How Formula E's new car avoids a key F1 problem

The excitement around the 2018/19 Formula E car is a far cry from the situation less than four years ago. Doubt surrounded the series to the point where, as one senior figure puts it, at the maiden teams' test of the first model at Donington Park "we said 'this isn't possible, we won't even make it all the way around the track'."

With its second-generation racer, revealed this week, FE has moved onto such a different level that its name is no longer accurate. It is many things: dramatic, aggressive, different... but it is not a formula car anymore. 'Formula' E suddenly seems inappropriate.

Its striking, futuristic new look includes a huge rear diffuser, LMP1-inspired coverage of the wheels and a ring of lighting around the FIA-mandated halo cockpit protection device (which doesn't look all that bad). The car has shifted from classic open-wheeler to some sort of formula-prototype, which finally gives the series the sort of visual identity the technology that underpins it deserves.

FE's founders have been foretelling an electric revolution for years, and it has had a unique selling point as the world's only electric single-seater category, with a nice quirk in that it raced in city centres. Now though, it has something visually different.

What sets it apart from the rest is no longer a message, or a powertrain, or a noise. It is now something tangible. You don't have to be told this is not a traditional category, or a traditional single-seater - you can see it.

The significance of the new car runs much deeper than just what it represents, and the consequence of the design gives it substance as well as style. There is a lot of pressure on this car to be a good racer. The current chassis has been the basis for an incredible tight trio of championship fights, with a variety of winners and plenty of on-track action.

FE has never relied heavily on aerodynamics, thanks to a combination of a low-powered car and tight street courses packed with slow corners. Though the aero does contribute something, it is far more aesthetic than Formula 1 and other high-downforce categories. However, that benign aero has also helped facilitate close racing.

A move to anywhere near F1 levels of wing-derived aerodynamics would lead to cars being unable to follow within a couple of seconds of each other and be very negative for the spectacle. A desire not to do that, allied with FE being a spec chassis/aero formula, has given those that worked on this second-generation car more freedom, hence a design that is creative and doesn't have top-surface aero at its core.

Protecting the core values that make FE such an entertaining racing championship is as important to its success as its 'green' image

Out has gone an extremely plain rear wing, replaced by something more akin to an aircraft's tailplane. The wings attach either side of the spine of the car to form a dihedral angle, with simple wing elements sat on the outside and endplates that connect to more bodywork. This swoops down and connects to the sidepod, covering the rear wheels, and runs all the way up the car and does the same to the front wheels before connecting to an angled, single-plane front wing. Again, this contains two simple wing elements, and the wing itself is connected to a wide, very smooth nosecone.

Closed wheels, smooth body surfaces and simple wings enforce a low-drag philosophy. It's a key principle for an electric car, because using less energy to push it through the air to a certain speed will mean more efficiency. It will also improve the lifting-and-coasting process because the faster the car slips through the air, the less it is slowed by air resistance.

Despite the reduction in downforce that comes with reducing drag, the new FE car will need to have an improvement in grip. The series will get a chunky power boost for the new season: an extra 50kW (67bhp) at full whack and 40kW (53bhp) more in race mode. It's enough, along with the low-drag philosophy, to have people talking of a possible 190mph top speed - a good 40mph quicker than before.

First, that ties into the positive messaging mention at the beginning, because it's going to be impossible for people to criticise the new car for being slow. Second, the car will need to be able to handle that extra power well.

That's why it packs a monster diffuser, which is more efficient than using front and rear wings because it's easier to control the airflow. This will increase downforce by accelerating the flow of air under the car and creating an area of low pressure, pulling the air from the rear of the car so it hunkers down to the track. The floor begins before the sidepods, so it's pulling air under the car from as far forward as is realistically possible.

The incredible performance of ground-effect in racing shows why FE has scored a big victory by pursuing floor-based aero over fancy, intricate wings. Working together with the rest of the floor, the diffuser will offset the loss of a traditional rear wing and then some. It also creates less drag and throws less dirty air out the back. Having the front of the floor ahead of the centre of gravity may also help keep the car balanced, because the downforce isn't all at the rear.

What that means in racing terms is that if a car is following another it will not be so badly disturbed by wake, the disturbed air from the car in front. That should help keep racing close, even though speeds are increasing. Protecting the core values that make FE such an entertaining racing championship is as important to its success as the 'green' image it lets manufacturers flaunt. The early signs are that FE's new car will do that.

It's going to be heavier than the current car, but whether it is 10kg or 20kg overweight, or even chunkier, has not been confirmed. The above factors could help offset the negative impact of that weight increase by making the car more balanced, as will another.

It is a massive challenge: the batteries are not quite double the capacity - but they must go twice the distance

The layout of the current car places the battery behind the driver in a position traditionally occupied by the engine and fuel cell on most single-seaters. This saves weight, because it doesn't require a bespoke assembly, and utilises a structural element of the chassis, increasing rigidity. But the battery has always been on top of the chassis, whereas on the new FE car it will be integrated lower. This will help improve the car's centre of gravity.

Another key factor that could impact on the quality of racing is its resilience. A whack up the rear or on the side isn't usually terminal in FE - that doesn't prompt bumper-car racing, but it does mean wheel-to-wheel aggression has been a hallmark of the series, another unexpected win for a category that uses street circuits.

Perhaps the move away from the traditional open-wheel design will benefit that: less chance for interlocking wheels, for example. Or perhaps the added swoops just mean more bodywork that can break off and force a car to pit, and FE could do without repeating IndyCar's aerokit debut fiasco, when bits of bodywork broke off and littered the track and endangered marshals and spectators. This may well be something we will probably only get a real answer to once the first driver locks up and spanks another.

While the renders of the new design turned heads, it's equally important to remember that FE's aggressive push for 2018/19 exists under its fancy new skin as well. This new car will be tasked with moving the series away from mid-race car swaps.

That is something that the series has been eyeing from the very beginning. Series CEO Alejandro Agag calls it the "revolution" it has been waiting for: "The cars will be faster and will have almost double the amount of energy storage capacity and double the range, demonstrating the continuous evolution of battery technology."

It is also a massive challenge. As Agag says, the batteries are not quite double the capacity - but they must go twice the distance. That will be achieved by increased efficiency from the spec battery and the teams' powertrains, which will have to be designed to be used over twice the distance, and the car becoming less draggy and more aerodynamically efficient.

Here's the rub: all the above is utterly meaningless if the single-car races go wrong. It would be a disaster for the series if one, let alone several, cars don't make it to the finish of the first race of the new season.

If it's powertrain-related, it will just be a manufacturer not hitting the standards required of a top-level, technology-driven category. If it's spec battery-related, it's a PR nightmare. Credibility will vanish.

McLaren Applied Technologies, the F1 team's sister company, beat current FE battery supplier Williams Advanced Engineering to the deal to build the spec battery. The teams were concerned a year ago, but now seem quietly confident. It is a mark of the progress made by MAT that one senior team figure suggested that they can consider the product much better than they thought was realistic to expect this time last year. This suggests MAT has got it right.

The cars are being delivered to the teams, and testing will soon begin in earnest. There is a detailed plan in place, including holding practice races akin to those at Donington before the very first FE round back in 2014. If there are any problems with the new car, caused by the slick new look or the technology under the surface, we'll hear about it sooner rather than later, but a repeat of the "this isn't possible" concerns seems unlikely at this stage.

That means it's so far, so good, as FE continues to build for a season that will be a litmus test of its long-term credentials.