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Formula E

Tom

Tom

TS Member
The new FIA-sanctioned electric car racing series is to start in September 2014.

The cars will accelerate from standstill to 60mph in around 3 seconds and their top speed will be 140mph. Ten races will take place on street circuits in some of the world's most famous cities.

Formula E plans 10 races over several months starting with a race in Beijing in mid-September and ending with a race in London's Olympic Park in mid-2015.

The following drivers have so far been confirmed as racing in the series:

Daniel Abt (GER), Christijan Albers (NLD), Marco Andretti (USA), Sébastien Bourdais (FRA), Sebastien Buemi (CHE), Karun Chandhok (IND), Lucas di Grassi (BRA), J.R. Hildebrand (USA), Ma Qing Hua (CHN), Narain Karthikeyan (IND), Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA), Franck Montagny (FRA), Takuma Sato (JPN), Bruno Senna (BRA), Oriol Servia (ESP), Adrien Tambay (FRA).
 
Well they have some top drivers in there so I can see this taking off.

Manufacturers will be interested in this series as well to use as a showcase for their new technology.
 
Does this mean formula 1 can go back to v12 engines because the FIA are being economically minded
 
Formula 1 is going to need to do something. It is slowing down and it's engines haven't sounded thrilling for years. Formula E lap times will decrease year on year and will soon overtake F1. I think FE is going to engage people in more effective ways.
 
I've nothing against peoples trying new things and enjoying things that I don't. But silent motorsport?

You can keep that one.
 
The engine noises will be added to the TV feed to help keep noise pollution to a minimum at the tracks. Radios will be available for a small fee at venues for fans wanting to hear loud engine noises as well.

Ian
 
NickT04 said:
I've nothing against peoples trying new things and enjoying things that I don't. But silent motorsport?

You can keep that one.
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Forgive me, but Formula One is virtually silent now anyway.

The Formula E cars will also not be sabotaged by ridiculously-designed tyres and will probably have more thrilling cornering speeds.
 
I agree, unless there is an overhaul of F1 in both technical and competitive aspects - I reckon this will match its popularity before long. The list of drivers for the first season is impressive.
 
The question i've got is where are they going to get the electricity to charge the vehicles. is it going to be solar, wind or good old fashioned solid fuel power stations?

Anyway fuel stop will be intresting, the race could go on for a whole day :D
 
delta79 said:
The question i've got is where are they going to get the electricity to charge the vehicles. is it going to be solar, wind or good old fashioned solid fuel power stations?

Anyway fuel stop will be intresting, the race could go on for a whole day :D
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I'm not sure on where the electricity comes from but the drivers will make a car change mid-race as the batteries won't last a full race. Expect this to change though as technology improves year on year.
 
All races will be broadcast live and free-to-air on ITV in the UK.

Great news and potentially a great coup with F1 going down the pan this year.
 
As someone who hates F1 purely down to the noise (it really puts me on edge) they are now making a better version with less noise but will add it?

AAAAAAHHHHHH.
 
Has anyone watched any of the races so far? It's been much more exciting racing than I expected and the cars are fast! They're also about as loud as the new F1 engines, just with a different sound obviously, they sound like spaceships flying past.
 
It'll be interesting to see what they do about the number of yellow flag/safety car incidents per race. On street circuits you expect a certain amount of contact with walls and other cars, but you don't expect a car designed for them to have suspension failures after going over a curb a bit too hard. I think they'll probably beef up the suspension in the time before the next race to sort that, but I wonder whether they might move to smaller purpose-built circuits that will allow more margin for error for the next series?
 
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I've watched every race so far. Very exciting racing generally, yesterday's race was particularly chaotic. I hope the series continues to gain popularity.

I don't like how the safety car can turn the races into such a lottery, particularly as the races happen on street circuits where safety cars are frequent. The short track lengths means that if the safety car comes out when you're at the wrong part of the track, your race can be over. As much as Sam Bird's penalty cost him places, I think jumping the lights probably saved his race. If he hadn't, he'd have had to drop to the back of the safety car train in last place.

I like the noise, it's very futuristic. I think it's a bit of an exaggeration to say that they're nearly as loud as F1 engines though. Whilst the 2014 spec engines are quieter than the V8s, they're still much louder than any road car engine. With Formula E, you can hear individual cheers from crown members over the cars.

Also, I do feel sorry for Heidfeld. His misfortune is becoming a bit of a Formula E tradition.
 
The problem is they are using it to market electric cars in general, hence racing through urban areas.

I saw them testing at Donington Park and they are so much better on a proper track. So fingers crossed.
 
CGM said:
I think it's a bit of exaggeration to say that they're nearly as loud as F1 engines though. Whilst the 2014 spec engines are quieter than the V8s, they're still much louder than any road car engine. With Formula E, you can hear individual cheers from crown members over the noise..
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They turned the microphone levels up in F1 coverage, it was painfully quiet at first. The noise is comparable in my opinion.
 
Tom said:
They turned the microphone levels up in F1 coverage, it was painfully quiet at first. The noise is comparable in my opinion.
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They turned the mics up after the first race because the TV crews hadn't yet adjusted to the new regulations. The V8s were deafeningly loud and the V10s before them even more so. They needed to turn the mics down to prevent clipping and/or deafening all of the viewers at home. It's understandable that the drop in sound level would throw them off in the first race.

My sister went to the Belgian GP this year and she said the noise was comparable to the NGTC cars used in the BTCC. Maybe not the earth shattering noise that existed before but not exactly quiet either.
 
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