Formula E 2021.

They do still look fast in qualifying - in fact they look like great fun to drive here. The race pace will look more painful when they're coasting and regening though.



For the inevitable comparisons to F1, the latest race in which the quickest Formula E car would have qualified on pole would have been the 1965 Monaco GP (the final year of the 1.5L normally aspirated era), though it's worth noting that until 1973 the layout was far faster than the current layout, with a much quicker chicane, no swimming pool section at all and no Anthony Noghes or La Rascasse as such.

The closest qualifying on a similar layout to now (though with a much quicker chicane) would be 1977, where Da Costa would have qualified 9th with his Superpole time. Maybe Marco Werner's 1:31.261 in the historic GP last weekend would be more representative (a 1976 Lotus 77).

I'm guessing they would be around F3 speed in qualifying, probably a touch slower, if F3 actually ran at Monaco (which only done once since 1997, in 2005, when Hamilton won the race, with di Grassi in 7th place). The fastest F2 time in 2019 was De Vries on a 1:20.6, though I expected FE to be a fair bit further away than they were.
 
It's kinda bizarre watching the Formula E cars driving round here because you're so used to them on tight street tracks I look at them in Monaco and think 'track looks pretty wide should be some overtaking chances'!
 
They are slower as they are massively limited in the power they are allowed to use though, 250kW peak is a tiny amount of power, heck even a Tesla Model 3 LR can do 340kW peak, but they are balancing speed, and power with battery longevity, and weight. I'm guessing that will all change again by 2022/3 where they want peak power of 350kW, combined with up to 600kW regen (capped at 250kW now), and they also want to allow super-fast 600kWh charging mid-race, which would allow them to put on longer races with reasonably short 1-3 minute stops.

Either way it's still looking to be a very exciting race, and I hope they stick with the layout for future races. :)
 
Journey said:
Either way it's still looking to be a very exciting race, and I hope they stick with the layout for future races. :)
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What do you guys think about fan boost and attack mode, I'm not sold not the idea, nor the idea that they all know how much power the other guys have left..

On a side note apparently I was on the TV lol
 
That's one of the best races I've seen in any series. Up there with the 2000 Michigan 500 and F1 Magny-cours and Nurburgring GPs in 1999.



Trig said:
What do you guys think about fan boost and attack mode, I'm not sold not the idea, nor the idea that they all know how much power the other guys have left..
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Attack Mode is utterly brilliant, but Fan Boost can do one.
 
andicole0 said:
Just watched most cars run out of energy. What an horrendous noise! How do people enjoy this?
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The running out of energy at the end of the race in Valencia was a bit farcical, but it's not the norm. Energy management is part of the sport, and this was the extreme showing what happens when teams/drivers make the wrong gamble. Every sport has bad days, that was one of Formula E's but I don't think it came from anything fundamentally wrong with the sport, just like 2005 United States GP doesn't tell you much about F1.

As for the objections to the noise, having watched a race live I have to say I really like it. You can really hear what the cars are doing, you can hear the level of grip, you can hear where the cars are slowing and where they come on to the power. It's good.

And Monaco this year? Honestly, up there with the best races I've seen in any race format.
 
Trig said:
What do you guys think about fan boost and attack mode, I'm not sold not the idea, nor the idea that they all know how much power the other guys have left..
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I like attack mode, it's a strategic option for the teams and drivers and it needs skill to deploy. Fan boost can go jump off a cliff, hopefully *fingers crossed* it will be ditched with the Gen3 cars.

I really like the open energy management. I think that other motorsports could benefit from having fuel sensor telemetry available to coverage if they're going to involve fuel saving at all. Instead of being an opaque oddity, it's something fans can understand and engage with and it frequently leads to exciting finishes.
 
To be fair the running out of energy is little different to the 1980s turbos in F1, where they frequently ran out of fuel. Monaco 1982 stands out in particular (and it's regarded as an all-time classic), and Imola was always a fuel-sucker. They used to have to coast and save as much back then (people conveniently forget that too).

No, back then they didn't have the sophisticated data and telemetry they do now, but when some of the smartest people in motorsport miscalculate laps, time and pace the end result can be the same.



In terms of excitement I think Jack Nicholls deserves a lot of credit. Yes he can get over-excited, but his enthusiasm is genuine (unlike ITV-era James Allen or David Croft) and goes a long way to keeping you on the edge of your seat. A good commentator doesn't make a race exciting, but they will keep you enthralled, and Nicholls certainly does that in FE.



Mr Jack said:
I really like the open energy management. I think that other motorsports could benefit from having fuel sensor telemetry available to coverage if they're going to involve fuel saving at all. Instead of being an opaque oddity, it's something fans can understand and engage with and it frequently leads to exciting finishes.
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I think it was Mexico City a couple of years ago which showed exactly how the limited power can lead to exciting finishes, where it was no where near as extreme as Valencia, but some cars were struggling on the last lap and Wehrlein lost the lead by running out metres from the line, having to coast while da Costa power-slid around him to grab the win by just two tenths.

Let's face it, Formula E as it is isn't going to be a format long-term. It's a bit of a spot-gap for a decade or two while they work out where the market is going in the future, be it electric, hydrogen, some form of hybrids or whatever. But while it's here it's damn good, and alongside Indycar and F2, is often produces better racing than F1.
 
this_is_gav said:
Let's face it, Formula E as it is isn't going to be a format long-term. It's a bit of a spot-gap for a decade or two while they work out where the market is going in the future, be it electric, hydrogen, some form of hybrids or whatever. But while it's here it's damn good, and alongside Indycar and F2, is often produces better racing than F1.
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It's going to be interesting to see if F1 try to steal Formula-E, or they call it what ever Forumula-2 is now, and have different rules for F1-E . Let's face it there will always be a market for cars that make a loud noise and smell, so the racing will stay in one form or another, but the kids that are young these days (mine included) will likely opt for Formula-E or the equivalent. The big shift will surely be when we see really big name drivers opting to race in it, as opposed to F1.
 
Journey said:
It's going to be interesting to see if F1 try to steal Formula-E, or they call it what ever Forumula-2 is now, and have different rules for F1-E . Let's face it there will always be a market for cars that make a loud noise and smell, so the racing will stay in one form or another, but the kids that are young these days (mine included) will likely opt for Formula-E or the equivalent. The big shift will surely be when we see really big name drivers opting to race in it, as opposed to F1.
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Formula E has an exclusive [license] with the FIA for 25 seasons which means there can be no competing fully electric open-wheeled series until at least 2039.

I think by that time F1 will merge with Formula E anyway.

https://www.thedrive.com/accelerato...to-going-electric-but-formula-e-would-protest
 
EVH said:
Formula E has an exclusive [license] with the FIA for 25 seasons which means there can be no competing fully electric open-wheeled series until at least 2039.

I think by that time F1 will merge with Formula E anyway.

https://www.thedrive.com/accelerato...to-going-electric-but-formula-e-would-protest
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Yes, this is why I said steal, basically buy it out or however they owners wish to do it. Can't see the owners of F1 liking all the big teams start spending more in F-E, and when the drivers start leaving to go to F-E from F1 is going to have something done if they wish to keep it the premier event for motorsport.
 
I don't see Formula 1 going electric. Formula E is going to get faster and better over time, but chemical combustion will always have a power-to-weight edge over electric, and particularly with F1's long races the batteries aren't going to get there. I think we'll see a shift to synthetic fuels rather than a shift to electric.
 
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