The Formula E racing series featuring battery-powered open-wheel cars completed its inaugural season in June 2015. The series is currently mid-way through the 2015-2016 run. Each team runs a similar technology package composed of an electric motor generating 270 horsepower, a chassis that weighs just under 2,000 pounds—and a “push-to-pass” feature directly tied into a driver’s social media engagement.
Formula E cars are open cockpit, open-wheel designs that run on battery power.
It’s hard to think of a more modern concept for a racing series, or one that better captures the current zeitgeist concerning the future of motoring—especially when you throw in the designs Formula E has on a potential autonomous RoborRace initiative. Even without AI, Formula E has managed to deliver inspired and exciting on-track performance. The first season was decided by a single point on the final lap of the final event of the season.
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Geale Whyte, global head of brand engagement for organization behind the Amlin Andretti team, told us that, in the first six races of the inaugural season, there was a different winner every week. He believes that demonstrates how the electrified competition provides real adrenalin-pumping racing fun.
At the same time, Whyte concedes that Formula E will never compete with NASCAR or F1 in terms of out-and-out speed—or when it comes to the screaming internal combustion engines ripping around the track. Limited to roughly 140 miles per hour, the electric vehicles in Formula E rely on the exceptional torque from electric motors to make for rapid acceleration on tighter, more technical circuits. Each driver changes into a second fully-charged car mid-way through the race as well, a unique twist you won’t find in any other series.
Simona del Silvestro is an experienced Indycar and F1 pilot, and now drives for Amlin Andretti.
Teams are now allowed to deviate from the supplied drivetrains given to competitors, but only in terms of improving efficiency and power delivery, not total output. It’s the same gearbox every race, as well as an identical power pack. “It helps to keep costs at a much more manageable level if we restrict research and development,” said Whyte. The series doesn’t want to see the price tag associated with competing skyrocket into the hundreds of millions as it has in Formula 1.
The Amlin Andretti team’s drivers, Robin Frijns and Simona de Silvestro, are both experienced pilots who have had success in other series, such as F1 and GP2. Still, Whyte explained that there was a learning curve for all Formula E drivers when it came to understanding the physics of the cars, their weight distribution, and how to best manage battery regeneration during a race.
Whyte said the attention that Formula E received in its inaugural year was based on novelty and curiosity, especially from mainstream media, but now the series has developed its own dedicated group of fans who are not pulled from traditional motorsports. “In some cases, Formula E is outdrawing Formula 1 on television,” he explained, saying that it’s mostly people who are outside the automotive world but who are intrigued by the fierce competition and the technology.
Street courses have so far been the venue of choice for the series.
With half its 10-event schedule left on the calendar—including events in Long Beach, Calif., Moscow, Berlin, and Paris—there’s plenty of opportunity to catch a Formula E race and decide for yourself whether it represents the future of motorsports competition.
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