I barely know what Formula 1 is! What on Earth is Formula E?! Beginner's Guide to Formula E:

Formula E is the all-electric vehicle racing series run by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). I know what you're thinking... If you're well versed with F1, you're probably going "No roaring V-10s?? Pfft". My only reply to that would be, No! We are not in 1989. Today's F1 cars run 1.6L V6 engines, sparking the outrageously hilarious "Bring back the f***ing V12s" comment by Sebastian Vettel after an MGU-K problem during his Russian GP this season. Before I digress any further, let me request you to stay with me while I tell you what FE is and let the videos do the convincing!

Formula E does run on all-electric vehicles and that's the whole point of the series! To have an emission-free racing series! I agree moving the cars from venue to venue costs a lot of unnecessary emissions and blah, but will you just let that be for a while! :P 

So here's how the racing format goes:

• There is a Qualifying Segment to decide the order in which the cars start and the Race Segment itself. Unlike F1 where Qualifying takes place a day before the race, both the Qualifying and Race take place on the same day for FE! The FE Qualifying may also be preceded by one or more sessions of Free Practice. The best part, all races take place on street circuits, meaning tightly packed groups and guaranteed nose to tail racing paving way for action all throughout the race! (Not the 'bleh' that F1 has been engulfed in recently, with Merc winning just about everything)
• Qualifying:
  • Drivers are split into 4 groups for the first round of qualifying. Each group of drivers goes out together and gets one flying lap to set the fastest time. The top 6 drivers are selected to compete in the Super Pole, while the others are lined up at the back according to their Quali times.
  • Super Pole: The top 6 drivers get one more flying lap to decide who gets pole position and the rest are lined according to their Super Pole times within the top 6.

• Race: 
  • Shortly after qualifying, the race begins. This is where the main strategic components come into play! Unlike F1, the drivers do not drive for a fixed number of laps, but the race goes on for {45min+1lap}. Huh?!
  • The timer starts as soon as the race starts. At the end of 45 mins, the leader of the race completes the lap he is on and starts off the final lap when he crosses the start point.
• Teams: 
  • The number of teams may vary each season, but each time is composed of 2 cars and 2 drivers! (No! they do not race autonomous cars. That's a job for RoboRace, a new autonomous racing series! Go check it out!!)
  • There are two types of teams: Manufactures and Customers. Find out more about their differences in the "Cars" segment below.
• Drivers: 
  • FE features drivers from all sectors of the motorsports world. Includes F1 veterans like Felippe Massa, Jean Eric Vergne (two time reigning FE Champion), Le Mans champions like Sebastien Buemi, Andre Lotterer, to young rookies like Nick de Vries (reigning F2 champion) and Pascal Wehrlein.

• Cars:
  • The series now features the ravishingly stunning Gen 2 cars, that are significantly improved versions of the Gen 1 cars which were used for the first 4 seasons of FE.
  • All teams have to abide by and use identical Batteries, Chassis and Body Work, to level the playing field.
  • Manufacturer teams have the liberty to change some minor components such as the driving motor, or build their own sub-systems such as the brake-by-wire tech.
  • Customer teams can buy either sub-systems or entire cars from manufacturer teams to compete.
  • There are no minimum number of pit-stops, and cars usually make pit stops only if there is severe damage to the nose section.
  • The cars run the whole race on a single set of all-weather tyres, meaning tyre changes/pitstops do not serve as strategic factors.
  • There is no rear wing, paving way for nose to tail racing and tight packs from start to end. Instead there are massive diffusers at the back that provide the necessary down force.

• Major Strategic Components:
  • Attack Mode: This is a special provision in FE, where drivers can choose to activate the "Attack Mode". This gives the drive an extra 35kW of power for a specific amount of time. However, to enable attack mode, the driver has to drive through a specially marked segment on the track that is away from the racing line, meaning the driver loses some track time in activating attack mode. Another catch is that, the teams and drivers are given details of attack mode for each race only 60 mins prior to the start of the race. These details include where the attack mode enabling zones are, what the minimum number of attack modes for that race are (each driver has to enable attack mode atleast that many times before the end of the race), duration of each attack mode etc. The halo is lit up with a blue light to indicate the driver has enabled attack mode.

• Fan Boost: Fan Boost is yet another "Augmented Power" mode that gives drivers 25kW of added power for 5 secs when enabled. Fan Boost as the name suggests is given to the drivers with highest number of votes from fans. The voting is active until 15 mins prior to the start of the race. The halo is lit up with a purple light to indicate the driver is in Fan Boost mode. This 5 sec boost can sometimes end up aiding that crucial last lap over take to win the race, so every bit of power matters!

• Battery Management: Since the race is not run for a set number of laps, battery management, system temperature management etc. are key strategic components. The leader of the pack decides how many laps are run. If the leader keeps going full power all throughout, the entire pack will have to complete more laps within the 45 mins and vice versa if the leader decides to hold back the pack. In the former strategy, the leader is at risk of running out of charge before the end of the race (which happened in Mexico E-Prix 2019), and the latter puts the leader at a higher risk of an overtake from the back. In the race this Sunday, the race leader Antonio Felix DaCosta (Team: DS TECHEETAH, reigning team champions) had battery temperature issues close to the last lap, enabling BMW i Andretti's Maximilian Günther, the youngest driver on the grid, to make the crucial last minute overtake and win the race.
  
  • The battery management also brings the spotlight to a crucial battery conservation technique called "Lifting and Coasting". Unlike F1, battery conservation is key in FE, meaning drivers cannot go full power for the entire straight and brake hard while approaching corners. Instead, drivers have to lift of the power when the can, and coast into the corners, to save energy. This means braking zones are vastly different compared to F1 cars, and this adds a whole new strategic component to the race that is solely controlled by the driver.

All that being said, here are my top reasons for watching FE:

1. Every race is as unpredictable as it gets, with extremely high last minute drama and nose to tail racing. (that's precisely what you want to see!)
2. The cars look, sound and perform like something out of Batman's caves!
3. The last season saw the first 8 races have 8 different winners, and 8 different teams take the trophy. When more than half the number of races have different winners, you can tell how evenly matched the teams and drivers are and how tough and exciting the competition will be!
4. They keep coming up with new innovations like the new "Driver's Eye View" (Looks like something straight out of a VR game!!) introduced this season!

So, do give it a shot! Their Instagram page, Fia Formula E, is super active, so finding information takes just the touch of a button (more than just one, but you get it!)! You can also find all race highlights and some amazing compilations on their official YouTube page!

​Let me know in the comments if you have any questions about this series!