Formula E: It's Not What You're Used To

Two months out from the very first Formula E "ePrix" on the streets of Beijing, it is becoming more and more clear that this all-electric series is like no other that's come before it.  While racing is racing and it is sure to attract many types of people, Formula E is going to be an entirely different experience.  But the attitude seems to be that if it's inherently going to be different, it's better to embrace the changes and be truly unique.  I was a huge proponent of the series before I knew a thing about it, and although I still am, some of these differences are a bit scary even to me.  But I'm keeping an open mind; I welcome sustainable changes in our everyday life, so I have to be ready for whatever Formula E throws at me too.  Here are a few details about this groundbreaking series--some quite interesting, some a little disappointing, and some just plain odd.

Photo credit to fiaformulae.com

Format

In mid-September, when other racing series will begin to wrap up, Formula E will just be getting started. From September 2014 to June 2015, we will see one race a month occurring in major cities throughout Asia, Europe, North America, and South America.  The Formula E championship will draw to a close in London on June 27th.  Both a driver and a team champion will be crowned that day.  See calendar
          Formula E, unlike most other racing series, is cost conscious, so practice, qualifying, and the race will all take place in one day.  Drivers will have just one hour of practice, an hour and a half divided into groups for qualifying, and about an hour for the race.  At first glance, this set up may seem to take away some of the fanfare that usually surrounds races, but it also provides an opportunity for race goers who can't take a Thursday or Friday off to see all three types of track activity.  Formula E is already proving to be a fan-friendly series--admission for the tests at Donington Park in England is free.
          What about pit stops?  Two are required for every race, and while these electric engines obviously won't be taking fuel, they won't even be changing tires.  It will be the driver who climbs into a second car with a freshly charged battery.  Slow to warm up to this?  I doubt you're alone.  What bothers me about it is that the drivers won't be forced to deal with the same car all race long.  Of course, the reason for this is battery life, and it would foolish to pause the race for however long it takes to plug in the batteries and wait for them to recharge.  It also adds another element of competition--instead of streamlining tire changes and setup tweaks, the drivers will have to learn to strap in and go as quickly as possibly.  They will also have to adjust quickly to potential differences between cars.  But extended battery life has been named as an innovation goal for the series; as it progresses, we may see changes in this part of the format.

Real World Applications

Street races are one of my favorite parts of racing.  It's always been fascinating to think of work-a-day pavement transformed into a race track.  Unlike other series, however, Formula E will race on street circuits specifically because it is the environment of the passenger car.  The hope is that the discoveries made over the course of the season can be applied as closely as possible to passenger vehicles, right down to the place they're driven.  Another bonus to races right in the city is that it will get the attention of people outside racing circles.  You can ignore a race that's tucked away at a track, but one that runs right through the middle of the city demands your attention.
          Perhaps more important than the location is the focus on the engine over the aerodynamics of the chassis.  Many racing teams in other series sink millions into chassis design, increasing speed by reducing wind resistance rather than adding engine power.  Since street cars don't depend on lap times and qualifying speeds, the idea is for improvements to come in the form of longer lasting and more dependable batteries.  Perhaps that will result in more tangible improvements in electric street car engines.

Push to Pass

One thing we're all going to have to get used to when it comes to Formula E is talking about engine power in kilowatts.  At the maximum level of power, the engines will produce 200 kilowatts, which is equal to about 270 brake horsepower.  We will see this setup only in qualifying, however.  Race speeds will be slower, but rather than this being due to added downforce, the lower speeds will be because of reduced engine power for the purpose of battery conservation.  In this setting, the engines will produce 133 kilowatts of power, or approximately 180 brake horsepower.
          Here's where it gets interesting:  in each race, three drivers will be given Push to Pass, which adds an extra 67 kilowatts, bringing them to maximum power for 2.5 seconds.  How will these three drivers be determined?  Fans will vote via social media, the Formula E website, or the Formula E app (launching September 1st) and the three drivers with the most votes will have "Fan Boost" for that race.  This is different from Indy Car's Push to Pass concept--each Indy Car driver starts with the same number of Pushes to Pass at every race.  Could a vote-determined Push to Pass interfere too much with the results?  Formula E chief executive Alejandro Agag expects it to interfere just enough to add another layer of excitement.  "If you're last you're not going to win the race with fan boost," he told the Guardian, "but if you're second you may win at the end."  The question is, will the same few drivers consistently win the popular vote, skewing the results over the entire season?  It seems likely that the popular drivers will stay popular.  Should personality be rewarded with racetrack advantages?  That may depend on how much of an advantage Push to Pass turns out to be.  

Sound

Some may consider Push to Pass to be the most controversial aspect of this series, but the most eyebrow-raising piece to me is the sound--or perhaps I should say the lack of sound.  At 80 decibels, they'll be slightly louder than a street car.  To think I was upset when I went to the Indy 500 in 2012 and the DW12s were  a little quieter!  In fact, these cars are so quiet, they had to design a sound for when the cars are entering the pits for safety.  Formula E expects that to turn people off, however, and counters that it will be easier to hear the commentators.  I guess that does mean the race will be a bit easier to follow.
          But, of all the new things about the series, I would say this is the strangest:  Formula E is actually using the relative quiet to dramatize the racing with music.  This is the part I just can't get over.  A soundtrack has been composed for the most intense points in the race, like the green flag, passing, Pushes to Pass, crashes, and the finish (listen here).  It makes sense to want to entertain spectators for the sake of the series' success, but I wonder if this is the best way to do it.  I don't want to get the feeling that the race I'm watching is choreographed, that there are people ready for the music cue on lap twenty-two, that the winner was picked out of a hat at the drivers' meeting that morning.  When I'm watching a race, I want to believe that anything can happen.  Will dramatic music add too much theatre to the sport?


Changing cars, Push to Pass, special music...the changes are big, and big changes aren't always easy to swallow.  But on the other hand, an all-electric racing series is going just going to be different and there's no way around it.  I'm nervous to see what these changes will actually look like, but I also respect the approach that if it's going to be a little different, let's make it a lot different.  Who knows?  Formula E may be an entirely different product from what racing fans are used to, and that may be what keeps it from blending into the background.