Formula E’s ninth season will see what could be some of the most important changes in the championship’s history.
Not only because of the technological advances made by the new third-generation cars, but also because of the prospect of the FIA’s pioneering all-electric series and the uncertainties surrounding it.
Last year’s champions Mercedes cited low viewing figures as one of the reasons for their withdrawal from the series. With Techetah gone, two names responsible for nine title wins are no longer on the grid.
There was also controversy in the off-season about the new ‘Gen3’ car and some staff changes in the paddock.
The series has embarked on a comprehensive branding overhaul to coincide with the new era, changing its logo, font and overall digital presence. This reflects expectations that the Gen3 era will be a distinct change from the series’ past. But will the close competition live up to its reputation?
The impact of new regulations and new cars
FE’s latest machine is being pressed into service nine months after it was officially announced. The Gen3 chassis has separate powertrains for the front and rear wheels. The new front power train operates at 250 kW and the car’s maximum allowable total power output is 350 kW.
Each car is limited to two motor generator units, two gearboxes and two inverters for timely delivery to the rear wheels. The maximum amount of energy that can be regenerated by the car is increased from 250 kW to 600 kW.
FE claims that more than 40% of power in the race now comes from regenerative braking, with rear-wheel braking now entirely down to regenerative rather than relying on a traditional braking system. However, this is said to have caused some teething problems in development, and this weekend’s first race will show how they have been successfully resolved.
The 2023-spec powertrains contribute to a big jump in car performance, with drivers using 300kW instead of 220kW during team qualifying. Moving to the knock-out duals that determine the top eight positions on the grid, the pole battle is now at 350kW instead of 250kW. The gen3 car’s top speed is now said to be over 200mph, although that figure is unlikely to be reached on FE’s short circuits.
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In the year Since the creation of the series in 2014, FE has pioneered the ability to run logistically complex street circuit events in one day. Shakedown sessions (complete with safety car pace or three laps at low 110 kW) may be held the day before racing at new tracks, but usually all timed sessions are held on Saturday, except for double header events, which the teams repeat on Sunday.
For 2023, the program is enjoying one-race events that can now have first practice on Friday, followed by the second session, qualifying and race on Saturday. Following the first practice session where the cars run at full power (350kW) with no park-and-ride conditions, it gives teams more time to make changes or repairs before the next practice session. However, curfews still apply to on-site and remote workers who work outside of the event’s daily schedule.
Races have changed from being timed to lap counts, although the target is to ensure they don’t go longer than an hour.
Once touted as a special feature of Formula E, Fanboost has finally been dropped. While it is debatable how big a sporting impact it had, its removal meant that drivers could no longer gain a competitive advantage due to their popularity.
A new mandatory ‘striker’s pay’ feature, available to all drivers, is planned to be introduced at race selection. This requires drivers to plug their car into a hole to charge a predetermined amount with a cable. The stops should take less than a minute, but development issues mean they could be introduced until the end of the season or pushed back to 2024, it has been reported.
In a further change to the pit stops, drivers will be able to pit to change tires during wet races, although new tire supplier Hancock will offer an all-weather compound. This follows last year’s tragedy in New York when one of the races was hit by rain.
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Another rule change that could have a big impact is the removal of the yellow times count towards the full course. That can lead to more drivers being arrested and facing fines.
FE has adopted the rules introduced to F1 last year. On two occasions during the season, each team had to change one of their drivers in first practice for a driver who had never started an FE race.
He followed the world championship by introducing a series of financial regulations. There will be a budget cap of €12,750,000 (£11,249,197 at current exchange rates) for all teams. The FE’s five powertrain manufacturers – Jaguar, Mahindra, Nissan, Porsche and Stellants (like the DS and Maserati on the grid) – then have an additional €12,250,000 for hardware and software development. A “minor overspending violation” exceeds the spending limit by less than 5%, and may be penalized with money, public reprimands or withdrawal of championship points, or probation for the teams involved.
