Formula E racing series launchedOpen Wheel 

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From a motorsports enthusiast standpoint, I'm still giving Formula E a chance. Okay. So these cars aren't the fastest beasts or the most imposing racing machines, but I think this is the first step in a possible electric/hybrid revolution in racing. I saw a YouTube video from November 2013 of the Spark-Renault SRT_01E doing a test run. I really think that these cars will possibly get better over time. The technology will probably get better. Who knows? Maybe these cars will get to be about as fast as maybe Formula 3 cars or (call me crazy) anything around GP2 or Formula Nippon cars. Perhaps there will be technology and enhancements to make them last longer. Maybe even these cars could last as long as almost any Formula 1 Grand Prix.

I am supportive of Formula E as a motorsports enthusiast. This is a new age of motorsport, but I don't think something like this will have the sort of character the likes of Group C in sportscar racing or Group B in rally racing. Something like Formula E with electric/hybrid racing could spark its own significant era. We'll just have to see how much this motorsport evolves, if indeed it does.
 
JohnBM01
I am supportive of Formula E as a motorsports enthusiast. This is a new age of motorsport, but I don't think something like this will have the sort of character the likes of Group C in sportscar racing or Group B in rally racing. Something like Formula E with electric/hybrid racing could spark its own significant era. We'll just have to see how much this motorsport evolves, if indeed it does.
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I agree. I think this is the proper place for electrics/hybrids, rather than being haphazardly shoved into road cars. I don't think it will pull me from ALMS or other established racing though, and if it did it probably wouldn't be due to the electric motors. That's not necessarily a bad thing though, more racing/engineering and less politics is a win/win for followers.
 
Well, if you can integrate hybrids into other series, why not? They're already in road cars, so a series based on hybrid road cars makes sense.

I do agree about the politics... the flux of rules at the top of LMP1 makes it a game of balance that swings back and forth... I'd rather see what all those cars could do on equal footing, if possible.

prisonermonkeys
Ironically, they will last longer than any Renault-powered Formula 1 car ...
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zing.
 
Reminds me of the Sydney Olympic Park circuit, coincidentally, considering the location.
 
Brutaka
It wouldn't have been that terrible if they had just made a conventional pitlane, but instead they went for "Uniqueness"
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The Baltimore IndyCar circuit had an L-shaped pit lane, with pit bays on either side of the short leg. But that was more out if necessity than novelty, as is the case here.
 
I'm very excited for this series, so I hope they intend to run on tracks featuring more than right angles, small tyre chicanes, long straights between and pitlanes. Dare I even say it, is Tilke about?...
 
pezzarinho17
I'm very excited for this series, so I hope they intend to run on tracks featuring more than right angles, small tyre chicanes, long straights between and pitlanes.
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With a calendar consisting of only street races? Good luck with that! If anything, Monaco will probably be the most exciting track of them all, if only because it's the only one not made of just 90º corners.
 
I still think the Canberra street course that the Australian V8 Supercar Series raced in the early 2000s is still the most brutal street course of all time. This Beijing course doesn't look seriously bad in my view. It could have been worse- they could have raced Macau instead of set up this course in Beijing. I do love and respect Macau, though it may sound like I'm knocking it; but this Beijing course isn't too bad.

In the future, I wonder if the series will take on some more proper circuits. Part of me says the street course happy emphasis is mostly for marketing. I wouldn't look at Formula E as some kind of lifestyle deal like drifting. And besides- who wouldn't want to go fast on city streets, especially in major cities? The focus may shift in the future to at least some semi-permanent courses like Argentina's Portrero de los Funes (raced on by the former FIA GT World Championship) or Australia's Mount Panorama Circuit. Also, it wouldn't be surprising until the series races on more proper and more modern courses. I can easily see tracks like Spa-Francorchamps or Yas Marina Circuit being used by Formula E.

The future looks promising for Formula E as long as there is involvement and interest to try to make this series work. You don't put in this much investment and get little to nothing in return. So we'll see how this all goes once a few races are complete.
 
If these things don't hook up to a 6,7, or 8 speed sequential gear box I'm against it. I'm fine with electric power but I still want to see shifting involved. Imo the best Hybrid system out there is the Orange & White Porsche 911 that uses electric power, but still sends the power to a 6 speed sequential gear box.

-That's cool in my book!
 
