Formula E is a hotbed for electric vehicle development. It offers a peek into the future of EVs and helps us understand what to expect from an electric car in the near future. Just as we saw hybrid technology being used for performance gains in F1 with smaller engines and are now only seeing supercars for the road with similar technologies, Formula E offers insight into the future of electric cars, making it a series worth watching.
What exactly is Formula E?
Formula E is an all-electric, single-seater motorsport championship founded in 2011 that held its first race, known as an E-Prix, in 2014. The races are mostly held on street circuits, and the sport is currently in its ninth season. The technology developed for racing has a long history of finding its way into regular cars, and the same is true for electric cars and Formula E.
Which brands compete in Formula E?
Recently, Hyderabad, India hosted the first-ever E-Prix of the country, marking the first international motorsport championship event in nearly a decade. The electric racing series has attracted the attention of several renowned automakers, including Mahindra and Jaguar, both of which are directly connected to India.
Other well-known manufacturers in the sport include Renault, Nissan, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Porsche. The racing teams also feature independent groups that sometimes borrow components from one of the manufacturer teams. For example, Envision Racing is a customer team for Jaguar TCS Racing in the current Formula E championship, enabling the manufacturer to gather more data to understand the full potential of its EV technologies.
The race cars themselves have gone through significant changes since the inception of the electric motorsport. In the beginning, the organizers faced the challenge of developing a battery electric powertrain suitable for racing at full speed for 45 minutes without being too bulky and heavy. After considering battery swapping technology, the organizers opted to switch cars halfway through the race. The Gen2 Formula E car, introduced a few years later, had almost double the energy capacity (54kWh) with improved energy recuperation, all in a similarly sized package that offered better performance as well.
The latest Gen3 cars have an even more evolved powertrain. They are smaller, lighter, and faster, with an electric motor in the front that helps recover more than 40% of the energy at charge rates of up to 600kW. This has allowed manufacturers to use slightly smaller batteries while still providing sufficient racing range and improved performance. Similar improvements have been seen in battery-powered electric cars for the road. Manufacturers have been able to provide increased range from the same battery capacity by using new technologies to optimize power delivery and enhance regenerative capabilities.