The limit on how many operations crews are allowed on the track has been increased from 17 to 27. But the rules state that “out of these 27 workers, the number of workers allowed to work on the car should not exceed 18”. The teams are required to maintain the highest three-star environmental rating from the FIA.
Calendar
Development work at the New York and Seoul E-Prix venues means the two venues have lost their places on the 2023 calendar.
To maintain its presence in the United States, FE was able to replace New York in the other part of the country in Portland. However, it is not yet clear whether the June race will take place on the west coast city streets or on the current IndyCar track.
The other three new additions to the schedule will continue once again in February and March after the events in Mexico City and Deria, which have switched venues as the first races of the season.
Foremost among the new races is the Hyderabad E-Prix in India, which, like Portland, has a question mark around the circuit. The city recently held street races on a new track, the design of which was developed after consultation with figures at FE, but there is no confirmation yet that the series will use that layout for just one month until the race.
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FE will follow his planned first visit to India to South Africa for the Cape Town E-Prix. This event will be held at the city’s World Cup Stadium and on a high-speed track just meters from the Pacific Ocean.
After that, Brazil will make its long-awaited calendar debut at the Sao Paulo street track, which IndyCar visited from 2010 to 2013.
A Berlin double header, which can use two different track configurations for two races, will conclude the first half of the season, followed by the remaining races in Monaco, Jakarta, Portland, Rome and London.
RaceTeamVenueCountry114 JanuaryMexico CityMexico227 JanuaryRiyadhSaudi Arabia328 JanuaryRiyadhSaudi Arabia411 FebruaryHyderabadIndia525 FebruaryCape TownSouth Africa625 MarchSao PauloBrazil722 AprilBerlinGermany823 AprilBerlinGermany906 MayMonacoMonaco1003 JuneJakartaIndonesia1104 JuneJakartaIndonesia1224 JunePortlandUSA1315 JulyRomeItaly1416 JulyRomeItaly1529 JulyUnited KingdomLondon1630 July
Teams and drivers
While the biggest news at the top is the arrival of Maserati and McLaren and the return of Abti, Mahindra has appointed Frédéric Bertrand as its new CEO following the departure of longtime team boss Dilbag Gill.
Bertrand was Director of the FIA’s Creative Sports Activities Department until he left to join Mahindra, and was therefore involved from the outset in developing the new FE regulations and the Gen3 car.
Mahindra has a change in its driver line-up, with Alexander Sims leaving FE and 2016-17 champion Lucas Di Grassi replacing him. Di Grassi had said he would be joining Abt after Audi rejoined, having missed out on a season where the powertrain supplier was outfitted with Audi, instead joining Mahindra after an interim year at Venturi.
Abt is now a Mahindra customer and has teamed up with Cupra to have Robin Frigens and Nico Muller drive their cars.
With former partner Techettah gone, DS now supplies powerplants to Penske Autosport (formerly known as Dragon Racing) and the deal attracted reigning champion Stoffel Vandoorne and two-time champion Jean-Eric Vergennes to the team. Sergio Sette Camara was at Dragons, and NIO 333 ditched Oliver Turvey to sign him.
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Despite Mercedes’ exit, McLaren will take control of the FE operation and many staff – including team principal Ian James – will remain in the fold. The team uses a Nissan Powertrain, and Mercedes reserve Jake Hughes is effectively promoted to the race seat alongside DTM champion René Rast.
Venturi teamed up with Stellants to explore a move away from powertrain supplier Mercedes to become Maserati, and in pre-season testing were the benchmark team with Maximilian Günther and Edoardo Mortara.
A powertrain deal between Andretti Autosport and Porsche saw Andre Lotterer move to the customer’s team with Jake Dennis and title-winning Techetah immigrant Antonio Félix da Costa taking his old seat at Porsche.
It’s all change for Nissan, who have previously run their team at DAMS until 2022, with former Jaguar reserves Sacha Fenestraz and Norman Nato signed as drivers. Sebastien Buemi has left Nissan for Invision Racing, replacing Abt-bound Frigens.
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