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The 2021-spec Robin Frijns is a more solid proposition than the last time he threatened to make a challenge for the Formula E crown in 2019. As a consequence he’s able to deal with the slings and arrows of the series more efficiently, and that might also make a crack at the title a much more achievable objective
What Frijns has to thank for his newfound durability, whether he realises it or not, are the last few seasons in the DTM where he went up against its last true epoch-defining benchmark driver – Rene Rast.
There is some irony in the fact that Frijns is a kind of team-mate by-proxy now to the triple DTM champion in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship as his Envision Virgin team uses Audi powertrains.
As the series resumes at Puebla this weekend, Frijns lead the title chase but it is a situation that has parallels to a stinging campaign he fought with the same team, and the same manufacturer, in the early summer of 2019.
On that occasion, Frijns enjoyed a slender points advantage after his excellent maiden Formula E win on the streets of Paris. But if the view from that peak was spectacular, the outlook on a messy descent caused and forced the Dutch driver to rebuild.
A litany of error and misfortune meant he sank from points leader to ‘also ran’ by the time of the final race in New York City just 12 weeks after his Parisian zenith.
A mistake in Monaco, being the innocent victim of a ludicrous melee at the Bern E-Prix and a mechanical issue in New York caused a dizzyingly uncomfortable fall from points leader to fourth in the standings.
“I think he’s more independent and gained confidence over the last three years,” Envision Virgin technical director Chris Gorne tells The Race.
“He learned a lot in DTM about work ethic and is carrying that over now.”
As a result of this development, Frijns is much more critical of the car now and he knows exactly what he wants and needs which was not always the case in seasons past.
His feedback to engineers has always been described as being a little vague but now word is that he knows precisely what he wants and needs.
That is a crucial point in Formula E because although the car is largely homologated, the vehicle dynamic set-up is so crucial and nuanced in relation to the all-weather Michelins and how to get the best out of them.
Frijns’ natural reflexes are so honed that often he was able to merely drive around inadequacies, which obviously frustrated engineers to a reasonable extent.
Now, having had to dig deeper, work harder and try to beat Rast and others in DTM between 2018-2020, is having a beneficial effect on his Formula E exploits.
At the beginning of their working relationship in 2018 Frijns was “relying a lot on his talent, but he has such an incredible talent too,” recalls Michael Petit, who was Frijns’ engineer at the Abt Audi DTM team.
He noticed the evolution of Frijns throughout the three seasons they worked together.
“We saw that here is a guy who didn’t like to spend three hours with engineers,” Petit tells The Race.
“For Robin it was very important that when we give him information, it must be straightforward and not too much.
“He came to understand the importance of working the details corner-by-corner and working with engineers to understand how the car behaves, depending on the track temperature, for example, or how the tyres behave.”
The big switch in how Frijns came to realise he had to up his work ethic came in 2019 at Misano. He qualified second to Rast but got the drop on his rival and should have converted the advantage to what would have been his maiden DTM victory. It didn’t go to plan.
“In three or four laps he killed the tyres,” says Petit.
“He got extremely angry and we had to make an early stop and do a really long run and then he could manage tyres. I think then he understood the need of the different driving style for the tyres so that is where the switch came from.”
This period coincided with Frijns’ 2019 FE title challenge flirtation and was a formative time for the driver we see today.
Through the 2019 and truncated 2020 racing season Frijns built up his armoury and last year he ran Rast close to the DTM title, taking his breakthrough win on home soil at Assen and then sealing a double success at Nurburgring before finishing third behind Rast and Nico Mueller.
“When you grow up you start to listen and this is a sign let’s say, and I think in DTM this is where Robin grew up and developed,” opines Petit.
“He can really concentrate in the crucial moment and this is quite exceptional.
“It’s kind of funny story but Robin prepares for qualifying or the race not by looking at a laptop or meetings with the team but he will take a good nap and relaxes.
“Then he jumps in the car is like ‘it’s OK, let’s go now’. He’s always actually very, very calm in the car even in stressful moments. It is super impressive.”
Frijns’ refreshingly quirky and laidback personality can often mask someone who can be explosively ruthless in battle. Some of his moves in Formula E are breathtaking, particularly his race-winning move on Alexander Sims for the lead of the second 2019 New York E-Prix.
The natural aptitude still flows freely. But now armed with a stronger work ethic and understanding of the details it means he’s close to being the ultimate winning package.
His philosophy is encapsulated by Petit once more when he says: “Robin once said to me ‘I don’t like to work on the data too much because then I think a lot. Then I think I have the feeling I’m slower somehow and it overloads my head.’”
Some drivers don’t have to think too much. In fact, if they do it dulls the joy and flow of what they can achieve with a racing car.
Therefore a happy balance needs to be found. Right now Robin Frijns appears to have initiated that poise and the results are tending to back this analysis right up to the hilt.
