It’s hard to ignore the momentum building behind the new Formula E series, the one-make electric-powered single-seater category launching soon.
Power and excess has been motorsport’s buzzword for decades, but there’s been a need to improve its green credentials, as manufacturers push to develop new and efficient technologies.
Formula One has gone down this path with its new V6 1.6-litre turbocharged engines that incorporate an energy recovery system, while sports car racing is enjoying a revival as hybrid-powered regulations encourage major manufacturers to join.
Now, Formula E will attempt to ride this wave with a single-seater category driven by electric power, a rechargeable energy storage system, noise decibel levels equivalent of a road car and a maximum speed of 225 kilometres per hour.
Formula E’s first season includes an impressive calendar of street circuit events in exotic locations such as Monte Carlo, London, Berlin, Long Beach, Miami, Beijing and Buenos Aires, with talk of an Australian round in season two.
Teams fielding entries include former Formula One teams and current IndyCar and touring car outfits. Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson will also field their own teams.
The driving talent combines former Formula One drivers such as Jarno Trulli, Bruno Senna and more and some up and coming talent from the junior formulas.
Can it succeed where so many other single-seater categories have failed? Formula E will have the advantage of a clear point of difference from other series, at a time when potential investors like Branson will be around and keen on technology that is very much the future of motoring.
But all new motorsport categories, especially single-seater series, struggle to emerge from the shadow of Formula 1. A warning tale for Formula E is the saga around A1 GP, the self-proclaimed world cup of motorsport.
A1 GP had a number of strengths going for it: the nationalistic aspect that was unique in world motorsport, substantial backing from Dubai investors, a calendar that ran in the traditional Formula One off-season to avoid date clashes, a decent grid of drivers that constantly evolved, and, for its fourth and final season, the backing of Ferrari.
Yet the series never made it into a fifth season, brought down by financial constraints. It simply couldn’t grow to a sustainable level.
What hope for Formula E, then? It faces an even greater task with a more difficult concept to sell than A1 GP. While the electric-powered angle will attract investors such as DiCaprio and Branson, it won’t necessarily attract fans.
Formula One has suffered a barrage of criticism for the meek sound of its new-generation turbo generations, to the point where it has been forced to test a “trumpet” exhaust to increase the sound and appease fans.
So how will Formula E attract fans when the spectacle of racing cars is so mooted in its own product?
Watch this space!
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