Which drivers and circuits would you like to see added to Formula E?
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Formula E has ended its 10-city tour of the world in its inaugural season with no less than 35 names from the world of Formula 1, World Endurance Championship, IndyCar and even the odd DTM driver. It also visited shortened circuits of arguably the most famous street course in IndyCar and arguably the most famous circuit in Formula 1. However, with the majority of next year’s seats not taken yet, and plans to increase the length of the calendar to at least 12 events, which circuits and drivers from the world of motorsport would we like to see in Formula E?
There are two drivers who immediately spring to mind who I believe would be incredibly competitive at this level:
Scott Dixon has won three IndyCar titles in the past, and is the absolute master of saving fuel. He even managed to win from dead last in 2014 on a circuit not known for much overtaking.
Andre Lotterer has been an absolute joy to watch in the WEC this season. Whilst his height may be an issue, his skills are without a doubt there.
There are two circuits I would like to see too:
The Toronto Street Circuit is one awesome circuit in IndyCar, and arguably the second-best circuit Canada has got. With different surfaces on different parts of the track, it catches many drivers out, especially in the rain.
The Singapore Street Circuit could well also work as a Formula E circuit, provided they crop the track so it uses either the east or the west sections. It’s the type of track which I feel would suit the style of racing that Formula E provides.
I just hope they come back to Punta del Este. I was eager to attend, but money issues prevented my family to go (Punta del Este is quite far away from the capital city Montevideo, and the coach ticket is a bit expensive, not to mention general admission was $600, which is USD22 but is a lot of money for our economy). However, I’d love to see them on Australia’s Surfer’s Paradise (or Gold Coast), on Adelaide or maybe on Pau in France. Macao is also an awesome track but the fast main section would make the cars look a bit silly.
As for drivers, I’d like people fully comitted to the championship. I hate teams swapping drivers every race. It’d be awesome to see Susie Wolff there, just to see if she still has what it takes to race. But preferably, less F1 rejects and more young up-and-coming drivers. Alex Fontana was a nice addition, for instance.
I for one would love to see more experienced former F1 drivers driving in Formula E. Drivers such as Alesi, R.Schumacher, Kovalainen, Frentzen (he has already completed test drive with the FE-car), Coulthard etc. would be great addons to the series. Surely the series can’t be physically too demanding for older drivers and those older drivers don’t have commitments for other series (see Trulli who did the whole season in Formula E).
There are enough competitive junior categories for juniors, so I’d prefer seeing FE filled with current/former stars.
old Spa, Green Hell.
FE car batteries last about 40 km, so this would not work unfortunately.
Felipe Massa expressed interest in Formula E, and he’s not exactly far away from retirement in F1.
Short circuits suit the FE cars. Most tracks were reasonably good (Punta del Este, Buenos Aires, Miami, Long Beach, Berlin & Moscow) and some others that simply didn’t work (London with the chicane turn 1, Beijing).
I’d say that the Miami circuit suits Formula E the best. The circuit was short, simple, yet reasonably wide and allowed for close racing. Also, it was the only circuit without a chicane.
@kingshark If those circuits don’t suit FE cars it’s not because of the length since the cars can still mke a lap (well, two) on them.
Whether a circuit that long would be detrimental to the racing (which it quite possibly would) though may be a good reason not to use them, apart from possible safety concerns of course.
But I’d still like to see races on those circuits for a number of laps that can be counted with a finger or two (I think DTM or the WTCC did a 3-lap race on the Nordschleife).
It’s been said that Formula E wants to have a race in Paris – maybe at the Bois de Boulogne? For London, there’s Hyde Park or Crystal Palace, but the Olympic Park is likely to replace Battersea.
I think Agag is conscious of having a worldwide presence, trying to pick big cities on each continent. Hence trying for Rio. Why not go to Interlagos once the cars are getting faster?
This leaves Asia needing more races – surely Japan is an obvious market? Maybe Tsukuba? Singapore wouldn’t be a bad shout, but would it have to be near the F1 GP? Did they also try for Hong Kong/Macau in Season 1?
Thinking of Africa.. what about reviving the popular Durban street track from A1GP?
Driver-wise – the top guys are a great draw for the series. If we look at the 20 who drove most races: Piquet Jr, Buemi, di Grassi, Prost, Vergne, d’Ambrosio, Bird, Heidfeld, Felix da Costa, Senna, Duval, Abt, Speed, Alguersuari, Sarrazin, Trulli, Chandhok, Pic, Duran, Liuzzi.
I can see the ‘top 5’ being very successful as the series develops, depending on which manufacturers get it right (you’d bet on Renault and Buemi vs. Audi and di Grassi).
Retiring F1 drivers like Massa would be a great addition, replacing retiring Formula E drivers like Trulli. If some of the tail-enders were replaced, the line up would be very competitive, like WEC.
Bad news for @carlitox: “The bulk of the calendar will be reasonably similar, however AUTOSPORT understands the Uruguay and Long Beach races won’t reappear.
Pending final sign-off, Mexico City’s Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and Paris will join the schedule, with the latter set to start the championship’s European leg in April.
As with the maiden season, Donington Park will host the major pre-season tests, with three, two-day sessions scheduled for August.” Beijing is Round 1 on October 17th, giving more time for car development.
Mexico City is a good addition, while the calendar is condensed to avoid the gap last year where Rio backed out and Malaysia was delayed. That would be a good gap for Interlagos in future!
I’d like to see: Beijing-Putrajaya-Sao Paulo-Buenos Aires-Mexico City-Miami-Paris-Monaco-Berlin-Moscow-London. Then add in Japan and Durban as it expands.. Maybe Long Beach, HK/Macau, Singapore?
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