Formula E - Electrifying or Excruciating?

The FIA are launching the Formula E series next year, as an alternative to Formula 1, to spur interest in and the development of electric vehicles, as a viable alternative mode of transport.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24013661

Former F1 driver Lucas di Grassi was appointed Formula E series test driver last year

Smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm has signed a sponsorship deal with the forthcoming Formula E championship.

The FIA international motorsports body plans to launch the electric-car competition next year as an alternative to Formula 1.

Qualcomm will provide wireless-charging and augmented-reality technology to help the teams taking part and the public watching the races.

It has also pledged an undisclosed sum of money as part of the five-year deal.

Both organisations said the intention of the championship was to both provide entertainment and to spur on electric-vehicle technologies.

One analyst said the events could help improve the public's perception of electric cars, but added there would need to be other developments if the tech was to go mainstream.

The FIA itself acknowledged change would not come overnight.

"We will make people more inclined to buy an electric car, but this will take time - five or 10 years," Formula E's chief executive Alejandro Agag told the BBC.

Formula E is scheduled to commence in September 2014 in London, with races to follow in nine other cities including Beijing and Los Angeles.

Ten teams, each with two drivers, will compete against each other over the course of an hour.

Mr Agag said he believed the events would appeal to a younger audience than that typically attracted to Formula 1, and he hoped many of the fans would end up becoming electric car owners.

"We think Formula E can be a platform where companies can showcase and develop and improve technologies for electric road cars," he said.

"This, we hope, will have a psychological impact and make people more inclined to buy an electric car."

One independent automobile expert agreed the competition could prove influential.

"There's a perception issue with electric vehicles - people worry about how far they will go and the cost of the batteries," said Prof David Bailey, from Coventry Business School.

The Spark-Renault SRT-01E

Like the look of the cars, but the only other good thing about this is the advancement of battery technology. Will give it a watch to see what its like, but cant see me watching it religiously, like F1

Lucas Di Grassi won the inaugural Beijing Formula E race yesterday, but benefitted from a last-lap tangle between Nicolas Prost and Nick Heidfeld, who were vying for the lead.

Franck Montagy was second and Brit Sam Bird managed a respectable 3rd place.

Heidfeld tried a dive up the inside and Prost responded by jinking sharply left, into Heidfeld's car, breaking his own front suspension and sending Heidfeld's car skidding across the track, before bouncing over a high "sausage" kerb, which launched it into the air, rolling over sideways until it hit the wall, before finally landing upside down on the track..

Amazingly Nick managed to extract himself from his car, unhurt, before running over to Prost who was walking away from his own car, to give him a piece of his mind.

Formula E: Di Grassi wins as Prost crashes

I found the race itself reasonably interesting. Despite the cars all being the same spec (for the first season, at least) the racing was pretty close and despite the tight, twisty street circuit there were a few nice overtakes.

Obviously the speed isn't the same - I think they have a top speed of around 160kmh (100mph), judging from the eye-watering on-screen graphics, but it feels quite fast enough on a street circuit.

There is also an interesting Le Mans element where the drivers have to pit and change cars midway through the race, as they can't carry enough power for a full race distance (25 laps).

Noise-wise, its about what you'd expect...imagine a racing grid full of turbo-charged mobility scooters

Overall, I'm not sure whether I like this new motorsports series, but its interesting enough that I might watch more races, if I get the chance.

Former F1 drivers now competing in Formula E (in bold).


Amlin Aguri - Katherine Legge and Takuma Sato

Andretti - Franck Montagny and Charles Pic

Audi Sport - Lucas Di Grassi and Daniel Abt

China Racing - Nelson Piquet and Ho-Pin Tung

Dragon Racing - Oriol Servia and Jerome d'Ambrosio

e.dams Renault - Nicolas Prost and Sebastien Buemi

Mahindra Racing - Karun Chandhok and Bruno Senna

Trulli - Jarno Trulli and Michela Cerruti

Venturi - Nick Heidfeld and Stephane Sarrazin

Virgin Racing - Jaime Alguersuari and Sam Bird

Basically made up of all failed F1 drivers. Great idea, but doesn't excite me.

So who likes which team?

I may follow this loosely but I'm all for Team Dicaprio!

Not sure I understand the question Bull. Are you asking which team we're going to root for?

If so, I haven't made up my mind yet.