^ Happy to hear about that. It will be interesting to watch at least.

joetruckv8
If these things don't hook up to a 6,7, or 8 speed sequential gear box I'm against it. I'm fine with electric power but I still want to see shifting involved. Imo the best Hybrid system out there is the Orange & White Porsche 911 that uses electric power, but still sends the power to a 6 speed sequential gear box.
-That's cool in my book!
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That's because the Porsche is a Hybrid.

Fully Electric cars don't need gears because the engine delivers 100% of the power and torque 100% of the time, so you're not having to chase the power through the rev range with gears.
 
Tired Tyres
Fully Electric cars don't need gears because the engine delivers 100% of the power and torque 100% of the time, so you're not having to chase the power through the rev range with gears.
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From the Formula E website under car specifications:

Gearbox
  • Hewland paddle shift sequential gearbox
  • Fixed gear ratios to reduce costs
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There are videos of the car being driven around as well, you think 2014 F1 is weird...

 
Why is it shaped that way? I'm sure they could have come up with a more efficient shape with a lot of the engine and cooling and plumbing considerations eliminated.
 
Jarno Trulli has tested the car in France last Friday, saying he expected the car to have less in common with traditional single-seaters than it proved during the test: (Includes video)
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/113081

Trulli, Sam Bird, Jerome D'Ambrosio and Nick Heidfeld have all joined the "Drivers Club":
http://www.fiaformulae.com/news/trulli-bird-heidfeld-Ambrosio-join-drivers-club

And for you Brits, the series will be broadcast live on ITV4:
http://www.fiaformulae.com/news/uk-tv-deal
 
Sam Bird and Jaime Alguesuari will drive for Virgin Racing, while former HRT F1 teammates Bruno Senna and Karun Chandok will resume their partnership at Mahindra Racing.
http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2014/may/jaime-alguersuari-and-sam-bird-join-virgin-racing.aspx
http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/...and-bruno-senna-sign-for-mahindra-racing.aspx

Edit: And after driving for Andretti Autosport in the GP of Indy earlier this month, Franck Montagny has signed on to the Andretti Formula E team. http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2014/may/franck-montagny-signs-for-andretti-formula-e-team.aspx
 
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Katherine Legged has joined Super Aguri err... Amlin Aguri, whose name has been changed thanks to a sponsorship deal with insurance company Amlin. Not use why they couldn't have been Amlin Super Aguri, but whatever. Not a fan of the new name.
http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/...gns-katherine-legge-to-race-in-formula-e.aspx

Michela Cerruti Joins Jarno Trulli at TrulliGP, becoming the second female driver in Formula e. She is an Auto GP race winner. http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/...-trulligp-to-become-second-female-driver.aspx

Sebastian Buemi and Nicolas Prost have signed for e-Dams, which now carries backing from Renault ad a rather striking blue and yellow livery. Predictably, Formula e has already started playing up the "Prost vs Senna" rivalry, with second gen drivers Nicolas and Bruno. http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2014/june/buemi-prost-sign-for-newly-titled-edams-renault.aspx

Also, The London venue for Formula e will be Battersea Park, with more details (including track layout) to be announced later. http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2014/june/london-eprix-track-location-revealed.aspx

 
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Antonio Felix da Costa has been announced as Aguri's second driver, he is most famous for almost being as good as Daniil Kvyat.
 
Interesting driver lineups here, the mix of backgrounds combined with the spec-ness of the series should make for some very close and interesting racing, hopefully. There's no stand-out driver yet that just screams "I'm gonna wipe the track with the rest of these fools" which is nice.

Not often we get to see a racing series born completely from scratch. There's no favorites, no history to go off of, all the cars are up in the air.
 
Tired Tyres
Fully Electric cars don't need gears because the engine delivers 100% of the power and torque 100% of the time, so you're not having to chase the power through the rev range with gears.
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They can get by because they have an incredible rev range, but you can still improve acceleration and/or economy by fitting more gears. This is similar to the way a gasoline engine is perfectly fine with three or four gears, but can be better still with five, six, seven or eight.

And they don't quite make 100% of their torque at all times. It drops off as the revs rise.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-video/just-how-much-power-does-tesla-model-s-produce

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Omnis
Why is it shaped that way? I'm sure they could have come up with a more efficient shape with a lot of the engine and cooling and plumbing considerations eliminated.
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Electric motors and batteries still need lots of cooling. I'd wager that some of the battery pack is in the sidepods, too, to keep the COG low.

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I'm beginning to think this will be a series worth watching. Hopefully they'll carry it locally on Star.
 

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