After a punishing end to 2020, Formula E needed a shot in the arm to kick off the new year. Within 48 hours of one another as November turned into December, Audi then BMW went public with their decision to pull the plug on their championship programmes at the end of the inbound 2021 season.
The good news stories of late last year - namely Mahindra Racing becoming the first team to sign on for the Gen3 regulations and a final day of pre-season testing in which all 24 cars were split by less than 0.8 seconds - were thrust into the shadows.