Motorsports

What is Formula E? All you need to know as India set to host first-ever E-Prix

Sportem
Sportem
10 Min Read

India plays host to a top-tier motorsport series after almost a decade, as Formula E comes to town in the form of the Hyderabad E-Prix on February 11.

Here’s everything you need to know about the showpiece event:

Wait, what’s an E-prix?

The electric equivalent of a Formula 1 race. That’s er… simplifying things. Essentially this is the pinnacle of electric motorsport, with Hyderabad now becoming the 30th location to host an E-Prix.

Didn’t we have a Grand Prix in India?

Yes, the ill-fated (and that’s putting it mildly) Indian Grand Prix ran from 2011 to 2013 at the Buddh International Circuit in Delhi. We did get to see Sebastian Vettel do donuts though, en route winning his fourth consecutive championship.

So how does it differ from Formula 1?

There are two main differences.

One, it’s in the name. The ‘E’ in Formula E stands for electric – with the entirety of the racing car powered by a battery. Formula 1 did introduce a hybrid motor in 2014, and in attempts to ‘greenify’, it’s aiming for carbon neutral synthetic fuels from 2026. But F1 still is fundamentally a non-electric sport.

With the world shifting towards electric vehicles, it explains the influx of car manufacturers that have joined Formula E, since any innovation in the sport is likely to reflect in their on-road manufacturing as well.

The other major difference is Formula E has a common spec for all its teams and drivers – the same chassis and battery. None of the ‘It WaS tHe CaR’ memes of Lewis Hamilton’s dominance here – every team has the same hardware to work with, with superiority coming in the form of a driver lineup, setup on the day and even… software.

It results in a racing series that has wheel-to-wheel action and a raceday that is very unpredictable – every Formula E season since its inception has been decided on the last race of the season. Season 8 had 9 different winners in 16 races, with eventual champion Stoffel Vandoorne only winning one race.

Does this mean we have no idea who’ll win in Hyderabad?

It’s still fairly early in Season 9, with only three rounds completed. Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche) and Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti) have competed for the win in every race so far, with the former topping the standings after winning both races of the double-header in Diriyah. NEOM McLaren and Jaguar TCS Racing have also started the season with plenty of pace, and can find substantial leaps in performance as the season develops.

Okay… any Indians to cheer for?

Jehan Daruvala is in the paddock, but as a reserve driver for Mahindra Racing (in addition to his duties in Formula 2). The Indian team does have a shot at the podium though, with Lucas di Grassi finishing third in the opening race of this season – teammate Oliver Rowland has yet to score a point though. There’s also the Jaguar TCS Racing team owned by Tata, so even if there are no Indians on the grid – there are teams to root for.

What’s the Hyderabad track like?

Formula E prides itself on running within the centre of cities as a mostly street-race setup, but that is also a function of its ‘shortcomings’. Battery tech in the earlier seasons couldn’t last in a purpose-built circuit, with the awkward sight of drivers swapping cars mid-race (yes, really). None of that with the series’ Gen 3 cars though.

They’ll fly across the 2.83km long Hyderabad track alongside the Hussain Sagar Lake and NTR Gardens, with 18 corners designed to take advantage of Formula E’s enhanced regenerative braking.

The cars look decent, eh?

Looks can be divisive, with Formula E’s current spec modeled after a fighter jet, but there’s no denying the speed. From the Gen 1 car launched in 2014 (200 kW of power output, top speed 225 kmph) to the Gen 3 car used this season (350 kW of power output, top speed 322 kmph), Formula E’s EVs have come a long way.

But… the sound

Yeah, there’s no getting away from it. Formula E claim this is intentional, but the silence of EVs simply means the roar of engines is replaced by the high-pitched whine of electric motors and tyres squealing. It takes a bit of getting used to, but given the excitement on track it’s an acceptable trade off.

How’s the weekend laid out?

As opposed to Formula 1’s three-day weekends, Formula E’s pop-up nature (can’t have the city centres of Paris et al endure disrupted traffic for too long or there’ll be a revolution) means they usually wrap things up in a day or two. There’s Free Practice 1 on Saturday evening (4:25 pm), and then a packed Sunday – FP2 at 8:05 am, followed by Qualifying at 10:40 am (more on that later), and then the race from 3pm onwards.

How does qualifying work? Is it a straight shootout?

Nope. Formula E has a history of gimmicks (seriously, FanBoost?) but their qualifying format treads the fine line between gimmick and pure merit. The grid is divided into two groups based on their rankings – odd and even numbered – and each group runs at full tilt for 10 minutes, trying to set a fast lap time.

The top four from each group then go through into ‘duels’ – with the fastest from Group A, for example, facing off against the fourth-fastest from Group B in a quarterfinal knockout (A1 vs B4 and so on.) This is followed by an eventual shootout between the winners of the semifinals who take the front row, with lap times deciding the losers of the quarterfinals from places 5-8. If the polesitter comes from Group B, then the fifth-highest time in Group B is placed 9th and his equivalent in Group A is placed 10th … and so on.

It’s simpler when you see it, promise.

The race is a straight shootout, surely?

Er…

It is. Mostly. There are no wrinkles of a pit-stop, but in a bid to ensure it’s not a procession to the chequered flag, Formula E have the concept of ‘Attack Mode’ – where the cars can use their full 350kW power for a limited time (they usually run at 300kW for the duration of the race). However, to activate ‘Attack Mode’ drivers have to move off the racing line in a designated area on track – which usually results in the car following closely behind overtaking them.

Apart from that, it’s a straight shootout – but drivers have to ensure their battery lasts the race distance. Mahindra Racing have famously lost out on wins because their battery ran out in past seasons – with their driver coasting to the line with no power after the last corner only to lose out on victory at the finish line.

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that in Hyderabad.

The Hyderabad E-Prix (Qualifying and Race) will be live-streamed on Disney+ Hotstar and broadcast on the Star Sports Network, with Free Practice being livestreamed on the Formula E YouTube channel.



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