Formula E - First Jolt

One of the advantages of living near a race track is that sometimes you get to attend some interesting events. So it was yesterday when I went to see a new brand new Motorsport go through it's initial testing before hitting the world stage.

Formula E  is a new FIA single-seater championship. The unique selling point however is that this is the first championship where the cars will be totally electric powered.

When it was announced that they would be holding free test days at my local circuit, Donington Park,  I thought I would go and have a look and see what all the fuss is about.

The first thing that hits you as you enter the park is the amount of money spent on new Formula E facilities. Donington has been chosen as the official headquarters for the teams and in a relatively short period, new buildings have sprung up to house not only administration buildings, but also sites for the formula E teams. After the debacle of Donington parks attempt to host F1, this is a welcome boost to the park, although it does mean that its future is now irrecoverably tied to the success of an untried format.

On the plus side, it is clear that there is some serious money behind the formula. You cannot mention Formula E without being told that Leonardo Di Caprio is the co-owner of one of the teams. While his name adds a touch of glamour (go on, name a team principle of any other team in Motorsport), I'm pretty sure his technical input is probably minimal. However the list of the other owners shows a broad range of technical and high power financial backing. It is also significant that there is also a lot of backing from the emerging economies such as China and India.

The cars.

From the outside the cars look like any other single seat racing car. They do have a number of design points which make them stand out, such as the large side pods(which personally I am not sure about) on the front wings and the winglets on the sides(which are actually side impact bars). However apart from that, they could be any other formula type racing car.

It is only when they are running that you see the difference. Or to be more accurate, hear it. Compared to the roar of a V8, you get the whine of an electric engine. While not exactly silent, compared to any other sports car, it is so quiet that they almost creep up on you. One of the pit crew said that one of the issues they haver is that they do not hear them when they come into the pits, so catching the crew by surprise (Maybe the FIA will have to attach beepers to the cars when in the pit lane). They are so quiet that you hear the noises obscured on other racing cars such as the clunk as the gear slots home.

However these are racing cars and not souped up invalid carriages, so the most important factor is how fast do they go? Well on the day I visited they were completing the Donington's GP circuit in about 1 minute 35. This was an average speed of about 95 m.p.h

Comparing this with other formulas, you would find that a Formula 1 would be going at an average of 115 m.p.h, while Formula 3 would go at about 105 m.p.h. Even a historic racer such as the 1970's
Brabham BT30 can get round at 96 m.p.h.  A top end sport cars such as Porche's or Ferrari in race trim would outpace these cars by about 5 miles an hour.

So at first sight, this is not too impressive. However there are some caveats here. Firstly these were the first tests, so there is no doubt that  there is more to come from these cars. Also as part of the test they had added an artificial chicane to the circuit, so slowing the cars down. Finally unlike other formulas they will not be racing using super sticky slick tyres, instead they will only use a grooved tyre so reducing the overall grip.

Another factor is that these cars were not designed for race circuits like Donington, but for street circuits, which will be tight, twisty and without the long straights. This will be where the high torque produced by these electric engines will be at an advantage and they will not be so reliant on a ultimate top speed ( whichj is approx 140 m.p.h compared to a F1's 250 m.p.h) . If we compare it to a similar street racer such as a Caterham, the times start looking far more respectable (However it will be great to get a comparison such as a lap round somewhere like Monte Carlo).

One area where electric cars are definitely lacking however is range. A formula E car will last about 25 minutes at race speed, with the batteries requiring 45 minutes to recharge which, if happened, would be a long pit stop. To get around this, each driver will have 2 cars each and will swap at half race distance. Even so it will be interesting to see how they manage and predict the battery energy levels.

Will it be a success?

The organisers have definitely given the formula every chance, with the heavy use of social media to raise awareness. There will even be an opportunity to vote for your favorite driver during the race and in doing so provide them with a power boost. This may well in the long run prove a gimmick too far, however it does show that the organisers are not scared to think outside the box.