I believe Di Caprio is one of the people behind Venturi (very cool paint scheme btw).

I am sort of leaning towards Virgin...partly because they also have a very nice colour scheme and because they have a British driver.


Forgot to mention in my earlier post that FE uses the same points scoring system as F1...25 points for a win, down to 1 point for 10th place.

Drivers can also earn 2 points for setting the fastest lap time.

Also, in a bid to make races more interactive and fan-friendly, fans can vote for their favourite driver to receive a power boost "fan boost" which allows the power setting on their car to be increased.

Autoweek: Formula E Preview

Formula E

Cost: Approx. $350,000 (note, each driver will drive two cars in the race as a car change is scheduled for the middle of the race)

Chassis: Spark Racing Technology Spark-Renault SRT_01E carbon fiber/aluminum monocoque constructed by Dallara

Electric powertrain and electronics: McLaren Electronics Systems

Batteries: Williams Advanced Engineering

Gearbox: Hewland five-speed paddle shift sequential

Overall systems integration: Renault

Tyres & Wheels:
Michelin treaded for use in both dry and wet conditions
25.6-inch diameter (front), 27.16-inch diameter (rear)
18-inch O.Z. Racing magnesium rims, maximum width 10.23 inches (front), 12 inches (rear)

Overall length: 196.85 inches (max)

Overall width: 70.86 inches (max)

Overall height: 49.21 inches (max)

Track width: 51.18 inches (min)

Minimum weight (including driver): 1957.7 pounds (890kg)

Maximum power: 200kw, equivalent to 270 horsepower

Race mode: 150kw, equivalent to 202.5 hp

FanBoost: (race-only, one 5-second use for three drivers voted for by fans prior to race): Temporarily increases max power from 150kw to 180kw. (Increase of 30kw/40.5 hp)

Maximum RPM: Approx. 17,400

Sound (decibels): Approx. 80

0-62 mph (0-100 kph): 3 seconds

Maximum speed: 160+ mph

Two Motor Generator Units

Traction control: No

Brakes: Teams may choose brake material

Suspension: Steel wishbones, pushrod-operated dampers and torsion bars (front), and springs (rear)

Steering: Unassisted

Maximum downforce: Approx. 1,200 pounds

Maximum cornering G: 1.75

Range: Approx. 30 minutes

I haven't really taken any notice of this Formula until yesterday when I viewed videos of Heidfeld's crash and the changing of cars is pretty naff really. The only point of interest for me is that Audi have a team. Hopefully, one day they may grow the balls to venture into F1.

Yup that's what I was asking and yeah Venturi is the team backed by Leo. One of the reasons why I'm backing that team while the other reason is because of "quick Nick." (Who I have always liked.)

I am definitely not in favour of this Fan Boost gimmick. Drivers should never be able to gain an advantage due to popularity.

lorus59 wrote:I am definitely not in favour of this Fan Boost gimmick. Drivers should never be able to gain an advantage due to popularity.

agree lorus. embarrassing stuff, pure desperation that is to get viewers on board. Just real-life mario kart. Ii want to watch the best drivers in the world, not Karun Chandhok.

John wrote:

lorus59 wrote:I am definitely not in favour of this Fan Boost gimmick. Drivers should never be able to gain an advantage due to popularity.

agree lorus. embarrassing stuff, pure desperation that is to get viewers on board. Just real-life mario kart. Ii want to watch the best drivers in the world, not Karun Chandhok.

Well, if you want the best drivers in the world, then FE is defnintely not for you!

The FanBoost thing is really just a gimmick and any advantage is minimal, given its only a 5-second burst of additional power. I think they were aware it could be open to abuse, so they kept it to a minimum.

CaledonianCraig wrote:
I haven't really taken any notice of this Formula until yesterday when I viewed videos of Heidfeld's crash and the changing of cars is pretty naff really. The only point of interest for me is that Audi have a team. Hopefully, one day they may grow the balls to venture into F1.

Battery technology just hasn't developed far enough for them to be able to complete a full race distance (75-odd km) with 1 charge. recharging the cars would take hours and the battery systems are too complex to just swap one out for a new one (its not like replacing the batteries in a RC car )

Personally I kinda like it, as it adds another element of unpredictability, but I hope it gets to a point where they can go the full distance without needing to change.

Teams will be allowed to develop their own hardware from next season, so we can expect to see differences in performance in the cars.