Formula E shelves plan to boost energy limit in season three

An update to the technical regulations, published on Wednesday, confirmed that from July 1 total power from the Williams Advanced Engineering battery will be capped at 250kW, up from 200kW.

That limit will apply to cars in qualifying mode, with race power - currently 170kW - expected to be lower.

This power hike - which is the equivalent of a jump from 268bhp to 335bhp - will have to be managed within the same energy limits as the first two seasons, with the planned increase to 32kWh of energy from the battery scrapped.

That is despite the cell weight limit of each battery being increased from 200kg to 230kg, a restriction Williams Advanced Engineering programme leader Gary Ekerold told Autosport last November was key to any increase.

"Power increase is a possibility but we've got to find a balance between reliability and technology," he said.

"Energy is probably more challenging than anything else because of the limited packaging space."

WEIGHT ARGUMENT RUMBLES ON
Another change is a reduction in weight limit from 888kg to 880kg, in a move away from the direction of the original roadmap.

Autosport understands Formula E did plan to alter its weight limit, but wanted to avoid slashing it for season four, as was initially planned.

When the Spark SRT_01E was introduced at the start of last season it weighed much more than had been anticipated, and the weight limit was subsequently increased from 800kg to 888kg.

Each team used that car in season one, while for season two only the gearboxes, motors and inverters are different depending on the powertrain solution chosen by the teams.

The majority of outfits still struggle to get down to the revised minimum, which means the planned weight limit reduction to 850kg for season four is unlikely.

That reduction has proved too ambitious because it was based on the series' move to open-battery competition, which has since been delayed until season five.