Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag has answered a Q&A with fans and detailed what to expect from season two of Formula E.
Formula E requires at least four vehicle manufacturers as otherwise ‘World Championship’ status is not official. Having a single manufacturer does not accredit the formula with the rights to call itself that but it is one of the main ambitions. Agag said,
“In year two the teams will be able to build their own batteries and their own motors. They could build their own whole car if they wanted. But the regulations are quite strict and they don’t allow a lot of development in aerodynamics, but they do allow development in motor and battery. I would hope that we have three or four different makers of motors and batteries in the championship for year two.”
A fan posed this question during the Q&A, “what sort of regulations will the teams have in year two? Will they be able to build their own batteries and use their own motors, and motor control software etc? I think allowing this would perhaps encourage manufacturers to get involved.Mr Agag responded,
“Yes, in year two they can build their own batteries and their own motors. They could build their own whole car if they wanted. But the regulations are quite strict and they don’t allow a lot of development in aerodynamics, but they do allow development in motor and battery. I would hope that we have three or four different makers of motors and batteries in the championship for year two.”
Importantly, for future seasons of the championship, Formula E have big plans to expand to accommodate more races during a season allowing for more exposure around the world. With its already unique approach, Formula E have secured ten race circuits around the world and already have interest in many more as Alejandro explained,
“There are plans to go to more than 10 cities. Next year we will probably be in 12, and we want to grow slowly to get to a figure of around 18 races per year. We are talking to many cities, after Beijing we probably received requests from over 40 or 50 cities from all over the world to host a race, so that’s been really positive. The number of entries is 20 because we race with two cars per driver, so to move 40 cars around the world is already a lot. But I think when we go down to one car per race, when the batteries can last long, and can last for that amount of time, I think we can add two other teams, so that would be a total of 24 drivers.”
Notably in his response, Alejandro alluded to the possibility that cars will soon be able to go the race distance on one charge, which would of course mean car swapping mid-race would be scrapped. On the subject of batteries and charging, Agag said,
“We see wireless charging as one of the potential elements of the future in Formula E. Definitely battery development – new chemistry will bring the battery capacity to last longer, probably quite soon, maybe three to five years, the batteries can last the whole race, but we may decide because we like it to keep two cars with twice the amount of power and go much faster, we will see what makes a better show, I think probably a combination of both will happen. The wireless charging can be static or dynamic. Imagine dynamic wireless charging – the whole track has dynamic pads under the surface, the cars just go we could do the 24 electric hours with this system.”
For more Q&A visit Formula E’s website here.
Source; FIA Formula E
