FIA Formula E has recently revealed its calendar for Season 11, and Motorsport Week is taking a look at the new additions, the omissions, the alterations and what it means for those watching.
Season 11 promises to be the biggest schedule that Formula E has ever had, and it all kicks-off in São Paulo on December 7th. Season 10’s trip to Samba country produced one of the most memorable climaxes of the year, with Sam Bird capturing victory in breathtaking fashion from Mitch Evans in the final few corners of the final lap. The race itself was perhaps the first peloton race of the season, but it did not scrimp on excitement, and with the GEN3 Evo car promising to be 36 percent faster than the current GEN3, with an extra 50kW in reserve, the opening race promises to be another unmissable one.
After trips to Mexico City and Diriyah, which will be more straightforward, classic Formula E style races, the series is hotly-rumoured to then becoming the first major motorsport which will compete in Thailand, in a race that is To Be Determined on the official and ratified FIA calendar. If complications arise, it is expected the trusty Tempelhof circuit in Berlin will step-in from its new date in July.
Then, with the words of Will Smith ringing in all our ears, it will be Bienvenidos a Miami, the city returning to the calendar after a decade, at a brand new venue – Homestead-Miami Speedway. Traditionally a NASCAR circuit, this is perhaps the first of more extreme peloton races. A small section of the oval will be used in conjunction with the infield circuit, but despite some long straights and sweeping turns, some of the circuit is relatively narrow and twisty, as this onboard footage demonstrates. The GEN3 Evo’s added speed and battery may take the sting off the likely lift and coast driving as well as any other FE-style track alterations i.e. a new chicane, but in any case, the fact the race is a single-header may deprive fans of the chance to see a better race two, with many of the peloton races in Season 10 having been much improved on the Sunday, even if the race is just one lap less.
Formula E’s first big statement of intent is the first double-header to be staged in Monaco. Traditionally one race with all practice sessions and qualifying held the same day, the expansion of the event into a second day is further proof that Formula E’s CEO Jeff Dodds is meaning business with the sport’s growth. Formula E will also be once again providing an important public service to all the glass-half-empty naysayers who believe the principality is no longer fit for purpose in motor racing. With over 200 overtakes this year, and with much more excitement in the offing next time around, the FE community will once again quite happily turn around to Formula One and say: “It sounds more like a ‘you’ problem.”
The next weekend is another double-header, this time in Tokyo. After a largely successful debut in Season 10, the city closes for an extra day in what is another example of copper-bottomed braggery from Formula E, and why not? Before this year, Tokyo had never closed its streets for a sporting event aside from its own marathon, and now a year later, it is going on for one day longer. The circuit, however, whilst a jolly, bumpy ride with the possibility of a cataclysm of carnage never too far, is perhaps on the cusp of being compatible with Formula E cars, with Antonio Felix da Costa recently telling Motorsport Week: “Don’t get me wrong, I love Tokyo and I think for GEN3 and 3.5, Tokyo is OK. For GEN4, it will be too small if we really want to go to 700-800 horsepower, but I think if we baseline ourselves on Monacos and bigger from there onwards and larger and longer in street tracks we should have no problems.”
A glaring omission from the calendar is a venue in Italy. Depriving the Maserati brand of a home race and perhaps abhorring any possibility of courting Ferrari to Formula E, it is however deemed a temporary removal, with Dodds confirming to be looking for a new home there, with the popular Rome street circuit deemed unsuitable for the GEN3 Evo and beyond. From a personal point of view, I am in somewhat disappointed there is no return to Misano as I enjoyed the 27 degree sunshine and champagne-flavoured views of the circuit from the balcony atop the press centre, but given that the peloton racing gave the driving a gaming lobby feel, leaving one FE driver to be overheard saying in the media pen that he “f***ing [hated] this track,” it’s probably best for everyone that I am not in charge of the scheduling.
After Tokyo, it is a short hop over to Shanghai for another double-header, and despite the great concerns of hosting another race on a permanent track, the Shanghai International Circuit in the FE configuration provided some serious racing, with the infamous last-lap jiggery-pokery between Evans and Pascal Wehrlein, and coupled with dominant second race win by da Costa, the experiment proved more successful than others did, and perhaps justifies its continuation.
After the return to Jakarta – back after political elections caused the cancellation of this year’s running of the race – and the currently-scheduled dates for Berlin, the season rounds-off in London at the Excel Centre, for what is likely to be the last time. As with Rome, London’s suitability for the race due to the new cars is on a fine line, and Formula E are seeking alternative UK venues, with Silverstone the most talked-about possibility. Other slightly vague though left-field alternatives have been floated in the ether, such as an undisclosed Scottish venue and the effervescent Brands Hatch, but it will wait for another year. In any case, the London venue is in many ways the most unique on the calendar and has a propensity to close out the season with a degree of drama, such as last year, with Jake Dennis winning the Drivers’ Championship on the Saturday, and Envision Racing securing the Teams’ Championship on the Sunday.
In many ways, portions of the calendar are going to be a step into the unknown, but perhaps in some way, they will all be given we are going to be treated to faster and more economical cars. People will complain, and we all have an opinion, but it is practically guaranteed, like pretty much every single year in Formula E, that you won’t be able to take your eyes off it for a moment.
