Start, Formula E, Marrakech, 2019

First Formula E world championship to begin in 2021

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In the round-up: The next Formula E season won’t start until 2021.

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Comment of the day

F1’s latest aerodynamic problem is actually a tyre problem, argues Roger:

If Pirelli had come up with a 2020 tyre that was actually good then maybe we could have avoided this.

But as usual Pirelli proved incapable of meeting even it’s own targets and all of the drivers as well as teams found the supposedly better 2020 tyres to be even worse than what they already had.

At what point do you just have to admit that Pirelli aren’t up to F1 standards, I mean how many times has F1 had to introduce new rules to suit the deficiencies of the tyres now? It’s a joke at this point that the pinnacle of the sport has to continually deal with some of the worst tyres in all of motor sport.

It’s time for change, Either let somebody else have a go or allow tyre competition like was allowed for the majority of F1’s history because F1 is supposed to be about competition.
@Roger-Ayles

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On this day in F1

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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26 comments on “First Formula E world championship to begin in 2021”

  1. i know this is not really important right now but that Ignorant ‘first working class world Champion’ quote just comes across sooo self-centered…
    basically the only rich-guy world champ was his personal hero Senna. (yeah i know Theres probably others) …
    also why call it the 2020-2021 season if it’s exclusively held in 2021?
    lets hope Alex pulls through, read his book like 15 years ago and had a blast just yesterday listening to his beyond the grid Episode…

    1. ‘first working class world Champion’

      apparently this was a misquoted

  2. An easy and all too common error by Lewis H. for so many people History is only about their lifetime and geography only about places they are familiar with. I don’t profess to be knowledgeable about the background of all F1 champions but the moment I read that comment I thought “what about Jack Brabham”, 3 x WDC and a fitter and turner by trade, that’s working class for you.

    1. Nigel Mansell?

      1. Was thinking of mansell when I read that. But it’s a bit of a selective quote, which doesn’t sound as bad in context. It’s better than Sam Smith claiming to be the first gay Oscar winner, for example, which was just laughable.

        1. Fangio himself was working class, not his parents. Clark also.
          Alonso’s father worked in a factory and his mother in a shop.
          Hakkinen’s father was a taxi driver and her mother a secretary
          Andretti during his live was a refugee twice and had to earn his own money to begin racing.
          And I’m pretty sure there are more cases.
          F1 is a rich kid sport, as it always has been. But to get to world champion being a rich kid is not enough.

          I don’t question the hardship the Hamilton had to pass to get to where he is right now. Being black in an environment so white centered must have been hard.
          But what he said was factually false.
          Also, he also had the privilege to be born in Britain, probably the best place in the world to be born if you want to be a racing driver.

          1. I personally have something against tattoos; I ignorantly consider it something ‘working class’.
            In this light (undoubtedly haughty) I can agree with Lewis.

          2. Häkkinen’s father was actually radio operator. Then started to drive taxi as well to earn more money to help Mika’s career.

    2. Well if others are deliberately leaving out the ‘black’ part of the quote and replying to their own edited version so as to push their own private agenda, I’m leaving out the ‘working class’ bit as well. So who the hell does Hamilton think he is claiming to be the first F1 World Champion?

  3. Hamilton has a messiah complex.

  4. Bruce McLaren, Denny Hulme, Chris Amon. Just to mention a few Kiwi’s without the benefit of a silver spoon. Pretty sure other countries had “working class” hero’s.

    Maybe other could comment on the Jim Clarks, Jackie Stewart’s or Graham Hill’s of this world.

    1. The Hill family at least was dirt-poor after Graham died. They lost everything after the plane crash and even had to sell his F1 trophies. That’s when Damon started as a motorbike courier to earn money, which then led to 2-wheel-racing, wich he financed by working as a building labourer.

      1. Bones Gambino
        20th June 2020, 13:25

        Don’t confuse financial difficulties with social class. Damon Hill was brought up strictly middle class, and all the benefits that brings, due to his father’s fame and fortune.

