The Formula E Evolution

Putting passion for racing together with care for the environment

- Nicole C. Batac

Motorsport has always been about speed and power—roaring engines packed into incredibly fast cars. A racing series like Formula One is more than just the prestige of winning races in cars dubbed as being the fastest, most powerful out there. The less obvious aim is to push forward automotive technology. The sport is a hotbed of innovation. But it hasn’t put its focus on innovating a growing, essential market— electric vehicles.

Enter Formula E, a new all-electric racing series started in 2014 by Alejandro Agag. A self-proclaimed racing man, Agag said he wanted to put his passion for racing together with his care for the environment.

It is hard to start a new racing series these days. The established ones, like F1, NASCAR, and IndyCar, have been struggling with viewership and attendance over the years. How can you get racing fans to care about a new series? Especially one that didn’t have the same speed and roaring gas engines of its competitors.

Formula E offers an interesting proposition, though. The idea is to bring this racing series right into cities affected by climate change. You get races in places like Marrakesh, Hong Kong, Mexico, Paris, New York, etc. It promotes the idea of clean energy in a fun way. Perhaps even encourage viewers to consider getting an electric car instead of a gas one.