Sport360° view: Formula E has power to influence future

Anthony Fernandes 12:07 14/09/2014
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  • "The symbolism of ePrix’s debut in Beijing, a city blanketed by smog, is obvious."

    Former Formula 1 driver Lucas di Grassi went down in history as the winner of the inaugural all-electric Formula E grand prix on Saturday.

    He took the chequered flag after a dramatic accident on the final lap in China took out his main rivals but the new ePrix championship is much more than about just racing.

    One of motorsport’s greats, the former four-time Formula One champion Alain Prost, perhaps put it most aptly when he said Formula E will be a laboratory for new technology.

    With alternative, environmentally-friendly fuels on the rise, the symbolism of ePrix’s debut in Beijing – a city regularly blanketed by smog – is obvious. This is why the Chinese government was so keen to back Formula E, as it wanted to promote the use of electric cars.

    Initially using identical Spark-Renault SRT-01E cars, finance for the series has been raised by companies like mobile chip maker Qualcomm Inc of California, Boston Celtics NBA basketball owners Causeway Media Partners, film star Leonardo DiCaprio and British entrepreneur Richard Branson.

    The championship is not short of quality drivers either, with the likes of Di Grassi, Charles Pic, Nelson Piquet, Bruno Senna, Karun Chandhok and Sebastien Buemi – all former Formula One drivers – plus Nick Heidfeld and Nicolas Prost who were involved in Saturday's last lap accident.

    What sets the series apart is that practice, qualifying and the race are all held on the same day in a carnival-like atmosphere where there is music, food and beverages, driver meetings and autograph sessions – all packed into a Saturday, unlike other race meetings that usually stretch over three days.

    It is a long season, with races in ten cities worldwide – including Putrajaya in Malaysia, Punta Del Este in Uruguay, Buenos Aires in Argentina, Los Angeles, Miami and Long Beach in the USA, Monte Carlo in Monaco and Berlin in Germany, with the finale to be held in the UK in June next year.

    The championship has the staunch backing of Jean Todt, president of motorsport’s world governing body, the FIA. In fact, Todt has vigorously campaigned for the championship, arguing that the world is changing and as the sporting flagship of motorsport, the FIA has a responsibility to keep up with the changes, insisting that the link between daily mobility and racing is very important.

    Todt argues that it is important to have a vision for new technology for the development of the motoring industry. According to data collected by the FIA, at the moment 75 million cars are sold all over the world each year and only one per cent is with new energy like an electric car.

    It’s less than a million cars, but the FIA thinks ePrix can play an important role in promoting the use of more electric cars in cities.

    Generating interest in electric cars is not going to happen overnight for sure, but the idea is to develop the series over many years with the ultimate aim of transferring the ePrix vehicle technology to the city car.

    Saturday’s inaugural round was hailed as a huge success and it is hoped that the remaining nine races will be as exciting. It may take some time before motorsport fans take this new series seriously but it deserves all our support because without doubt it is the Formula of the future.

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