If this year you’ve found yourselves in the same situation I was in twelve months ago – you know someone who attended an e-prix but don’t know much about the racing series yourself – then buckle in! Because here’s your quick handy guide to what to expect in Season 11; and the kind of things we’ve seen in the sport over the last decade.
At first glance, it’s not too dissimilar to Formula 1. Single seater cars, the same point-scoring system, even some familiar drivers. But the closer you look, the more there is to learn. For example, there are eleven teams currently on the grid. Some weekends are double headers; twice the action, twice the points, twice the podiums. And instead of putting together a fantasy team, the Formula E app offers a predictor system where you score points for correctly guessing the podium of the day along with fastest lap, highest scoring team and qualifying results.
The atmosphere at a race weekend is electrifying, if you’ll excuse the pun. As well as all the on-track action, there’s plenty to do in the Allianz Fan Village, plus a lucky number of fans each weekend are able to get their hands on pit lane autograph session tickets, meaning it’s easier than ever to get your hands on signed driver cards to commemorate the weekend. Or maybe you want your drivers to sign your team cap? They’ll likely be more than happy to – although speaking from experience, I’m now too scared to ever wear my signed Andretti hat out of the house ever again.
So what does the calendar look like? This year, Season 10 consisted of ten countries and sixteen races. Some of these locations, like Monaco, for example, have seen the likes of single-seater racing before. Other tracks, like the one in the heart of London, are truly one-of-a-kind, which makes each and every race one to remember.
Season 10 Calendar
R1 – Mexico City, Mexico
R2&3 – Diriyah, Saudi Arabia
R4 – Sao Paulo, Brazil
R5 – Tokyo, Japan
R6&7 – Misano, Italy
R8 – Monaco
R9&10 – Berlin, Germany
R11&12 – Shanghai, China
R13&14 – Portland, USA
R15&16 – London, UK
Let’s move on to the teams. Eleven teams, twenty-two drivers and six manufacturers. So here’s who raced where in Season 10 – before, of course, silly season gets started in preparation for Season 11.
Jaguar TCS Racing – Mitch Evans & Nick Cassidy
Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team – Pascal Wehrlein & Antonio Felix Da Costa
DS Penske – Jean-Eric Vergne & Stoffel Vandoorne
Nissan Formula E Team – Oliver Rowland & Sacha Fenestraz*
Andretti Formula E – Jake Dennis & Norman Nato*
Envision Racing – Robin Frijns & Sebastian Buemi
Neom McLaren Formula E Team – Jake Hughes* & Sam Bird
Maserati MSG Racing – Jehan Daruvala* & Maximilian Gunther*
ABT Cupra Formula E Team – Lucas Di Grassi & Nico Muller*
Mahindra Racing – Edoardo Mortara & Nyck De Vries
ERT Formula E Team – Dan Ticktum & Sergio Sette Camara
The manufacturers are Porsche, Jaguar, Nissan, Stellantis, Mahindra Racing and Electric Racing Technologies.
*Authors note – silly season has already seen some of the teams chop and change their roster, so these marked drivers are no longer at these teams in the build up to S11.
It’s very easy to root for multiple drivers in Formula E, as many of them are so deserving of race wins and recognition of their talent. The Formula E app, home of the live predictors, operates similarly to the F1 app, holding relevant news articles, as well as standings and team/driver information.
Choosing my own initial favourite was easy (it’s Jake Dennis, because we’re both from the same corner of the earth, in case you were wondering), especially as I was fortunate to have two of my closest friends offer me all the information I could possibly ever need about the drivers and their teams. For those who might need a little more context to be swayed, there is a documentary on the Formula E official YouTube channel called Unplugged, which is the FE equivalent of Drive to Survive in some ways. It’s also a great way to help start memorizing team and driver names – which is exactly why at the start of my own motorsports journey, I watched DTS religiously!
The current reigning champion of Formula E is Pascal Wehrlein, who put on a stellar performance in Season 10 to take his first world championship title in the sport, and I count myself very lucky to have been there to witness not only his race win on the Saturday, but his world title on the Sunday, after a spectacular second race won by Yorkshire driver Oliver Rowland.
It wasn't my first time watching a podium from the track, but the first time I’ve been present for the crowning of a new world champion, and I can safely say it was very well deserved. Pascal joins an elite club of FE world champions; there’s only eight others not including him, as the sport is much, much younger than Formula 1. A lot of previous champions still race in the sport. Jean-Eric Vergne, the only driver to hold two titles, raced in S10. So did Sebastian Buemi, Lucas di Grassi, Antonio Felix da Costa, Nyck de Vries, Stoffel Vandoorne and Jake Dennis.
Onto the real action. The format of a weekend isn’t completely unique. There’s still a practice session, followed by qualifying, followed by the race. As mentioned before, some race weekends are double headers, meaning you see everything but twice. The most obvious difference in my opinion, other than the double headers, is the structure of qualifying itself; instead of being three sessions, like in Formula 1, it’s split into several rounds of knockouts and duels.
First, the drivers on the grid are split in half, into groups A and B. Each group competes to be the fastest, with the quickest four from A and then B being promoted to the duel rounds. From here, the drivers are paired and will compete to then be the fastest of their pair, eliminating the slowest driver each time until the last two drivers are standing and competing to take pole position. The driver who takes that coveted top spot gains three championship points which can be crucial when the margins between drivers are minimal; the gap to P1 from P2 at the end of this year’s season was only 6 points.
So qualifying is finished, the drivers are on the grid, what’s next? The main event, of course!
In Formula E, it’s important to note there’s no such thing as DRS. Instead, the drivers utilize something we know as Attack Mode, introduced in Season 5 of the racing series. To activate this power boost, drivers have to press a specific button on their wheel and leave the racing line on a particular part of the track. When the boost is activated, the drivers receive a boost of energy, meaning their total power output is upped to 350kW as opposed to the usual 300kW.
The catch? The drivers are required to use this mode at least once per race. It’s not able to be activated either in the first two laps of the race or under a full-course yellow flag, a similarity it does share with DRS, and if a driver leaves it too late and veers off the optimal racing line towards the final lap? It could cost them the race if they’re not able to regain the position back fast enough.
So, what can we expect from Season 11 next year? More of the same, hopefully, but potentially the introduction of some new strategies. Attack mode isn’t going anywhere, but fans can expect to finally see the introduction of attack charge – which we don’t have extensive details of yet, but it could potentially see a mandatory pit stop brought in to shake things up, something the cars haven’t had to do for a few seasons; unless of course, they get up close and personal with a wall - or one of their rivals.
Writing this piece and looking back at all my photos and videos from the London e-prix has, admittedly, made me a teensy bit emotional. It was such an incredible weekend, from the atmosphere, to the track action, to all the wonderful people I met – social media mutuals, my favourite drivers from FE and beyond, and even a Hollywood superstar, pinch me! – and I’m already counting down the days until London 2025.
The question is, will you, my dear reader, be joining me?
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