Beginner's Guide to Formula E

So, you're new to formula e.

Welcome! I'm glad you've found an interest in ABB Formula E and want to learn more about the series.

So what do you want to know?

What's the basics?

Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The inaugural championship race was held in Beijing in September 2014. Since 2020, the series has FIA world championship status. Racing takes place mostly on temporary street circuits, with a view to bringing the series easily to the fans in their cities. The Formula E championship is currently contested by eleven teams with two drivers each. The sport features electric-powered race cars similar in style to the hybrid-drive cars of Formula 1 and other single seater categories. Unlike some other racing series, Formula E has one type of tyres (all weather tyres), which are now supplied by Hankook, and previously were supplied by Michelin. The cars used are more in line with a 'spec' series, given that the battery pack and chassis are of standard design rather than unique to a team, although some parts such as the powertrain can be made by a team or provided by a supplier/customer team.

How can i follow formula e?

You can find the Formula E social media here:

Website: https://www.fiaformulae.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/FIAFormulaE

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FIAFormulaE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fiaformulae/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fiaformulae/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fiaformulae?lang=en

Formula E app: Available for Apple and Android (race updates and unedited team radio)

How can i watch formula e?

There's a section on the FE website which tells you how to watch in your region. As I'm in the UK, I can advise mainly for my area: if you're not UK based I'd suggest putting your details on the link provided to see how to watch where you are. For the UK, the series is now being hosted on TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport). This was announced on 7 December 2023 here. The Formula E press release states "TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms including BT TV, Sky and Virgin Media. Existing BT Sport customers can watch and enjoy TNT Sports without needing to take any further action. discovery+ is the streaming destination for TNT Sports in the UK, presenting many of the world’s most celebrated sports events including the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, exclusive Premier League games, Premiership Rugby, MotoGP, UFC, boxing, and WWE, together with great entertainment.

*TNT Sports is not available on discovery+ in the Republic of Ireland."

What's the weekend format?

The weekend generally consists of two practice sessions of 30 minutes each, followed by a qualifying session and a race, for a single header race. Where a weekend has a double header race, there would generally be two practice sessions, a qualifying session and a race, then the following day a further practice session, qualifying session and race. Races from season 9 will run to a lap count rather than the previously used 45 minutes plus one lap. To maintain consistency with the switch to laps, Safety Car and Full Course Yellow interruptions to racing will now be compensated by added laps, replacing the additional racing time feature.

How does qualifying work?

From season 8 onwards (2021-22), Formula E are using a "knockout" Duels style qualifying format. Regulations were updated for Season 9 - We made you a visual guide - click here!

What was fanboost?

Fanboost was a Formula E only feature. For each race, fans could vote for their favourite driver via the official website or app to give them an extra power boost which was activated by pushing an overtake button. Voting started 3 days before the event and closed after the opening 15 minutes of the race. The five winning Fanboost drivers each received an extra power burst that could be used in a 5-second window during the second half of the race.

On 18th November 2022, Formula E confirmed via an update to the sporting regulations that Fanboost was discontinued and will not feature from Season 9.

What is attack mode?

Attack Mode is a Formula E feature where drivers can activate a temporary power boost (from 300kW to 350kW) by driving through activation points on the circuit, which will take them out of the normal racing line. It is mandatory to use the total amount of time allocated for the Attack Mode. You could liken Attack Mode to the DRS feature in Formula 1, or Push-To-Pass in Indycar where it would be used either to attack or defend.

In each race, Competitors will be allocated with a specific quantity of Attack Mode to be published in a Bulletin at the beginning of each Competition.

What's Gen3?

Season 9 brought with it a brand new car, named Gen3 It was officially announced during the Season 8 Monaco race weekend - you can find more details here.

Design, engineering and production innovations for the Gen3 race car include:

Performance:

Fastest Formula E car yet with a top speed over 322 kph / 200 mph.
Most efficient formula racing car ever with more than 40% of the energy used within a race produced by regenerative braking.
Around 95% power efficiency from an electric motor delivering up to 350kW of power (470BHP), compared to approximately 40% for an internal combustion engine.
First-ever formula car with both front and rear powertrains. A new front powertrain adds 250kW to the 350kW at the rear, more than doubling the regenerative capability of the current Gen2 to a total of 600kW.
Ultra-high speed charging capability of 600kW for additional energy during a race, almost double the power of the most advanced commercial chargers in the world.
The first formula car that will not feature rear hydraulic brakes with the addition of the front powertrain and its regenerative capability.

What's "attack charge"?

Formula E and the FIA have been working with strategic technology partners to develop pioneering battery and charging capabilities that will allow the new smaller, faster and lighter Gen3 cars to receive a boost of energy during the race. This collaboration has resulted in the development of a battery capable of receiving 4kWh of energy inside 30 seconds - the most advanced EV battery in the world today - delivered by a 600kW booster.

A mandatory 30-second Attack Charge stop during a pre-determined period in the race will unlock two enhanced Attack Mode periods to be deployed later in the race where the power output of the Gen3 race cars will increase from 300kW to 350kW.

Attack Charge was set to be trialled at select races in Season 9, but now won't feature until Season 10, according to The Race. The existing Attack Mode format of a temporary power boost activated by drivers during the race will be maintained in races where Attack Charge is not implemented.

I heard about "rookies" taking part? What does that involve?

As per the updated Sporting Regulations from Season 9 onwards, "On at least two (2) occasions during the Championship, each Competitor must, during the first free practice of a Competition, use a Driver who is not included in the Season Entry List as per Article 13.7 nor has never participated in a Formula E race in his career before. Seven (7) days prior to the start of the relevant Competition, each Competitor must provide the FIA in writing with the details of the Driver and the race car number that they will use." This is the same procedure as followed by Formula 1 teams. (EDIT: 13/01/2023 This has been confirmed as being reduced to 1 occasion per team, but same rules apply) I have an Instagram post here which might explain further. The most recent Rookie Test happened after the Rome E-Prix of season 9, and further Rookie Tests will happen in Season 10.

Anything else you want to know?

If there's a question you still have and I've not already covered it, please feel free to get in touch via any of my social media pages and I'll see what I can do!