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How Formula E pulls off its impossible job

Formula E's unique format has helped take it to destinations other series could only dream of racing in, but there are still plenty of hurdles to overcome before those events can be staged

Alex Kalinauckas Apr 11, 2018, 11:29 AM

Buildings cannot be easily moved. Nor can many of the items of infrastructure that make up sprawling metropolises all over the world. But that hasn't stopped Formula E from taking an almost impossible job - fitting a major sporting event into streets used by thousands of people every day - and perfecting the art of squeezing races into tight spaces.

This weekend, Rome will become the 18th urban centre to host a Formula E race and it's Circuito Cittadino Dell'EUR track is situated in the EUR residential and business district of the Eternal City. The main event will be over in a single day, but the process of pitching, designing and building the track is, naturally, much longer.

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Author Alex Kalinauckas

Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.

A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.