Formula E doesn’t always have technology on its side. Either the calendar, or the manufacturer, or the general goodwill of the motorsport community. But there’s always a way to pick up talents that are overlooked or discarded elsewhere. Before the big shake-up before the Gen3 car’s introduction in 2023, what happened to the pariahs it turned into its stars?
Had – and still is – the reputation that stuck with Formula E in its early years, that it was the place Formula one talent has been given an electric, cosmopolitan grassland. Aside from the fact that some riders are willing to leave that series before they’re ready, that’s never really a fair assessment of the field, most of them actually come from races. endurance racing.
Formula E’s first season saw racing better than it could have, considering the technology at the time and the speed at which the series has been brought together – from the proposed return of a car napkins to the active world championship in three years . The initial move to create a racers club, which allows teams to pick from a pool of talent, means the cars may not be as fast and the batteries may have failed but the race is always competitive. painting.
And that’s always been one of its strongest points. Part of that is because Formula E demands a lot from drivers; The lack of in-wall telemetry meant that vehicle management was exclusive to the racers only during the race, and they had to adapt to a completely different racing style than in other series.
The standout talents are not household names like F1 drivers might have, but Jean-Eric Vergne, Lucas di Grassi, Sam Bird, Stoffel Vandoorne and other front-runners have built their reputations. in the series. The strength of the field attracts other drivers to it.
– Watch the season-long Formula One and W Series on ESPN
– No ESPN? Instant access
Most newbies to the network have found their way through the desire to join their friends there, which is surprisingly sane given the political maze of single-seater racing , and also motivates them to stay in the series – beyond any loyalty to their team. The appeal of being able to compete with established racers has made the field stronger over time.
At the end of the Gen2 era, which ends in August at the season finale in Seoul, there will be a major network shake-up. German giants such as Mercedes, Audi and BMW are all moving away from the product chain and while that’s not necessarily causing a crisis, with private teams and a new factory from Maserati has made filling the void, it made a big difference.
In announcing its withdrawal from the product line, BMW said it had “run out of opportunities for this form of technology transfer” as it relates to the auto industry’s shift to electric vehicles. Mercedes has clearly stated that it is reallocating its resources from Formula E to developing electric road cars. Audi has redirected its Formula E sponsorship to an electric entry at the 2022 Dakar Rally, where its RS e-tron is a novelty, standing out from its fossil fuel-dependent competition.
As such, Formula E is not where it wants to be as it stands on the brink of the next generation of cars. The delayed delta-shaped Gen3 car hasn’t been as successful as the Gen2 launch in 2018, and the departure of big-name brands may not threaten the series but leave fans (and fans) other manufacturers) questioned its future. Without a big year in 2023, Formula E faces an existential crisis.
Paddock insiders rarely commit recorded quotes regarding the state of the series, but there was an undeniably eerie mood surrounding it for a while. Teams must commit to Gen3 by a deadline before the car or details are shown, and have yet to be able to agree a race schedule, with five months to come before pre-season testing. It is no coincidence that Audi and BMW have gone, and Mercedes will leave after the final Gen2 season, or else be pushed into a long time on an uncertain foundation.
The three German producers leaving probably look more dramatic than they really are. Formula E, with a budget cap of 12 million euros (excluding driver salaries), is relatively easy for teams to come and go as they please.
Take for example McLaren’s entry to the series. It bought the Mercedes Formula E team outright, will keep all of its personnel as drivers, and essentially continue to operate as the team – just with different colors. Compare that to F1, where the Volkswagen Group – the world’s second-largest carmaker, owner of Audi and Porsche, among others – is taking a cautious 4-year road to its entry. , despite its enormous technical prowess, with a regulatory reset required to get them into the paddock.
Being a low-cost way to instantly develop electric cars is part of Formula E’s appeal: the big German manufacturers come after diesel shops and leave when they have electric cars. With every brand now electrifying its lineup, this series seems like an easy win, but the boardrooms of the world’s biggest automakers think motorsport is wasteful. Formula E’s cost and platform is not as large as F1’s growing audience.
For brands that have stayed, like Jaguar, there is an opportunity to be there from the start, the feeling of entering the ground floor, beating the relatively low profile of Formula E.
“At the heart of it, what explains why we’re in the sport, which goes on to explain why we want to be committed to the future, are the core ingredients that are absolutely right for the future. hybrid,” Jaguar team principal James Barclay told ESPN at the Gen3 Launch. “The reality is that we are the pinnacle of all-electric racing, and there will be more categories to come in the future, but Formula E is the pinnacle of electric racing.”
But that requires a waiting game that brands – who are undergoing major changes in the way they make cars – may not have the time, as was the case with the departures of Audi and BMW. . Mercedes, meanwhile, has a big enough record elsewhere.
Volkswagen’s announcement earlier this year that it intends to enter F1, with the hefty cost of buying an existing team, could go hand in hand with its decision to pull Audi out of Formula E. A team costing more than 10 million a little euro to work, F1 entries for Audi and Porsche will cost hundreds of millions, even if they buy Sauber and partner with Red Bull, as rumored.
F1 has a large audience, however, while Formula E requires teams to invest in their own marketing to make it worthwhile. Nor is it a certainty; Porsche only won its first Formula E championship in Mexico this year after two disappointing seasons. There is nothing to market about being at the end of the pitch.
But Gen3 is a complete reset. A new car, new powertrain and a new racing format will mean that the next season of Formula E has minimal continuity compared to its predecessors. The 2015-16 world champion, Sebastian Buemi, could be a lesson for the grid: Gen1’s most dominant driver, to date, has never found his form again in a Gen2 car.
It’s a bold new start, and Formula E has a chance to restore the ground it lost before the COVID-19 pandemic, just as Gen2 is on the rise. It wouldn’t be fair to call the series a last chance – drivers don’t enter Formula E after burning through other opportunities, as they have weathered F1’s cracks and endurance racing – that is an important time for the main characters of the series.
Formula E’s technology is finally catching up with the talent in its field. If the racers who made this series competitive can continue that, with the Gen3’s massive power and energy recovery increased and the car smaller, lighter, then Formula E has it. chance to make the gone producers look like the poor chosen ones.
Auto brands have always been important to motorsport and Formula E needs them too, but the ability to withstand the loss of the big three brands, at the start of a new era, is due to racing team talent.
