F1 won't go electric until after electric cars become the main focus of mass car makers. They are only just going small block turbo years after the car makers have all put their eggs in that basket.
And as I don't ever see electric cars being the major sector in mass car making this won't happen. Hybrids and energy recovery on the other hand, that's a different matter.
What FE provides is a stage for a different type of motor sport. Much like there are series for V8 saloons and 1l single seaters, highly modified custom cars and almost stock hatchbacks, electric racing will just become (hopefully) another category. There no reason why it must be this FE style either. Once the technology war has been thrashed out we might see some other series, maybe with spec engines (developed between seasons, rather than in them) to feed FE. Some city cars perhaps? Maybe some super karts. Then the FE race weekend can have its own support series. There is a lot of potential. Imagine going into the centre of London one Sunday to watch 2 FE races, a couple of Nissan Leaf support races, some 14 year olds in Formula Fords with batteries, and some nucases in electric karts all hammering round a street track. It would be great.
So long as the series can throw off the stigma of being electric, and is more than just a gimmick, then it should be fine. The BTCC was slated by many as being boring hatchback racing when all the manufacturers jumped ship, but now its considered a fantastic weekend of motor sport. At the end of the day FE needs to provide great racing. If it does that, it will survive. If it doesn't then it will fail. The fact the cars are electric will be beside the point.
And as I don't ever see electric cars being the major sector in mass car making this won't happen. Hybrids and energy recovery on the other hand, that's a different matter.
What FE provides is a stage for a different type of motor sport. Much like there are series for V8 saloons and 1l single seaters, highly modified custom cars and almost stock hatchbacks, electric racing will just become (hopefully) another category. There no reason why it must be this FE style either. Once the technology war has been thrashed out we might see some other series, maybe with spec engines (developed between seasons, rather than in them) to feed FE. Some city cars perhaps? Maybe some super karts. Then the FE race weekend can have its own support series. There is a lot of potential. Imagine going into the centre of London one Sunday to watch 2 FE races, a couple of Nissan Leaf support races, some 14 year olds in Formula Fords with batteries, and some nucases in electric karts all hammering round a street track. It would be great.
So long as the series can throw off the stigma of being electric, and is more than just a gimmick, then it should be fine. The BTCC was slated by many as being boring hatchback racing when all the manufacturers jumped ship, but now its considered a fantastic weekend of motor sport. At the end of the day FE needs to provide great racing. If it does that, it will survive. If it doesn't then it will fail. The fact the cars are electric will be beside the point.