Formula E

[truefan72]

Not read up a huge amount on the series but certainly interested by it. Are all the cars to the same spec? Certainly looks that way from the timings with 10 drivers covered by 1 second

it is an open series so teams are free to design their own cars and chassis, within the spec parameters. much like F1. And last I heard, there were a few different power units being offered. Also several F1 teams have contributed some standard components to the cars like mclaren, williams etc. So there is a good tie in there with some of those F1 teams

[AndyL]

it is an open series so teams are free to design their own cars and chassis, within the spec parameters. much like F1. And last I heard, there were a few different power units being offered. Also several F1 teams have contributed some standard components to the cars like mclaren, williams etc. So there is a good tie in there with some of those F1 teams

Right now there is only one homologated car though, so everyone has the same equipment.

[inimitablestoo]

it is an open series so teams are free to design their own cars and chassis, within the spec parameters. much like F1. And last I heard, there were a few different power units being offered

As I understand it they're specifying the Spark (Dallara) chassis and Renault electric motor for the first season at least, but a certain Bluebird have expressed an interest. That's the land speed record chasing Bluebird, not the 1980s Nissan (have two more different cars ever shared the same name?...)

Incidentally, I like the Fan Boost concept. Not on merit - it's a hopeless idea - but because of sheer wilful perversity that it seems to be annoying so many people to such a ludicrous degree .

An electric motor racing series had to come sooner or later (let's ignore such oddities as the FIA Electro-Solar Challenge - oh wait, we already had); this looks like it has potential. And live coverage on ITV4 for UK viewers.

[philipbain]

Has anyone on here actually seen and heard the cars in action? I am fortunate that Donington Park is my local national circuit and it just happens to be where the championship is based, so I took the opportunity to go to see the cars in testing back in July, the sound is certainly different but not unpleasant and the cars look great on the track.

As for the fan vote for an extra boost, its an interesting idea which is an attempt to get fans engaged with the series. It may seem artificial or "fake" as so many of you like to insinuate but getting fans engaged with a brand new series is very important and it's good to see the organisers are making an effort to engage fans before the series has even started.

As for the driver lineup, you won't get any active F1 drivers driving anything else due to contracts, so an FIA backed world championship for single seaters should attract the finest non-F1 drivers with top level single seater experience, so to criticise the series for attracting a strong grid of drivers, the majority of which have F1 experience (whether racing or testing) is hardly something to criticise, but I suppose haters are gonna hate and morons will be moronic!

Looking forward to the series starting later this month, unlike some I am more than willing to give the series a fair shot rather than writing it off before a single race has happened!

[journeyman racer]

As for the fan vote for an extra boost, its an interesting idea which is an attempt to get fans engaged with the series. It may seem artificial or "fake" as so many of you like to insinuate but getting fans engaged with a brand new series is very important and it's good to see the organisers are making an effort to engage fans before the series has even started.

Fans will get fully engaged in a series when they sense that there is a high level, fair dinkum contest. In the absence of such series existing anywhere in the world atm, fans will stick with what they know.

[truefan72]

As for the driver lineup, you won't get any active F1 drivers driving anything else due to contracts, so an FIA backed world championship for single seaters should attract the finest non-F1 drivers with top level single seater experience, so to criticise the series for attracting a strong grid of drivers, the majority of which have F1 experience (whether racing or testing) is hardly something to criticise, but I suppose haters are gonna hate and morons will be moronic!

Looking forward to the series starting later this month, unlike some I am more than willing to give the series a fair shot rather than writing it off before a single race has happened!

It is quite the contrary, most here, myself included are very happy to see the strong driver line up and in fact, my initial post that started the thread did so, along with me saying i am looking forward to seeing the races. I looked back at all the posts and most are quite happy with the drivers participating. A strong reason to watch the races. The only gripe folks had was with the "fan boost" situation and some railed against the switching cars. I for one, have no problem with the car switching, but hope that fan boost gimmick gets abandoned after the first race. Fans should play no part in the outcome of a race IMO

[henners88]

I will certainly be watching. If the racing is close, exciting and the races are shown on FTA, it might well replace F1 on my weekend race viewing. F1 has screwed up royally with shunning the fans so lets hope Formula E gets a bit more exposure. I'm not so bothered about the drivers being ex-F1, as it needs experience to get off the ground.

[journeyman racer]

I don't expect much to come from this series. Especially as a threat to F1.

[AndyL]

Based on all the positive comments I guess the link in my post wasn't very obvious.

http://fanboost.fiaformulae.com/

I can't believe anyone here thinks that's a good idea.

"Fans can give their favourite driver an extra speed boost by voting for them prior to the race."

[henners88]

Based on all the positive comments I guess the link in my post wasn't very obvious.

http://fanboost.fiaformulae.com/

I can't believe anyone here thinks that's a good idea.

"Fans can give their favourite driver an extra speed boost by voting for them prior to the race."

It's a strange concept but we must not compare it to Formula 1 really. It's trying something completely new and is attempting to give something to the fans, something F1 hasn't got the slightest interest in. I say take it for what it is and enjoy something different.