World class

With its elevation to FIA world championship status in the bag and 11 works squads on the grid, Formula E is in a very good place right now – but how have new sporting and technical rules affected the teams? Racecar went to season six’s opening round in Saudi Arabia to find out

- GEMMA HATTON

Whether you like or even agree with the concept of electric cars or not, you simply cannot deny the monumental success of the Formula E championship, which has now been granted world championship status by the FIA, from season seven (2020/2021) onwards. With the category’s sixth season already underway, the grid is now 26 cars strong with 11 of the 12 teams manufacturers, including Mercedes-Benz EQ and TAG-Heuer Porsche, who have both entered their rookie season in the championship. This means that for the first time in motorsport history Audi, Mercedes, BMW and Porsche are competing as factory entities in the same series. The closest this had come to pass previously was the 1999 Le Mans 24 hours, although on that occasion the Porsches entered were customer cars.

Alongside the new teams sits some new technical and sporting rules for season six. With each rule carefully designed and implemented to make driver skill and energy management strategies more crucial than ever before, season six could be the most competitive FE championship yet.

Six pack

It was certainly competitive at the Diriyah E-prix in Saudi Arabia, which hosted the first two rounds of the 2019/2020 championship. Drivers using German manufacturer powertrains swept the board, with a win apiece for the BMW i Andretti Motorsport and Envision Virgin Racing, the latter running a customer Audi powertrain. Meanwhile, both the new entries from Porsche and Mercedes secured podiums despite issues in pre-season testing in Valencia – the former with a surprise second place for Andre Lotterer in race one, while Mercedes driver Stoffel Vandoorne claimed a double podium with two third places.