Why You Should Start Caring About Formula E, The Alternative Universe Electric F1 Series

In parallel with the world of ground transportation getting increasingly electrified over the past two decades, the same has been happening in many areas of auto racing. In 1999, Panoz built and briefly raced a hybrid version of the Esperante GTR-1. The first hybrid energy recovery systems appeared a decade later as an option for teams and became mandatory from 2012. Top-class LMP1 racers in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) went hybrid in 2012. But so far, there is only one global racing series that is purely electric: Formula E.If you’re not familiar, Formula E is an FIA-sanctioned world championship for battery-powered, single-seat open-wheel race cars. In its early years, the series felt more like a rolling business conference than a race, with quiet cars that had to be replaced mid-race to finish. In the last few years, the cars have gotten way faster and feature the kind of frequent passing that happens only rarely upfront in F1 these days. 

Jaguar invited me to attend the penultimate rounds of season 10 at Portland International Raceway in Oregon where a pair of races took place on the final weekend of June 2024. From Portland, the series goes on to wrap up this season with another doubleheader in London. I wanted to find out if these cars are finally worth your time.

What is a Formula E car?

At its core, a Formula E car is a single-seat, open-wheel racer that isn’t fundamentally dissimilar from what you’ll find in F1, Formula 2, Formula 3, IndyCar or Super Formula. However, Unlike all of those classes that use internal combustion engines of various sizes and power outputs, FE is the only global all-electric series. 

FE is a semi-spec series. The chassis, bodywork and battery system are all common to all competitors. In the first two seasons, the electric propulsion system including motors, gearbox and power electronics was also spec. Since season 3, manufacturers have been able to design and develop bespoke drivetrains and rear suspension. The rules are defined for four-year terms with a mid-cycle upgrade at the two-year point of each generation. All three generations of FE cars have been designed and built by Spark Racing Technology. 

When the Gen1 FE cars debuted in season 1 for 2014, battery technology had not advanced to the point it’s at today. As a result, the series had a very unique race format. Without the ability to run a full 45-minute race distance or safely fast charge during the race, drivers of the Gen1 cars had to pit halfway through the race, climb out of their car and get into a second fully charged machine to complete the race distance. 

By the time the Gen2 cars debuted in 2018, they featured updated battery systems developed by Atieva, a division of Lucid Motors. The FE battery program came during a period when Lucid was struggling to raise the capital needed to build a factory and get its first product, the Air luxury sedan into production. During this period, Lucid did a significant amount of reengineering of the systems in the Air including the battery thermal management and the race program provided a lot of lessons on how to build a high-powered lithium-ion battery that would last. 

The new 54-kWh battery pack was sufficient to last about 45 minutes under race conditions. The aerodynamics of the Gen2 car were completely different and the chassis now featured the protective halo that has become standard on almost all open cockpit single-seat racers. 

Season 9 in 2022 brought us the Gen3 Formula E and numerous upgrades including more power and another new look. The Gen1 cars delivered 190-kW to the rear wheels, sufficient to accelerate to 60 mph in about 3 seconds. Gen2 increased that to a peak of 250-kW with a top speed of about 174 mph. For Gen3, output has increased again to 350-kW, enough to push the cars beyond 200 mph. At PIR, the Gen3 machines were topping 180 mph on the back straight.

Just as important however is that in addition to the manufacturer-developed rear drive unit, there is now a front motor generator unit (MGU) provided by Spark. For seasons 9 and 10, the front MGU doesn’t provide any propulsion, just regenerative braking. Due to the weight transfer onto the front axle during deceleration, the front brakes of any vehicle invariably end up doing most of the braking work. Having regen only on the rear axle inherently limits how much energy can be recovered to prevent instability. 

The combination of regen from the front axle and the new battery provided by Fortescu WAE (formerly the Williams Advanced Engineering division of the Williams F1 team), the Gen3 cars can now recapture up to 600 kW of power under braking. Interestingly, the battery capacity has actually been reduced from the 54-kWh of Gen2 to 47-kWh while still running similar race distances at higher speeds. This is particularly important because of some rule changes to how races are run which we’ll get to later in the story. 

