Formula E: Fast Track

If five years ago someone said you could have a Formula season of electric cars, you would have dismissed him as a fool. You probably still will.

Fo most motorsports fans, racing is about excitement, danger and sounds loud enough to burst your eardrums. Every component is just as important as the other. At first sight, Formula E lacks one of the essentials — the cars sounds nothing like a race car. The sound of a revved up Formula 1 engine, at a deafening 130 dB, is loud enough to cause instant damage. The engine of a Formula E car, on the other hand, is milder, and safer, at 80 dB.

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Alejandro Agag, chief executive of the Formula E championship, the latest FIA-sanctioned entrant to the racing scene, would rather not focus on what the series doesn’t have, but on what it offers. The Spark-Renault SRT_01E maxes out at roughly 225 kmph and accelerates from 0-62mph in just 2.9 seconds. Plus, it’s zero emission and no pollution. “When we started Formula E, we were clear about how we would position this series, and it’s not competing with F1,” Agag told FHM in a chat from Donington Park, the world base for the series. “A traditional F1 fan isn’t my target. For Formula E, we want to attract the younger generation that’s more concerned about the environment, is active on social media and loves racing. I would say we’re complimentary to F1,” he adds.

Struggling to bring down its carbon footprint and hoping to be seen as an effective research ground for customer cars, F1 has taken steps in the recent years that haven’t earned it many admirers. Most affected are the engines as the sport goes further than ever before to embrace ‘green’ technology.

Formula E is ahead of the game, as the car can burn serious rubber without a trace of exhaust, pleasing both tree huggers and tech nerds. It also scores over F1 in effective time management and fan involvement. The race format is similar to its massively popular cousin, in the sense that it has practice sessions followed by qualifying and then the race. But Formula E is a one-day race weekend, and will be held in city centres. “We want to hold our races in city centres and limit the inconvenience to the city and its citizens as much as we can,” Agag explains.

The unique initiatives don’t just stop at the electric car. Instead of changing tyres at a pitsop, cars will be recharged. The predominant technology challenge for the series, will be battery duration. Each car is expected to run for 25 minutes and each driver will have two cars. “So in a 60-minute race, there will be two pitstops where a driver will change his car,” explains Agag.

It will also give fans the power to influence results. Each car will have access to three power boosts per race, as well as a fourth will be awarded to the driver who gets the highest number of votes from fans on social media by the half way point. “We want Formula E to be as interactive as possible and for fans to feel involved. By allowing them to vote for their favourite driver and potentially influence the race — they will get this rather than just feel like they’re watching from afar,” is Agag’s logic.

Agag, seen as a mover and shaker in important circles, has seen how a successful series needs to be run from close quarters. Millionaires and sharp minds like Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore are among his friends, and he owns a GP2 and GP3 team. F1 drivers like Romain Grosjean, Vitaly Petrov and Lucas di Grassi were once drivers for his GP2 outfit, Addax. Di Grassi, who was the Formula E test driver till last month, was the first driver to be signed up for the series by Audi Sport Abt, and joined GP2 racer Daniel Abt behind the wheel.

He has brands like McLaren — who have built the electric motor that powers the cars — and Williams, who supply the battery units. Michelin is the official tyre supplier and people like billionaire maverick Richard Branson, Alain Prost, Michael Andretti, actor and environmentalist-in-the-making Leonardo di Caprio, as well as India’s own, Mahindra Racing. “Having a team like Mahindra Racing on board is extremely important for the Formula E. India is a country of such huge potential and we knew we would need a strong Indian partner,” Agag says of the team that could help the 10-race series get some sort of a foothold here.

Another factor that could help the series is the presence of India’s two — only two — former F1 drivers, Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok, in the Drivers Club — a pool of potential drivers who’ll have an early opportunity to test the championship’s car. While their presence in the series is dependent on teams signing them, it does gives Indian hacks reason to write about the series.

Chandhok, who has known Agag from his GP2 days, believes the series has hit the sweet spot, especially when all major car manufacturers are looking to include an electric car in their portfolio. “Countries and governments are getting conscientious, clean tech and green energy are the new buzz words, and all car manufacturers have announced an electric car — Formula E couldn’t have come at a better time,” says Chandhok, who’s hoping to divide his time between Formula E and the World Endurance Championship.

Internationally, the series has been making the right noises. A demo run on the Las Vegas strip as part of the Consumer Electronics Show showed what the car can do, even with just 80 dB sound output. And therein, lies Formula E’s biggest challenge: to change the perception of electric cars — seen as slow, ugly and unexciting. A perception that Tesla roadster has already begun changing.

Agag is aware of these notions, and believes that sooner than later — perhaps September 13 in Beijing — electric cars will be the new ‘it’ thing. “Seeing these cars race will change people’s minds. 225 kmph is fast and the series will be a game changer,” he states confidently.

The car

For the first season all 20 drivers will race in identical cars. The Spark-Renault SRT_01E car has been designed by Spark Racing Technology, led by Frédéric Vasseur who has many years of motorsport experience. “We wanted it to be quick, difficult to drive, and to look a bit different without going to the extreme…we didn’t want it to look like a Batmobile! We wanted something people would still recognise as a race car and gave him a fairly free reign to make the car look cool and fun, and I think he’s done a super job,” says Agag of the car.

• Acceleration: 0-100 kmph in 2.9 seconds
• Top-speed: 225 kmph

Mahindra Racing

“Electric cars can go as fast as 225 kmph and are fun to drive. We believe that a large section of the population sincerely thinks electric cars are environment friendly, as they have zero emissions and are ideal products for city driving to bring down pollution, but hesitate to take a plunge and make up their mind about buying one due to preconceived notions.” Undoubtedly, the Formula E races with coverage on TV and pictures flashed across digital media and print will go a long way in bringing excitement to the electric car category. Formula E will help contribute to the additional sale of 77 million electric vehicles worldwide over the next 25 years.” – SP Shukla, Chairman, Mahindra Racing

Electric cars we love

• Tesla Model S: Probably the most well recieved electric car in the world, besides being heavily flaunted by Hollywood A-listers, this car can reach a top speed of 210 km/ hr, and has a range of more than 400 kms on a single charge.
• Drayson Lola: Last October, this baby out of high performance motor racing house Drayson Technologies clocked in a top speed of 333 km/hr, the fastest speed set by any electric car in the world. The car is built on B10 LeMans Prototype platform.
• Nissan Leaf: Move over Toyota Prius and give this green technological advent some respect. Besides running on electrcity, the car also clocks a top speed of 150 km/hr and a fully charged one will let you loaf around for close to 200 kms.

From the March 2014 issue of FHM India.