What is Formula E? Our guide to the future of motor racing

With the ever growing focus on finding alternatives to diesel and petrol powered vehicles, an alternative, electric-powered sport has grown in popularity – Formula E (officially known as the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship).

Read our feature on Formula E and how it differs from other motorsport.

The sport was created in 2011 by FIA President Jean Todt and Spanish entrepreneur Alejandro Agog. He latter is also the current Chairman of Formula E Holdings – the owners of the championship.

The idea was to provide a single-seater motorsport – similar to Formula 1 – involving electric cars.

Formula E’s inaugural race took place on September 12th 2014 in the Olympic Park, Beijing, China as part of an 11 race season – concluding in London on June 28th 2015. Brazilian Nelson Piquet Jr became the sport’s first ever champion.

Formula E races have appeared in 24 countries – where there are 16 races being contested by 11 teams (each with two drivers).

The sport achieved FIA World Championship status from the 2020/21 season onwards – a distinction that only Formula 1 has had in the history of motorsport.

With electric cars growing in popularity with the public, and Formula E spreading across the globe with great success, you might think that it is here to take the place of Formula 1.

However, that is not the case currently – with F1 experiencing its own rapid growth in popularity in recent years.

Although F1 cars are faster than their electric counterparts, the gap is certainly closing as the technology continues to develop.

The main goal of the sport is to accelerate the shift to zero emission mobility – and help advance the technology needed to help find alternative to the current way we use transport around the world.

Unlike Formula 1, which uses internal combustion engines, powered by fossil fuels – Formula E has a powertrain that uses electricity created from a battery and converts it to a charge, which the motor uses to turn the wheels.

Charging the car is not allowed during qualifying or the race itself – and can only take place in-between sessions and during practice.

However, there are other, more unique additions to Formula E that separate it from its more historic alternative.

Fanboost

In the build up to the next race, fans can vote for their favourite driver via the sport’s official website or app to give them an extra power boost from the car’s electric engine.

The voting begins three days before the race and starts 15 minutes before the lights go out on the grid.

Five drivers receive an extra boost which lasts for five seconds – and can be used in the second half of the race.

Attack Mode

In the build up to the sports’ 5th season, a new feature was introduced.

This saw drivers receiving an extra 25kw of power after driving through a designated area of the circuit off the racing line of a track– which increased to 35kw in the following seasons.

The time a driver can use the boost is determined on a race-by-race basis – as well as the number of times it can be used.

However, all drivers must activate their boosts by the end of the race – although they do not have to be used.

Formula E takes place on city street circuits around the world – rather than racetracks.

On a Friday, there is an E-Prix ‘Shakedown’, where drivers can use the session to check out the features of the track and any unique features at lower speeds.

The following day, there are two 30 minute practice sessions in the morning. Drivers can practice at full race pace and officially timed for their laps.

Following this, qualifying starts after midday. This season saw many changes to the process.

The qualifying format allows the top drivers to showcase their speed, but the session allows the possibility of any driver on the grid to step up and put themselves on pole position.

First, there is a group stage that sees two groups of 11 drivers, ordered based on their World Championship position, setting lap times in a 10-minute session.

The fastest four from each group then progress into the ‘Duels’ stage.

The remaining eight drivers then face off in the quarter-finals in a knockout – which then does into the semi-finals and then the final.

The winner takes pole position, while the runner-up lines up second on the grid.

The semi-finalists will line up third and fourth, the quarter-finalists between fifth and eighth – according to their lap times from their duels.

The fifth to 12th-placed drivers who competed in the polesitter's group will fill the odd positions and the drivers from the other group will be placed in the even grid slots.

Most weeks, the race then follows qualifying rather than the following day (unless it is a double-header weekend).

Each race lasts 45 minutes from a stationary start. Once the clock runs down and the race leader has passed the finish line, there is a final lap before the race is over and a winner is declared.

Just like Formula 1 – Formula E awards points to the top-10 finishers.

• 1st - 25pts
• 2nd - 18pts
• 3rd - 15pts
• 4th - 12pts
• 5th - 10pts
• 6th - 8pts
• 7th - 6pts
• 8th - 4pts
• 9th - 2pts
• 10th - 1pt

However, the driver who achieves pole position through qualifying receives an extra 3 points and the person with the fastest lap in the race receives a further 1 point (if they finish in the top-10).

Although their fossil fuel-powered counterparts are faster – the gap is closing as technology advances.

Currently, the maximum speed for cars in Formula E is around 280 km/h – around 20 km/h behind the current season’s F1 cars.

The 0-100km/h speeds are also pretty close. Formula E is 2.8 seconds compared to 2.6 seconds.

As of today, the 2024/25 season features 11 teams with two drivers each.

• Avalanche Andretti – Jake Dennis and Nico Muller
• DS Penske – Maximilian Gunther and Jean-Eric Vergne
• Envision Racing – Robin Frijns and Sebastian Buemi
• Jaguar TCS Racing – Mitch Evans and Sam Bird
• Mahindra Racing – Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy
• Nissan Formula E Team – Norman Nato and Oliver Rowland
• Tag Heuer Porsche – Antonio Felix da Costa and Pascal Wehrlein
• Maserati MSG Racing – Stoffel Vandoorne and Jake Hughes
• Cupra Kiro – David Beckmann and Dan Ticktum
• NEOM Mclaren - Taylor Barnard and Sam Bird
• Lola Yamaha ABT - Lucas di Grassi and Zane Maloney

There are 16 races in the 2024/25 season:

• Brazil
• Mexico
• Saudi Arabia (x2)
• USA
• Monaco (x2)
• Japan (x2)
• China (x2)
• Indonesia (x2)
• Germany (x2)
• UK (x2)

The UK races wil be held at the ExCel London Circuit on 26/27 July 2025.

For those who are not attending the event in person, there are several ways to watch a race day.

In the UK, you can watch Formula E on Channel 4 – with practice and qualifying also appearing on the channel’s YouTube channel.

Highlights also appear on the sister channel All 4.

The race is also featured on Eurosport and the Formula E YouTube channel.

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