For Season 11, the Gen3 Evo cars will get more changes including aerodynamic updates, new tires, and the ability to use the front MGU for all-wheel-drive propulsion under certain conditions. Drivers will be able to get AWD during qualifying, race starts and during attack mode. Because each manufacturer also creates their own gearbox casing to go with the drive unit, they are also allowed to develop their own bespoke rear suspension to connect to the single-speed gearbox. 

Since the beginning, FE have used tires that look more like street tires than traditional racing slicks. The current all-weather rubber is supplied by Hankook and next year’s Evo cars will see an upgrade for more grip. 

Besides the propulsion, one aspect of FE cars that has always been distinct from F1 or IndyCars is the downforce (or lack thereof). FE cars have always had relatively modest amounts of aerodynamic downforce and much of what they do have is generated by the floor rather than huge wings. One of the advantages of this approach is that the cars are able to run in very close proximity and passes are frequent throughout the field. This is particularly helpful on the tight street circuits that dominate the calendar and anyone watching an FE race will see plenty of tight action at most parts of the track. 

How Formula E operates

The series was originally conceived in early 2011 and the first season kicked off in the autumn of 2014. The seasons run from late in the year or early in the new year through the early summer before taking a break for several months. The current season 10 kicked off in Mexico, Jan. 13 and wraps in London on July 20. The goal was to create a sustainable single-seater racing series not just on the track, but in the whole way the operation is conducted. 

Initially, all races were held in city centers where people could get to them more easily, ideally by public transit. That’s still the case for most of the events, although in the past couple of seasons, organizers have begun to mix in a few permanent race tracks like Portland International Raceway (PIR). PIR is located in a city park on the north side of the city adjacent to the Columbia River and the track is accessible by the local light rail service with a stop about a 10-minute walk from the track gates. Between 2017 and 2022, the US race took place in Brooklyn with prior races in Miami and Long Beach.  

One of the unique challenges of Formula E for teams is the way cars and equipment are transported from race to race. In most series, the cars return to the team base between many of the races. In FE, the teams have to pack up their entire race operation including computers, tools, spares, race cars and everything else into shipping containers a month or more before the opening round. The series then takes responsibility for transporting all of the containers between venues and none of the race gear returns to base until after the season is wrapped. 

That means the teams have to make sure they have everything they’ll need to compete for the next seven months or so organized and packed before hitting the track for the first time. Since they have limited time to set up in the garages when they arrive at the track, they need to be able to pull everything out and plug it in within the span of about half a day and then reverse the process on Sunday night for the next stop. Anything that isn’t in the containers is typically small stuff carried by members of the team when they travel. While series like WEC also transport containers for teams in a batch, they typically get sent back to base between races, something that adds cost and emissions to the whole operation. 

If you’ve ever watched Drive to Survive, you’ve no doubt seen the enormous hospitality and office rigs that teams haul around the world. There are huge staffs of people that can number 100 or more to handle everything from working on the cars to catering for the teams and guests. At FE events, the organizers have one large portable building that provides catering for all teams and crews. Another temporary structure called the E-Motion Club provides hospitality services for all the team’s guests. Similarly, other operations like broadcast, vehicle and tire support, and charging equipment are transported en masse the same way as team equipment. 

Like the WEC, teams are also limited in the number of staff they can have on site which saves on both cost and emissions. During a race weekend, there are a maximum of 36 staff that can be involved with actual race operations such as working on cars, engineering, and management. Only 30 of those can be at the track while another 6 can be at the team’s base working on data, strategy and simulation. 

These limits are strictly enforced by the FIA with all of the designated staff at the track wearing numbered yellow armbands and closed-circuit cameras in all of the garages as well as at the team’s base. FIA scrutineers can pop into the garage and the base at any time during a race weekend to do a head count and make sure no undeclared staff are doing work. Jaguar TCS Racing team principal acknowledged that inspectors had previously shown up at the team’s base in Oxfordshire, UK. During the Qatar WEC round earlier this year, the AF Corse Ferrari team was fined $65,000 because 3 engineers who had been listed as marketing support were found to be doing work for the race cars from their laptops. 

Like F1, FE also has a cost cap, currently set at €13 million per season. For season 11, that amount will increase to €15 million but it will also include driver salaries and the costs associated with upgrades for the Gen3 Evo spec cars. 

Who are the players in Formula E?

