What Formula E needs next after saying goodbye to Gen2

It’s the end of a generation in Formula E. As the chequered flag fell on the second Seoul E-Prix, the all-electric series’ 100th race, it also signalled the end of the Gen2 era that picked up a nascent series and transformed it into something beyond. It brought a new visual style to Formula E, more power, and guided the series through a pandemic and a manufacturer exodus. The venerable warhorse is now being put out to pasture in anticipation of the faster, smaller and more sustainable Gen3 package.

If there was any criticism laid at the door of the original-generation Formula E car, it was that it looked too much like an amalgamation of every other single-seater racing car out there. The front end was very Formula 1 in intent, and the rear end was not dissimilar to IndyCar. It suggested that Formula E was there to compete with the established names, rather than complement them. The complete overhaul in bodywork for Gen2 evoked a very different image.

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It looked like nothing that had been done before, except perhaps in a Batman movie. It was more than just a car, but an encapsulation of the progress that had been made since the first season of the championship, and a clean-sheet design that instead became something of a face and a marketing tool. Its longevity was helped by the eventual cancellation of the Gen2 EVO, a face-lift that would have added a revised rear aero package complete with a shark fin. The cost of the upgrade was no longer palatable among the pandemic, and thus was sensibly scrapped.

That’s not to knock everything that the Gen1 car did, as it was a means of getting the series off the ground. The clunky aesthetics and the clumsy car changes mid-race were also necessities in building a championship. People haven’t been racing electric cars for over 100 years like they have with internal combustion engines, and thus Formula E was placed in the unenviable position of having to do all its growing up in the social media age. Formula 1 and grand prix racing never had to do that in the early 1900s.

But the Gen2 car alleviated a few of the early concerns about Formula E. That it got as far as the fifth season it debuted in, given the championship’s financially motivated brush with death as soon as it had started, was no mean feat. In its hunt for strategic variation with car-swaps gone, the Gen2 car was paired with an attack mode function to inject a tactical element into the races. Is it a gimmick? Well, sure; clearly, the organisers had been playing a lot of Mario Kart in the little hours of the morning, but it’s again something that has (largely) worked. Of course, there’s a lot of variances in how it works, depending on the penalty for going off-line or the composition in activation time.

Furthermore, Formula E stopped being a landing zone for failed F1 drivers and started becoming its own domain and destination in the motorsports sphere. It has accepted that F1 cannot be stripped of its ever-increasing reputation and has instead started to plough its own furrow.

Part of that change in strategy has been underpinned by the new qualifying system. Formula E did not need the added randomness of the four-group qualifying system that handed the drivers lower in the championship a huge advantage. A more meritocratic system was implemented, but without lifting an already tried-and-tested format from another series. Instead, the field was split into two groups, and the top four of each would progress to a knockout system – and it’s been a huge success.

Stoffel Vandoorne, Mercedes-Benz EQ, 2nd position, Edoardo Mortara, Venturi Racing, 1st position, congratulate each other in Parc Ferme

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

Admittedly, it seemed a little heavy to begin with, given that one could not explain how it worked without it becoming convoluted. But in practice, it became easy to understand – and it helped to create a much stronger championship narrative, one that led to a four-way battle for the title.

That Stoffel Vandoorne could piece together a championship with one win and a hatful of consistency is the best indicator of the new qualifying system’s success. The very idea was birthed to give a fairer chance to the faster drivers and teams to fight for victories, rather than try to rescue minor points from a lowly grid placing under the old system. Formula E still some degree of parity among the teams and it’s still possible for the little teams to pick up a good result – but the new system means they’re not qualifying at the front just because track conditions proved better for the final group.

As ever, there’s an elephant in the room, especially in looking ahead to Gen3. Most automotive manufacturers today have at least one EV offering on the market, and Formula E ought to be the laboratory and the promoter of those cars – develop on Friday, win on Saturday (and maybe Sunday), and sell on Monday. That BMW, Mercedes and Audi have now all left suggested that Formula E isn’t the draw for the auto makers that it expected to be. There were only seven takers for the initial run of Gen3 powertrains, and two of those – DS and Maserati – are expected to use similar technology given both are Stellantis brands.

If there was any criticism laid at the door of the original-generation Formula E car, it was that it looked too much like an amalgamation of every other single-seater racing car out there. The front end was very Formula 1 in intent, and the rear end was not dissimilar to IndyCar

Aesthetically, the Gen3 car is divisive as well, although the drivers have promised that the new machinery is a lot quicker owing to its 350kW powertrain. The facts and figures behind the car are very impressive too: 600kW of regenerative potential, recycled and natural materials used in the build, and 40% of energy used in a race will come from regeneration. But it’s about how Formula E can make those facts and stats palatable to entice the next wave of manufacturers into the championship.

An opportunity for more manufacturers will come mid-cycle ahead of the 2024-25 season, when teams can homologate new powertrains. Formula E needs to provide something of value in the championship to get more of them onside; in the future, that could involve opening up parts of the battery to development, although the organisers are very wary of the cost implications.

There may be more changes to the format coming: in-race pitstops, a switch back to lap-count races and fast charging have all been mooted, but nothing is yet concrete for next year’s Mexico opener. Formula E has to continue to build its appeal, and continue working with manufacturers on how Gen4 should be shaped.

It’s been a long and fruitful era of the Gen2 machinery. 2021-22 was a phenomenal season and was the perfect swansong year the car that took Formula E to the next level. Here’s to the next 100 races...oh, and if fanboost can also be left on the cutting room floor, that might convert a few more resisters.

Gen3 Formula E car

Photo by: Andreas Beil