Credit: Simon Galloway courtesy of FIA Formula E
Ahead of the season 10 opener in Mexico City next January, Formula E announced the finalised calendar for the 2023/24 campaign, with it being the biggest in the all-electric sport’s history.
Next season will consist of 17 races across 11 different cities, with Africa and Oceania being the only habitable continents not to feature. This is following the removal of the Cape Town E-Prix, which just so happened to be one of the most exhilarating races of season nine.
One of the most prominent features on the new calendar is the addition of three new cities, Tokyo, Shanghai and Misano. The other hugely noticeable feature, is that seven of the 17 races will take place on permanent or otherwise known as purpose-built circuits. This equates to 41 per cent of the season 10 calendar.
In comparison, the season nine calendar had just two races on purpose-built circuits, whilst the most the sport has ever had before is in season seven, when Valencia and Puebla both hosted double-headers. The races in Valencia and Puebla made up 26.7 per cent of the 2020/21 calendar.
The Shanghai E-Prix will take place at the Shanghai International Circuit, best known for hosting Formula 1’s Chinese Grand Prix. As for Misano, Formula E will be racing at the Circuit Marco Simoncelli, which has hosted motorcycle Grand Prix racing since 1980. Both of these cities will host a double-header, as will Diriyah, Berlin and London.
Above: Misano is purely a stopgap for Formula E, according to The Race – Credit: FIA Formula E
After making its inaugural appearance on the Formula E calendar this year, Portland will also host a double-header at the Portland International Raceway in 2024, where one of the strangest races in the championship’s history took place in June. With the exception of Mexico City, all the host cities using a permanent circuit for their event will hold a double-header.
Due to how tight the final sector is, the Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City isn’t like your typical circuit, as it does offer a small window for energy recovery. Portland is the complete opposite due to its fast and flowing nature, making for a race which divided the sport’s fan base.
Whilst the inaugural Portland E-Prix did obliterate the record for most overtakes in a single race, 403, it was questioned if the racing was genuine. Every lap the drivers often went five a breast into the opening corner, in what was the ultimate peloton.
The pace was ridiculously slow for the vast majority of the race, until a mad dash took place in the closing laps when the drivers had the energy to get to the end. Some drivers liked the strategic nature of the event, whilst others were highly critical. It was certainly like nothing the sport had seen before, and not necessarily in a good way.
One of the big concerns about Formula E racing on permanent circuits is the lack of places where energy recovery can take place, but on the flip side, it does offer a very different spectacle. Another factor is that the Gen3 machinery is faster, lighter and more powerful than the sport has seen in its previous generations, which in itself must be addressed.
The elimination of Rome from the calendar is proof of Formula E taking action, following the terrifying multi-car crash which took place last season. According to The Race, Formula E did get a quote to see how much it’d cost to make the blind Turn 6 safe for the current cars, only for the fee to be too high.
Above: Rome T6 is where Sam Bird lost control, causing the terrifying accident – Credit: Sam Bloxham courtesy of FIA Formula E
Racing at Misano, where everything is already in place, is a much cheaper option, something which is preferable for the sport given how expensive the Tokyo E-Prix is going to be to put on.
So, by heading to more purpose-built circuits, is Formula E losing its identity somewhat by moving away from the streets or is it simply evolving and adapting to the new technology on show?
That question is very much a matter of opinion, as Maximilian Günther personally wants to see “more street circuits” on the calendar. He does highlight the exciting challenge of racing on so many completely different circuits; however, the Maserati MSG Racing driver believes Formula E is still more suited to “tight, narrow and slower speed” tracks.
“Well, I think maybe it’s a question for someone else in Formula E,” Günther exclusively told Motorsport Week. “Look from my side as a driver. I think, first of all, it’s great that we have got this really fast growing of technology. The cars are so much more efficient compared to a few years ago.
“It’s really cool to drive these cars and to extract the maximum of performance. Personally, I’m a huge fan of street circuits, so for me, the more street circuits, the better. Still we have quite a few. And it’s still the character of our races to be on tracks which are more tight, narrow and slower speed compared to bigger tracks. But yes, it’s true.
“We have now bigger mixture of basically everything. We go from very slow to very fast. Yeah, I think at the end it’s just a challenge that I look forward to extracting the most. And yeah, we will see in the years to come what will be the tracks that we go to.”
As mentioned, it really is a matter of opinion, with Maserati Principal Owner and Chairman Scott Swid not believing that racing on more permanent circuits is necessarily a bad thing.
In Swid’s opinion, the type of circuits which are used by Formula E isn’t a top attribute, as the priority should be on ensuring that people are prepared to “invest” a couple of hours every other weekend to tune in. For Swid, Formula E sticking to street tracks is “like a sacred cow that doesn’t need to be sacred”.
“Well, no. I think setting the calendar and getting exciting races is more important than anything, because at the end of the day, we’re a sport,” Swid also exclusively told Motorsport Week.
“It’s competitive, there’s a lot of sports on television. We have a good product. We got to make sure that it gets out there. We’re all fans of Formula E, so we all have opinions of it. It’s like talk radio. You can call up and give your opinion of Formula E.”
Above: Edoardo Mortara (L) and Swid (R) – Credit: Maserati MSG Racing
“So I don’t know if my opinion is right, but if I were to think of the 10 attributes of Formula E that make it a good sport for someone to invest their two hours a weekend, I wouldn’t think that what type of track it is would be in the top-10. Meaning, I don’t think when we’re racing in Mexico or Monaco that it’s any worse than if we’re racing in New York City or London.
“In fact, I think it might even be better because they’re more familiar tracks. So, I think that that would be almost like a sacred cow, that doesn’t need to be sacred. That’s my opinion. Meaning, I love being at the Mexico race. I love being at the Monaco race. Those are probably my two favourite races.
“There’s no way I would say, ‘oh, is this a purpose track or is it not a purpose track?’ It’s a great race, it’s a great atmosphere, there’s fans. It’s beautiful. So, if I were advising Alejandro and Jeff [Dodds] and Liberty and Discovery, I would say exactly what I just said, that it’s an irrelevant, sacred cow.
“Like, just put on the best product you can in the best city you can and keep moving.”
Swid makes a very valid point. If the racing is exciting, then will the audience necessarily care where the race itself is taking place? Only time will tell.
Keyword: 41% permanent circuits: The big feature on Formula E’s season 10 calendar