  5. The quote in the roundup from the Men’s Health article missed quite an important word. The actual quote from Hamilton was: “I was the first working-class, black F1 champion. I’m proud to have paved the way for others.”

    1. So he could simply have missed out the ‘working class’ bit, then – particularly seeing as he has never worked in a ‘real’ job.
      He could also have missed out the ‘black’ part, seeing as he wants to bring an end to discrimination. We are all humans of equal value, aren’t we – our skin colour makes no difference.

      He’d do himself and everybody else a huge favour if he stopped making himself out to be a symbol of perfection and a guiding light for all people. He’s officially achieved celebrity status now – he thinks like one.

      1. synonymous, except that to many, it still does mean discrimination – there have been multiple studies undertaken just a few years ago in the UK (in 2017) that showed that discrimination against individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds was widespread and proving to be far worse than originally thought.

        Much as you become rather defensive whenever it is mentioned and seem to want to dismiss the idea, there are many who do keep getting reminded that their skin colour is a difference and a problem to others.

      2. Yea, we get it. He’s too ‘uppity’ for your kind.

    2. Ah, that makes sense @keithedin, shame that bit got dropped, because without it the line is not actually true. But with that addition, it does.

  6. COTD is spot on. The tyres are hugely letting the sport down. I know they argue that the FIA (or was it FOM?) mandated them to make fragile tyres but at this far remove that just doesn’t wash with me. I think pirelli are incapable of changing the fundamental design philosophy of the tyre, due partly to the lack of testing but also it would seem through a lack of commercial will. The contract system for single tyre supplier is broken and is failing the sport – a tyre war surely had its downsides but could it be worth another chance in budget capped F1? I’d love to see some more variety in any case.

    1. Comments such as these just reinforce how hard it is for many viewers to relate to the demands that an F1 car puts on its tyres.
      Most viewers will never understand many of the finer technical details associated with motorsport, so there will always be unrealistic expectations and uninformed opinions.

      Certainly, bring on other tyre manufacturers.
      Even if it doesn’t create the cure many expect, at least it will show everyone that the other manufacturers would find it equally difficult and Pirelli aren’t just rubbish after all.

    2. The CotD is correct in identifying the tyres as the reason for the unnecessary chassis development next year.
      But don’t blame Pirelli (this time). It’s all the FIAs fault as they should have mandated the 2020 tyres; it was a safety decision and not a ‘what do teams think is a better tyres’ decision.
      @frood19

    3. The reason teams voted against using those tyres, was not about their performance. The CotD is wrong there. The actual reason was that teams felt it would be wasted effort to do the remodeling of their CFD models to adjust for tyres that behaved differently for a single year.

      Off course now that these cars will be used for another year, and will see more development, maybe with hindsight it might have been better to take those tyres. But that boat has long ago sailed, so in the end, the teams need to do redevelopment, explicitly because they voted to avoid that redevelopment earlier.

      As @coldfly mentions, this is not Pirreli’s fault. They did bring tyres that would have been able to cope with development. But the FIA allowed the teams to choose not to. And that backfired with the events unfolding @frood19

      1. Pirelli did not bring better tires for the 2020 season, they were tested and it was clear thru the testing that the tires were trash. It was clearly a performance based decision. Go back and read the driver’s quotes after COTA testing and more importantly after the Abu Dhabi post season test.

  7. Interesting reading both the Motortrend and Mens Health-posts.

    I only agree with the COTD to an extent, not fully.

  8. I really think Pirelli is hobbled still by the unreasonable demands that the FIA puts to them. As they said once themselves, they could probably make a tyre that lasts the entire season (also read a comment here that had verified this). The requirements need to change, not specifically the manufacturer.

    1. Indeed.
      Didn’t F1 or the FIA comment a while ago that they finally realised they’ve been giving Pirelli the wrong targets all along?
      They’ve been demanding soft tyres that wear out abruptly, when they should have been asking for something more durable and consistent and with a wider performance window.

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