The drivers are no slouches either. While we will not be seeing the Hamilton's and Alonso's of this world,  the drivers signed up consist of a mixture of experienced ex-Formula 1 drivers such as Jarno Trulli, those just on the edge of Formula 1 such as Sébastien Buemi  and Lucas di Grassi and up and coming young drivers such as Nicolas Prost . Many are probably in with a chance of an eventual  F1 seat, so the fact they are racing in this formula says a lot about their confidence in the future of the sport. It is especially great to see the line up including women drivers. It is about time talented women got a chance in motorsport and it will certainly help raise media raise interest and hopefully introduce the sport to a whole new demographic.

There will be no problem viewing the sport, with the races being shown live across the world to both free terrestrial and pay per view services. There will also be plenty of opportunities for people to see it live by racing on city street circuits in some of the biggest cities in the world.

Because the cars are basically identical, the racing should be close and exciting. The use of the power boost function should provide more opportunities for overtaking and I personally cannot wait to see how these torquey cars will handle the wet.

However these cars are never likely to win over the hard core F1 fans, such as the type who complained bitterly about the move from V8 to V6 and the associated reduction in decibals . Nor will it win over the Jeremy Clarkson's of this world, who feel that if you cannot smell the benzene it is not racing. Formula E instead will haveto get it's supporters from both those who feel alienated from formula 1 due to its perceived elitism and attendant high prices together with those who at present have little interest in any motorsport at all. The use of street circuits should help here since it will allow the maximum exposure to those who would normally not watch motor sport if it was run on a normal circuit.

The big test however will be the cars reliability. With 4 cars per team competing, the chances are increased that at least one or more of the cars will not complete race distance. The last thing that the race requires is it to be marred by a large number of cars being stranded around the track through reliability issues or simply running out of battery power.

Does Formula E matter? 

In the old days of motor racing, cars used to have as much to do with the normal driving experience as a firework has with a Saturn V rocket.

As the technology level increased and its attendant costs, the need for major components to be developed using the resources of large multi-national companies became paramount. As it did, just having the name on the side on the car was not enough recompense for these companies. Instead the sport became a test bed for new technology, and the innovations gradually filtering down to normal road cars. In fact one of the reasons for the move from V8 to V6's in Formula 1 was that the engine manufacturers could not justify the cost of developing technology which increasingly was out of kilter with everyday cars.

Most major motor manufacturers have some sort of electric car program. Whether you consider them a sop to the green lobby or the future of motoring is irrelevant. The fact is they represent a considerable investment and at the same time  provide lots of good publicity to the respective companies. Formula E should eventually provide an excellent test bed for such technology.

I say eventually, because the first year will be about getting the cars on the road. The cars will basically be identical, with little room for innovation. However hopefully in subsequent years the formula rules will be relaxed to allow each team to bring in different technologies to advance the car design.

I have one slight query and that is about the present sponsors. While companies such as McAfee and Qualcomm are companies with interests in high tech, they are not known in the area of electrical power.

The organisers may have missed a trick by not encouraging companies like Siemens, ABB and GE to get more involved. I work for GE and I know that they have a huge investment in electrical technology such as motors and control. I can see a great synergy in  GE's use of technology and Formula E, such as the use of advanced prognostics and data gathering technology. This makes even more sense when you consider Formula E will be of great interest in emerging markets such as China and India, both places where GEis trying to expand.

Maybe that is for next year, once the race format and technology has proved itself. It is easy to foresee that there will be a lot of teething problems in the first year of competition, but hopefully we will also see some great racing around some of the greatest cities in the world.

So will it work?

While at the race track I took a very unscientific straw poll about how the spectators felt about the cars and the racing. Without exception the reactions were positive. Of course it is possible that these were the already converted, but it does show that there is an audience

For myself I cannot wait for the series to begin in September. I have already tied my colours to the mast by supporting the Amlin Aguri team on the very superficial basis that they have the nicest looking car and were definitely the most welcoming in the pits.

At the very least it promises an interesting year ahead. At it's best I may have seen the start of a revolution in Motorsport

The evolution of Electric vehicles