The competitors in Formula E currently consist of 6 manufacturers and 5 additional customer teams that use powertrains from one of the manufacturers. The manufacturers are Jaguar, Porsche, Mahindra, Stellantis, Nissan and ERT. ERT is the new name of the team that was formerly owned by Chinese EV maker NIO. The British-based team builds its own powertrains that were badged as NIO until season 10 and got new investors when NIO decided to withdraw from FE. Previously, Audi, Mercedes-AMG and BMW were also participants in FE and the Lola brand recently announced it was returning to racing in 2025 with FE cars powered by Yamaha. Stellantis has two teams operating under its DS and Maserati brands. 

Customer teams include McLaren, Andretti, Evision and ABT Cupra using Nissan, Porsche, Jaguar and Mahindra powertrains, respectively. McLaren was new to FE when the Gen3 cars debuted in season 9 but Andretti has had an FE team since the series debuted in 2014. 

How Does A Formula E Race Weekend Play Out?

A Formula E weekend is both similar and different to a typical F1 or WEC weekend. There are free practice sessions, qualifying, and the race. On a doubleheader weekend, on-track activity kicks off on Friday afternoon, if there is just one race, they start Saturday morning. The first session, called the shakedown, gives teams and drivers an opportunity to hit the track for a short session to just make sure that everything is functioning properly and nothing has been damaged in transit between races. The cars go out for a 15-minute session, limited to half power, 150 kW and they typically only do a few laps. 

After the shakedown, teams finish up the car setup before drivers go out for the first of two free practice sessions. As in other series, these give the drivers an opportunity to verify the car setup at full speed but times don’t count for anything but bragging rights. 

Qualifying is where things start to diverge. Like many other series including IndyCar, qualifying in FE is a multi-stage process, but there are differences. The 22 cars are split into two groups to go out and try to set the single fastest lap time. In F1, the top 15 cars out of the 20 total move to a second qualifying round. The 10 ten from Q2 go into the third round to battle for the pole and the top 10 starting order on the grid.

In FE, from each group of 11, the four fastest drivers move into the shoot-out duels. Drivers are paired up for a three-lap run, an out lap from the pits, one flying lap and the cool down. The fastest of each of four pairs in the quarter-finals moves to the semi-finals where two more pairs repeat the process and those two winners go to the final to run for pole position. Qualifying takes place on race morning about five hours before the race.

When race time arrives, FE has standing starts similar to F1. During qualifying, FE cars get to use their full 350-kW output. During most of the race, the cars are limited to just 300-kW. However, one of the unique aspects of an FE race is attack mode. Attack mode is sort of a real-life version of the boost pads in Mario Kart. When Mario Kart players run over a boost pad on the track, they get a temporary increase in speed. 

Somewhere on each FE circuit, there is a 30m-long attack mode zone that is placed somewhere off the racing line. At PIR this was placed on the outer edge of turn 7, well away from the apex of the curve. Prior to each race, organizers define the total attack mode time available which can be from 6 to 8 minutes, with PIR getting 6 minutes. Each car must use the full amount of attack mode in 2 segments of 1 and 5 minutes, 2 and 4 minutes, or 3 and 3 and they must declare their intentions before the start of the race. 

Thus at some point in the race, the drivers must divert off the racing line to go over the trigger zone where three transponders in the pavement read the car going over it to set the attack mode. The drivers must be precise in driving through the attack mode zone or risk having to leave the racing line again. Once attack mode is triggered, the car unlocks the full 350-kW for the allotted time. Beginning next season with the Gen3 Evo cars, they will be able to utilize the front MGU for propulsion during attack mode, although they will still be limited to 350-kW combined. 

Getting to the end of an FE race without running out of battery has always been a challenge, just as it is for F1 drivers who can’t refuel. The reduced battery capacity in the Gen3 cars expands on this challenge. The cars now start each race with only 60% of the energy they will need to run the full distance. The other 40% must come from regenerative braking during the race. That’s where the front MGU becomes so valuable because the combination of front and rear motors and the new WAE battery enables 600-kW of regenerative braking power. 

In addition to the propulsion hardware, the manufacturers also develop the software that manages how energy is harvested during a race and this is part of each company’s secret sauce. They need extremely efficient motors and power electronics and really smart software. 

