Sérgio Sette Câmara replaced Norman Nato for the Berlin E-Prix, driving around the Tempelhof Airport Circuit for Nissan. The Brazilian spoke to Fastest Formula News ahead of the E-Prix, explaining how he prepared for the challenge of Formula E.
Sette Câmara “feels good to get a shot” at Formula E again
Currently driving in the European Le Mans series and starting at the Crowdstrike 24 hours of Spa, Sette Câmara serves the Nissan team as a Reserve and Simulator Driver. Though he has a past in Formula E already as he drove with various teams until last season. Coming back behind the wheel, Sette Câmara told FFN that it “feels good to get a shot, to do it again.” Being with a team, that had a successful season so far, brings the Brazilian excitement.
“It feels good to get a shot, you know, to do it again. Of course, as a driver you want to be driving, and I wanted to be back in the grid, of course. And to be doing that with such a special team, which is, of course, having a super successful season, is the best chance I could have asked for. So it feels very exciting, actually.”
Trust in the team and advice from the teammate
While Sette Câmara did test the car in March, he did not have the chance to “drive a lot.” Not getting a full day to test the new car, Sette Câmara admitted to FFN, that the work in the simulator was the key to prepare for the Berlin E-Prix.
“So, I did some pre-season testing back in March. I only did a little bit, so I didn’t drive a lot, to be honest. I didn’t even do a full day. But it was useful because it made me at least go through the processes. And then we did a lot of simulator work, which was the main tool by far.”
Berlin has a very challenging surface, while other drivers on the grid see it as a challenge, Sette Câmara viewed it as the norm for him. Not having driven during the season, he doubts that the track conditions are “going to impact [him] at all.” Without the experience here, he will “trust the team,” and listens to his experienced teammate for the weekend as well.
“To be honest, it’s not going to impact at all. Because when you’re coming from a place where you have no background with that team, with that car, which is my case, this is going to be the normal race for me. I don’t know how the other races were, so it’s a blank canvas from where I’m coming from.”
“So I’ll just trust the team, whatever they think has been done. Of course, I’ll be listening to Olli as well, and a little bit of my input. There will be three sources. Engineers, Olli and my own opinions. And I’ll try to balance between them as best as I can.”
Up against “some of the best drivers of the world”
When FFN asked about his current role at the team, the Brazilian joked that “it’s better than coming straight from the sofa.” But it would have been better, if he had driven the whole season. As he is driving against “some of the best drivers in the world”, Sette Câmara sees challenges for his run at the Berlin E-Prix.
“I mean, it benefits a little bit. It’s better than coming straight from the sofa. But the best is when you’re doing the full season, and you’re up to speed. And one of the main challenges is exactly that. I’m facing other drivers, which not only are some of the best drivers in the world, but also they are in the heat and in the rhythm of an ongoing season.”
As the other drivers “are one with their car [and] engineers.” And though being the reserve driver shrinks the gap a bit, he has never actually experienced that with the team first hand.
“They are one with their car, with the engineers. With me, it would be not like that. So that’s one of the challenges, actually. And being a reserve helps reduce that gap a little bit because at least I’ve been driving the sim.”
“I’ve been seeing how the team works, but never actually living it, doing it directly. Just watching others do. So there’s only so much you can absorb from that, right?”
