FIA Formula E Championship

Formula E

Category	Single-seater
Country	International
Inaugural season	2014–15
Drivers	20
Teams	10
Constructors	Dallara
Tyre suppliers	Michelin
Official website	FIAFormulaE.com
Current season

Formula E, officially the FIA Formula E Championship, is a class of auto racing, sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), and is the highest class of competition for one-make, single-seater, electrically powered racing cars.^[1] The series was conceived in 2012, and the inaugural championship started in Beijing on 13 September 2014.^[2]

Specifications

Spark-Renault SRT_01 E (FIA Formula E), unveiled at Frankfurt Motor Show 2013

A few details about the specifications have been released by the FIA.^[1]

Overview

• There are 10 teams, 20 drivers, and 40 cars (each team includes 2 drivers and 4 cars)
• ePrix are held in nine cities across the world
• Racing circuits are held in cities, and are approximately 2 to 3.4 km (1.2 to 2.1 mi) long
• Cars accelerate from 0–100 km/h (0–62 mph) in 3 seconds, with a maximum speed of 225 km/h (140 mph)
• Noise decibel levels are approximately 80 dB (SPL) (ordinary car: 70 dB; bus: 90 dB; old Formula One car on track (V10) 130 dB)^[3][4]
• The generators used to re-charge the batteries are powered by Glycerine, a by-product of bio-diesel production.^[5]

Event

• Early morning: two practice sessions, 45-minutes and 30-minutes.
• Late morning: qualifying - drivers are divided into four groups of five and have 10 minutes to post their fastest time.
• Afternoon: the race, with 2 stints and 1 pit stop.
• Pitstops involve a change of car: when the battery power runs low a driver makes a timed pit stop and switches into a new fully charged car.

Races are approximately 45 minutes in length.

Points system

Car

For the first season, all teams were supplied an electric racing car built by Spark Racing Technology, called the Spark-Renault SRT 01E. The chassis was designed by Dallara, with an electric motor developed by McLaren (the same as that used in its P1 supercar), a battery system created by Williams F1 and a Hewland five-speed gearbox. Michelin will be the official tyre supplier.^[6][7][8] For the first season, 42 electric cars have been ordered by the series, with four cars made available to each of the ten teams and two cars kept for testing purposes.^[9]

The former Formula One driver Lucas di Grassi was announced as the series test driver in September 2012.^[10] He later stepped down from this role as he would have been unable to partake as a competitive driver in the first season if he had remained the series test driver.^[11]

It was announced that the second season will see the technical regulations change to allow for new powertrain manufacturers. The manufacturers will only be able to build the electric motor, inverter, gearbox and cooling system. The chassis and battery will stay the same. The series announced that eight manufactures will compete in the 2015-16 season, with existing teams Andretti, Abt Sportsline, Venturi Automobiles, and Virgin Racing Engineering all electing to build their own powertrain. In addition, Motomatica, NEXTEV TCR and Renault Sport will provide for customer teams.^[12]

Seasons

2014–15

Nine host cities are planning races for the 2014/2015 season. On April 11, 2014, a calendar with ten host cities for the 2014–2015 season has been confirmed, which consists of Beijing, Putrajaya, Punta del Este, Buenos Aires, Long Beach, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Berlin, Moscow and finally London, hosting the last two rounds of the championship.

Lucas Di Grassi won the first Formula E race at the Beijing Olympic Green Circuit on 13 September, after Nick Heidfeld and Nicolas Prost crashed out on the final corner. Sam Bird dominated the second event at the Putrajaya Street Circuit, with Oriol Servia starting first following Prost's penalty for his crash in the previous event. Jean-Eric Vergne entered the championship with a surprise pole position at Punta del Este, but a mechanical problem in the penultimate lap left Sébastien Buemi winning the race. Antonio Felix da Costa became the unlikely winner in the next round in Buenos Aires, after Buemi and Di Grassi damaged their suspension in the last chicane, and both Nick Heidfeld and Sam Bird received drive-through penalties. At Miami, Nicolas Prost achieved his first victory of the season, with Scott Speed finishing second in his first race of the championship. Thirty five years after his father won his first Formula One race in Long Beach, Nelson Piquet Jr. took his first Formula E victory at the same venue ahead of Vergne and di Grassi.

2015–16

The second season of Formula E will be held from September 2015 to June 2016. The calendar will be expanded to 12 cities. The season will see the introduction of eight manufacturers, who will be allowed to change certain parts of the car.

Television

Formula E will provide comprehensive live television coverage shown via major broadcasters around the globe (FOX Sports, ITV4, CCTV-5, Sky Deutschland, Canal+ / Sport+, Energy (Spain), TV Asahi^[13]).^[14][15] Production will be carried out by Aurora Media Worldwide.^[16]

Four-time IndyCar champion and three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti is to join the host television commentary team for the FIA Formula E Championship.^[17] Franchitti will act as co-commentator alongside lead commentator Jack Nicholls.^[18] Anchoring the coverage will be presenter and pitlane reporter Nicki Shields.^[19]

See also

• FIM eRoad Racing World Cup
• Formula Lightning
• List of Formula E drivers

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to FIA Formula E Championship.

• Official website
• FIA Formula E Championship on Twitter