One of the interesting strategic elements of FE is how cars use drafting. In NASCAR and other forms of motorsport, one car may tuck in tight behind another car, letting the leader punch a hole in the air so that the follower doesn’t have to use as much power to maintain speed. When the time is right, they pop out and use their full power to hopefully accelerate past the leading car. 

In an electric vehicle, aerodynamics is important to range not just because it reduces the amount of power needed to accelerate or maintain a speed. When lifting off the accelerator, any drag from air or mechanical friction will slow the car, leaving less opportunity for energy to be recovered from braking. In FE, cars frequently draft each other on straights to reduce workload like traditional racers and into corners to allow for more regen recovery. 

The tighter the followers can stick behind their competitors, the more energy they can recover to the battery. That extra energy can be crucial later in the race when they need to attack for the lead and the other cars may be trying to preserve energy to get to the end of the race. 

The way teams can provide strategy advice to drivers during a race is far more limited in FE compared to many other series. In F1, WEC and IndyCar, there is a robust realtime stream of telemetry data from the car back to the pits. Teams use this to monitor what is happening with their cars and the strategists provide advice to drivers on when to make passing maneuvers, when to pit, etc. However, in FE, only the FIA stewards have access to the full data stream in real-time. The teams are limited to data such as battery energy left, sector times, and track position of all the cars. The full telemetry data is recorded and downloaded by the engineers only after the race for analysis.

Besides the environmental benefits of electric racing and being closer to where fans live, FE turns out to be a great place to bring kids. Unlike most other forms of racing, hearing protection isn’t necessary because, while the cars aren’t silent, they are much quieter. The sound they do make as they whoosh past is a higher-pitched whine from the motors and gears that isn’t too dissimilar from a Tie Fighter in Star Wars. 

What’s next for Formula E?

As I write this, the final two rounds of Season 10 are a couple of weeks away in London, England. Jaguar driver Nick Cassidy went into the Portland weekend with a healthy lead in the driver’s championship and could have locked it up with a couple of strong finishes. Instead, Cassidy spun in the final turn on the penultimate lap of race 1, dropping to 19th and out of the points. In race 2, Cassidy again finished out of the points in 13th. Teammate Mitch Evans finished first on the track in race 1 but a penalty for avoidable contact dropped him to 8th in the results and then he finished 3rd in race 2. Both races were ultimately won by Porsche driver Antonio Felix da Costa who has now won three races in a row and four of the last five. Cassidy now leads Evans and the other Porsche pilot Pascal Wehrlein by just 12 points with Da Costa another 21 points back in fourth. The championship is truly up for grabs in London.

Season 11 of Formula E is currently scheduled to kick off in Mexico City in January 2025 with the aforementioned Gen3 Evo cars that add all-wheel-drive capability. Since Gen3 debuted last year, the organizers have been testing in-race fast charging at 600-kW. While it hasn’t been implemented yet while they work through some issues with inconsistent charging speeds, this feature is expected to debut for season 11. The cars are equipped with a CCS-2 charging port on the back of the car and the plan is to allow one 30-second charging stop during each race. 

Season 13 in 2026 is when the big changes are planned. That’s when the Gen4 machines debut. The Gen4 will continue to be produced by Spark Racing Technology but Podium Advanced Technologies will produce the new battery packs. Among its numerous projects, Podium has been a supplier to Glickenhaus, providing engineering and producing the chassis for the SCG004 and the 007 Le Mans hypercar. Marelli has been selected to produce the front drivetrain while Bridgestone will take over tire supply from Hankook. 

Gen4 will bring a major leap forward in performance for Formula E as the cars go from 350-kW to 600-kW of power. At about the same time, the new F1 regulations will go into effect, continuing with 1.6-liter turbo V6 engines but with the hybrid system now providing 350-kW of electrical power. The next-gen F1 cars are also expected to have reduced downforce. It’s too early to say how the performance of these two vehicle specs will compare, but even with less peak power, pure electric AWD with instant torque could bring a serious challenge to the hybrid machines with rear-drive only. 

In all likelihood, FE performance will probably remain a step below F1, especially now that Liberty Global is taking a controlling stake in the electric series. Nonetheless, it will probably continue to provide some great racing for audiences of all ages and show at least one possible path forward for motorsports.