Read Motorsport will be covering the second season of Formula E with a team of dedicated writers bringing you the latest news, reports and features on the all-electric series.
Formula E was the brainchild of Alejandro Agag, a Spanish financier who has long-standing links to motor racing. Having taken over the Campos team in GP2, he also bought the Spanish TV rights for Formula 1 with former Benetton boss Flavio Briatore and after failing to bring a team into Formula 1 he set his sights on creating Formula E.
The series he created got some eye-catching backing. Richard Branson who originally backed the Manor team in Formula 1 was on board quickly with the series, along with Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio who was behind the Venturi team. Further high-profile people included Alain Prost bringing DAMS with backing from Renault, Jarno Trulli, Aguri Suzuki and Andretti Autosport.
As part of that appeal, a number of ex-Formula 1 drivers have been a part of the series. Nick Heidfeld, Bruno Senna, Karun Chandhok, Charles Pic, Nelson Piquet Jr, Jarno Trulli, Jerome D’Ambrosio, Jean-Eric Vergne, Lucas di Grassi, Sebastien Buemi, Scott Speed and Tonio Liuzzi. Names from other high-profile series, for example, the World Endurance Championship, Indycar and GP2 have also driven in Formula E.
To keep costs low, which has been an attraction for many of the teams, all the cars are the same. This is changing slightly for season two, with the teams allowed to develop their own engines.
Aerodynamics are not being touched, something which has traditionally been a money pit for teams. Each team has four cars for the race weekend. Due to the current batteries a car is not able to last the race distance, which means a pit stop and change of car through the race.
The inaugural season of the new Formula was hailed as a success after a ‘slow’ start. The first race in Beijing, won by Lucas di Grassi had both its supporters and critics. Elements which didn’t work were changed, for example the background music through the race was reduced on the world feed, the formation lap ditched in favour of a shorter jump along the grid and for season two the power output will be increased to help the perceived lack of speed.
The suspensions were also beefed up midseason after a number of failures. It created great racing though in the process which really kick-started the championship.
There are elements which have worked really well, with those returning for the second season. The series has been a pioneer in fan involvement, spearheaded by the innovative ‘Fan Boost’. It gives drivers a five-second power boost, which for the first season was up to 190kwh for the three most popular drivers on the grid as voted for by the fans. All the voting is done either via the Formula E website or app, which is promoted by both drivers and the teams. A number of fan events also take place through the season, all aimed at getting the sport closer to its supporters.
Each of the rounds are held on temporary circuits around the world. Located in the middle of major cities they have proved extremely popular with fans. The first season saw races in Beijing, Miami, Los Angeles (Long Beach), Berlin, Buenos Aires, London, Moscow and Monaco. Next year sees the introduction of a race in Paris. Although many have been held on the streets of these cities, Berlin saw the cars race on the disused Tempelhof Airport and Battersea Park in London.
Everything happens on a Saturday, running to a very tight schedule. Free practice happens in the morning, with two sessions – one at 45 minutes and one at 30 minutes, before Qualifying. The Qualifying session is split into four parts with five cars running in each, which are allowed to run at the full 200kwh power setting for a maximum of two laps in 10 minutes. The afternoon race lasts just under an hour with a pit stop midway through for changing cars.
Nelson Piquet Jr was crowned season one champion in London a couple of months ago, and similarly with other series he hadn’t won the most number of races. That fell to second place man Sebastien Buemi who won three out of the eleven races and finished just a point behind the Brazilian. It was a close fought championship with five drivers still in the championship by the final weekend.
Of course, there were the stand out performances. Jean-Eric Vergne entering the series at the third round in Punta del Este was immediately quick for Andretti after losing his Toro Rosso drive in Formula One. So good in fact it looked like he could have won his debut race, before stopping on the final lap. Scott Speed did the same for the team in Miami, finishing second in his debut race midway through the season.
Sam Bird, a specialist in street circuits would have been a championship contender had he not had three retirements for Virgin Racing, although his teammate Jaime Alguersuari left the series before London after a faint at the Moscow round which is still being investigated and has ruled him out for a second season.
We saw some cracking racing. The highlight races being Buenos Aires which included the many suspension failures, and the second London race which was Nelson Piquet Jr crowned as the champion. If you don’t believe me, have a look at the final race weekend highlights:
Despite having quick drivers, Andretti didn’t win a race in season one. There were clearly teams who managed to get the sweet spot with eDams, China Racing (later NEXTEC TCR), Dragon Racing and ABT constantly at the top of the standings. With the machinery being equal for the first season, the likes of Mahindra, Trulli and Venturi had mixed results, despite showing some promise at points through the season.
We saw a number of drivers come and go through season one, there were in fact 35 drivers who drove just 20 cars over the 11 races and only 12 of them took part in every race. With season two approaching fast, a number of drivers will be dovetailing the Formula E races with another series. Rumours abound Jean-Eric Vergne could be in with a chance of a Haas F1 seat, which would rule him out of three races while a number of others compete in the World Endurance Championship.
With testing recently completed at Donington Park, the cars have already been shipped to Beijing ready for the first round of the championship on the 17th October. That might sound a little far in advance, but the cars are going overland across Russia and China, which is a greener way of travelling than by air freight.
So we’re all set, another season of Formula E is just a few weeks around the corner and it looks to be even better than the last. Even better, we will be here guiding you through the season from start to finish.
Here’s to a great season ahead.
