A Formula E event closes a venue to all other uses for 24 hours. This is significant as most courses are laid out in city centers. Cities agree to do without 'Main Street' for the duration.
Formula E grants unprecedented control over the car's systems to the driver. Drivers make as many as 40 changes per lap, not counting turns, accelerating and braking. Strategy is dynamic and extremely important for winning races. The steering wheel has 9 axises (wheel, 3 dials, 2 rollers, 3 paddle sets) and 10 buttons. The driver's decisions can increase or decrease energy uses as much as 11% over the course of the race. Drivers that managed their energy better have a margin to let lose and take advantage over drivers that need to slow down and/or drive carefully after wasting energy. Driver control, for winning drivers, has actually proven to be more efficient that computer software and a team of experts back in the pit. And here's something to wrap your noddle around, all these optional controls are designed to make their way into consumer EVs. In fact, all technologies FIA approves for Formula E are selected for the sake of improving middle-class consumer EVs. FIA is committed to affordable technologies. "win on Sunday, sell on Monday."
Formula E cars are quiet. Tire squeal and rolling is heard by the spectators. It is not unheard of for drivers to converse during the heat of the race. Microphones are placed on the track walls to capture whatever for the home viewers. Some fans are actually asking for noises to precede the cars so that they know when are car is about to come around the corner (you can't hear them coming in time). FIA has been experimenting with lights to achieve the same effect.
*
*FIA gave few indications of body style before getting underway and there were experiments with Sports Racer (not open-wheel) style bodies with tremendous effort focused on reducing drag (flat tops, straight smooth completely enclosed) before the season began (they seemed to be thinking getting sustained top speed and range out of an EV was an overwhelming obstacle). But, it became clear that the courses were being designed such that cars would spend comparatively little time at speeds where drag would become a significant factor compared to the overwhelmingly significant factor of downforce required for the frequent turning in tight lanes. Ultimately it was decided that a single company, Spark Racing Technology, would supply a single car design used by all teams. Likewise, a single company made the chassis, another the motor, and one for battery systems, one for the five-speed gearbox (*RANT*NOOOO!!! NO TRANSMISSIONS FOR EVS! Electric motors offer 100% AT ALL TIMES! A transmission is an unnecessary inefficiency! And the noisiest bit of a Formula E car*/RANT*), and one company supplied the tire. Since F-1 style bodies were already in use by FIA and most the teams were familiar with F-1, and downforce was a much more significant factor that drag, The F-1 style was the most practical choice. However, some modifications for decreased drag were made. Season 2 and 3 had tighter body style regulations possible due to track debris become an issue in several races.
Season 1 used 150 kW batteries limited to 28 kWh capacity. As their was no reserve to power the vehicle, exceeding 28 kWh would likely leave the car stalled resulted in penalty (Officials were obviously thinking of gas cars running out of gas on the track)
Season 1 teams used 2 cars to finish a single race. Initially FIA's scheme for swapping cars mid-race was going to require drivers to park, exit their vehicle, leap a safety barrier, traverse 100 yards, safety another safety barrier, and finally get into their second car to exit the pits. FIA apparently felt that the required vehicle swap was a prime opportunity to encourage drivers to maintain a level of fitness that has sometimes lacked in auto racing. In a sport that spends obscene amounts of money shaving ounces of weight off of a car, drivers were sometimes adding pounds. However, the drivers union did not agree. Exiting one car and traversing 3 yards to enter another was deemed adequate physical challenge.
Teams: Virgin Racing, Mahindra Racing, Dragon Racing, e.dams Renault, Trulli, Audi Sport, Venturi, Andretti, Amlin Aguri, China Racing/NEXTEV TCR
Cities: Beijing, China | Street Putrajaya, Malaysia | Street Punta del Este, Uruguay | Street Buenos Aires, Argentina | Street Miami, FL, United States | Street Long Beach, CA, United States | Street Monaco, Monaco | Street (Monaco) Berlin, Germany | Street Moscow, Russia | Street London, United Kingdom (2 races) | Street
FIA removed most regulations on the powertrain to allow teams to develop their own motor, inverter, gearbox and cooling systems. There were 8 powertrains used for 10 teams, one team elected to use the season 1 powertrain and another switched back to the season 1 powertrain mid-season due to technical issues in their new powertrain.
Season 2 also made changes to the regulations regarding suspension. One change allowed up to 5% body roll. The changes allowed teams to deal with the roughness of some of the courses. Moscow broke one of the cars despite the changes. It also allowed drivers to adjust for better traction while accelerating out of turns. Suspension rules actually allow for a 1cm range of height when the car is at rest.
Season 2 used 170 kW batteries (more power) and limited usage to 28 kWh. Some cars had more than 28 kWh so could drive to the winner's circle and such outside of race time.
Cities: Beijing, China | Street Putrajaya, Malaysia | Street Punta del, Uruguay | Street Buenos Aires. Argentina | Street Mexico City, Mexico | Track, Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Long Beach, CA, United States | Street Paris, France | Street Berlin, Germany | Street London, United Kingdom (2 Races) | Street
Roborace joined Formula E events and required 15 minutes be shaved from practice times (There's still a 24 hour time limit on events). Teams earn 1 additional point for their driver if they manage to have the fastest lap of the day (the human driven race included).
Technology was made available to add a 50% increase in the available braking regeneration. However, power usage limits did not change. So drivers lose less energy but it is effectively counted as gain. Additionall, when a car exceeds power usage, they ramp down to 0 kilowatts. This is a visual aid so that spectators can see the penalty being applied rather than having to infer from recorded scores.
Tire supplier Michelin provided more efficient all-weather tires for Season 3. They were lighter, offered less rolling resistance, reached optimal temperature sooner, resisted becoming too hot for longer, and even increase the efficiency of regenerative braking.
Season 3 introduced a new steering wheel that provided the driver more options to adjust car and battery settings.
Season 3 used 200 kW batteries (more power) and limited usage to 28 kWh
Body style changes were introduce to ensure team logo, driver name, and driver number were more clearly visible to spectators.
Cities: Hong Kong, Hong Kong | Street Marrakesh, Morocco | Street Buenos Aires, Argentina | Street Mexico City, Mexico | Track, Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Monaco, Monaco | Street (Monaco) Paris, France | Street Berlin, Germany (2 Races) | Airport New York City (Brooklyn), NY, United States (2 Races) | Street Montreal, Canada (2 Races) | Street
The car swap was eliminated.
Season 4 used 220 kW batteries
Hong Kong, Hong Kong (2 Races) | Street Marrakesh, Morocco | Street Santiago, Chile | TBA Mexico City, Mexico | Track, Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez São Paulo, Brazil | TBA Rome, Italy | TBA Paris, France | Street Berlin, Germany | Airport Zürich, Switzerland | TBA New York City (Brooklyn), NY, United States (2 Races) | Street Montreal, Canada (2 Races) | Street
Season 5 used 250 kilowatts batteries Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche entered
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}