusion of the 2013
Calado: Single-seater absence makes “no difference” in FE
Image credit: Motorsport.com
New Jaguar signing James Calado insists that his lengthy absence from any form of single-seater racing will have no bearing on his prospects for his first season of Formula E.
Calado was revealed as Jaguar's second driver for the 2019/20 campaign at the start of this month, replacing Alex Lynn alongside Mitch Evans.
It will mark his first foray into open-wheel cars since the conclusion of the 2013 GP2 season, after which he made the switch to sportscar racing with Ferrari's factory GTE Pro effort in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
But Calado believes the Formula E car - which he tested on several occasions prior to finalising his Jaguar deal - is so different to anything else that his time away from single-seaters representing Ferrari should be no real disadvantage.
"The team have seen some speed in me, especially my qualifying pace," the 30-year-old told Motorsport.com prior to this week's Valencia test.
"It’s now about me trying to learn energy management better and trying to learn the tracks as quick as I can. Those will be the hardest things.
"I think Mitch is a good reference. He’s amazing on the energy side of things, he’s got the experience. All I can do is absorb as much as I can.
"On one-lap pace I think we are similar, but it does matter being efficient in the race. So I’m working hard to understand things as quickly as I can, putting in loads of effort to make sure the disadvantage isn’t too much in the first few races.
"People say I’ve had six years out [of single-seaters] but it makes no difference; it’s like learning to ride a bike. After two laps I was on the pace. It is a single-seater, but in terms of handling and power, it’s more similar to GTs.
"I see the team being competitive this year, and I think we can fight for good results."
Calado said he expects to continue in both WEC and Formula E in seasons to come, provided he acclimatises to the latter series as well as he hopes to.
"I think Ferrari are happy about what I’m doing, winning championships, Le Mans, always fighting at the front," he said. "I can’t see any changes there.
"Now it’s down to me to perform at Jaguar; I trust that the car is good enough to win already so it really is a matter of my performance.
"We’ll see what happens, I could be terrible! You never know until we get to the real thing. Not thinking of the future, just on doing a good job now."
Calado also confirmed that in the event of the clash between the WEC's Sebring 1000 Miles round and the Sanya ePrix, his Ferrari deal takes priority.
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