Formula E seeks to regain prestige lost at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic

Not long ago, Formula E burst onto the world motorsport scene with a rapid rise. In less than a decade, it prided itself on being frequently compared to F1 and fought to be internationally considered the second largest single-seater category.

Created in 2014, the electric car championship has managed since its debut to gather some important elements to establish itself as an important competition, such as attracting major automakers interested in the development of sustainable vehicles, as well as drivers in search of post-F1 challenges, following the which Brazilian Felipe Massa passed in 2018.

The “category of the future” label and the fact that it was loved by a younger audience allowed FE to dream of bigger leaps each season —according to the category, 18% of its worldwide audience is made up of people aged 18 to 30 years. All this until the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

If the past pointed to a growth curve, the present reveals an uncertain future. The category opened the 2023 season this Saturday (14) at the Hermanos Rodríguez race track, in Mexico City, pressured by the need to recalculate its route to grow again.

“This is an important year. If this year is imperfect, we will have a big problem”, he says, questioned by Sheet, FE CEO Jamie Reigle. “I am confident that we will be better [este ano]. I’m confident the audience will like it. I think it’s a good time.”

At the debut of Gen3, the third and fastest generation of electric cars, Lucas Di Grassi —champion in 2014/15— started on pole, but ended up crossing the finish line in third.

Briton Jake Dennis won, and German Pascal Wehrlein was second.

Also Brazilian Sergio Sette Câmara was one of the 18 riders who completed the race. He came in 16th.

The racetrack was packed, and the public reacted well to the busy race, as a sign that the appeal for competition is still alive despite the problems faced from 2020 onwards, with the severe impact of Covid-19.

Initially, 14 stages were planned in 12 cities, but seven races were postponed and then canceled due to the crisis. It was unfeasible to maintain the tradition of racing in large urban centers, one of the hallmarks of the FE.

The solution to at least complete the calendar for that year was controversial. There were six races in just one week, with double rounds in Berlin, Germany.

In addition to the public’s dissatisfaction, the loss of contracts with large cities represented a financial blow for the category, one of the first motorsport organizations to initiate cost containment due to the pandemic.

This generated sporting reflexes, such as budget constraints for the teams to develop the cars. The limitation clashed with FE’s own philosophy of being a laboratory for automakers, which requires investments.

No wonder some of them left the competition and migrated to other electric car championships, such as the WEC (World Endurance Championship), the path followed by Peugeot. At the end of last year, Mercedes also decided to withdraw to focus on F1 – in contrast, McLaren took the opposite route and entered the electric car competition in 2023.

FE’s main target audience, young people were also seduced by rival categories, especially by F1. After historically ignoring these fans, the world’s main motor racing competition began to see them as the goose that lays the golden eggs when it was bought by the Liberty Media group, from the United States.

Since 2016, when they took control of F1, the Americans started to invest in young people and formed a new generation of fans attracted, above all, by the Netflix series “Drive to Survive”, about the backstage of the category and the relationships between drivers and teams.

With its essence affected by restrictions in the regulation and without this type of media appeal, it was up to FE to seek alternatives to remain attractive.

“The past is the past. The future is always more important,” says Jamie Reigle. “We’re trying to create a sport where, you know, we’re compared to F1 or big sports that have been around for a long time, and we don’t have that history. So for us, the future is always the most important thing.”

The executive’s main bet is precisely the debut of the Gen3 this year.

The car of this generation is the fastest ever made in the category, with a top speed of 320 km/h (40 km/h more than the previous generation). It is also slightly smaller, to facilitate overtaking and avoid accidents. And it has two engines, one rear and one front, capable of generating energy from braking.

The new regulations provide for a change in the format of the races, which are no longer closed by time, but by laps.

After losing contracts with major cities at the height of the pandemic, the competition has expanded again, with the inclusion of Hylderabad (India), Cape Town (South Africa), Portland (United States) and São Paulo, which will make its premieres on March 25.

“When you think about the markets where the FE is not present, like Brazil [agora presente]mainland China and Japan [ainda fora]for example, are really important markets [para os carros elétricos]. In addition, Brazil has a great history with motorsport, it is very important for us”, says Jamie Reigle.

There will be a total of 16 stages, the last of them in London, on July 30, when it will be possible to find out if the year 2023 has managed to mark the rebirth of the electric car competition.