Is electricity removing the balls from motorsports?

We may have closed out the last F1 season in patriotic style, but there’s a brand-new supercharged motorsport on the circuit, one that’s still revving up speed fans through to mid-June.

Formula E, the world’s first fully-electric racing series that’s halfway through its first season, isn’t just causing shockwaves in the Formula 1 world, it’s strapping electrodes to its gonads and sending a seismic pulse through them.

Read FHM India in the digital libraryEvery issue, every shoot, on TCG Media.

F1 may have been flirting with electric power since 2009, but the fledgling championship sees a full-on committal to all-sparky engines. Critics bemoan the distinct lack of grunt in Formula E, with top race speeds at a ‘doddery’ 130mph compared to the insane 200mph-plus records smashed in F1. But even the fastest lap in F1 can’t stop its slow decline, where it’s now lacking much on-track competition, and in-fighting is rife.

Meanwhile, Formula E is fast(ish) gaining a rep for innovation among genuine race fans. It’s a hit with the tree-huggers among us, and the eco technology is evolving on a race-by-race basis. But the most tempting element is the level of fan interaction afforded to FE-lovers. The ‘Fan boost’ app allows spectators to vote for their favourite driver, with the most popular three being awarded an extra 30kw to use for five seconds per race.

Now, the glitz of Formula E could be coming to an Asda car park near you. While F1 relies on sweeping shots of yacht-owning billionaires quaffing champers in Monaco, FE takes a one-day race format to city centre circuits, with the final race of the year screaming around London. It remains to be seen whether Formula E will give F1 a run for its vast mountain of money, but it’s not running out of charge any time soon.

From the March 2015 issue of FHM India.