Formula E

Yes. The test was essentially promotional and, partly due to having to be slow enough to be filmed on the move, it was done at roughly 25% power output. That said, even at full power, they will be nowhere near F1; but we should remember that they are not intended to be (at least, for now&#8230. A better comparison is Formula 3.

See above. Apart from anything else, wide 'open stretches' are far easier to film.

Year one cars will all use the Dallara/McLaren consortium's series-opening chassis. However, after year one, when initial restrictions are planned to be loosened to allow others to build their own, all competitors will attempt to get maximum downforce in any case, regardless of tyres. Cornering speeds will be much higher than the video suggests, although, with more restrictive/prescriptive aerodynamics, they will not approach anything like the cornering speeds of F1. Indeed, we should not begin to compare FE with F1; anyone who does will be hugely disappointed because performance should be very similar to Formula 3, with similar lap times. Then again, as most in this forum will probably know, this can be a great prescription for exciting racing!

As for the grooved tyres themselves, Michelin are doing their utmost to ensure they provide a platform for real world road car development, where of course, slicks are not an option.

 

I watched an e-bike racing series from Asia on Motors TV the other day.

They seemed quick enough compared to MotoGP, but had a curious whining noise instead of the engine. Racing seemed decent enough though.

 

Hi ASC! I thought this place had been all but abandoned until New Year!

Yes. Bikes are far more 'tyre-limited' because downforce as such does not really play a part.

To put it another way, so long as tyres used for bike series are similar, they will tend to corner at similar speeds. Of course, a car's cornering speed is also ultimately limited by grip, but in this case the grip is a combination of tyre performance with aero-induced downward pressure (which squares with speed), to force the tyres to do 'extra' work. Bikes – with no 'aero' downforce to speak of – rely upon chassis and suspension design to exploit what grip the tyres provide, plus the rider's shifting of weight in order to optimise the downward pressure upon each tyre, as required for different circumstances. Of course, a bike rider's weight also makes up a significant part of the total weight, which emphasises the importance; whereas with four wheeler's it only becomes significant in karts.

 

BT Sports and SKY are racing to show Formula E but they are preferring a Free to air channel to be broadcast on.

Also the proposed race in Hong Kong has been pulled, Replaced by Rio

 

And the final team to be announced is Venturi Grand Prix, Which is co founded by Leonardo Di Caprio?! yes the actor...

 

I think it would be a shame if FE is not aired as Free to View. I think it is very important to have the biggest possible audience in its first few years.

P.S. Leonardo Di Caprio is Nico Rosberg without the make-up.

 

Free to air is certainly the best for exposure. If F1 on sky only gets half a million on some occasions then surely E can get pretty close figures on freeview. It was a problem with A1 which was a good concept but was not easily accessible. PPV would be a huge mistake

 

PPV is only any good for sports with massive appeal, and then only for the 'big' matches, if they had any sense they'd give the rights away for free for a few years to build up the interest and maybe go PPV for the season finale'.

 

Scarbs has written a decent review of the F-E cars here.

 

They sound like milk floats

 

8 names have been announced for the "F-E Driver's Club", which is apparently a list of drivers who endorse the series, and may be interested in driving.

So far we've got: Lucas Di Grassi, Sebastien Buemi, Karun Chandhok, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Takuma Sato, plus Ma Qing Ha, Marco Andretti and Adrien Tambay.

I believe these drivers can now all test the cars? James Allen has some speculation as to who will be with which team.

 

Marco Andretti will race for Super Aguri, Sato will drive for Andretti

 

Sounds like an RC car.

 

Formula E better for Eco environment, but its a terrible sound, i don't like it

 

Understandable.
Actually, I think you make a good point, F1rookie. In the temporary sense at least – and certainly in any transitory state – it is vitally important that concerns such as this are addressed, even when to do so is very difficult.

My take on the matter…
Preferences are often an expression of personal experience, which, in turn, are necessarily based upon the familiar.

New eras (new dawns) are only ushered in through the gentle adjustment of accustomisation. In terms of motor-sport, FE is one such new dawn. For instance: surely the iconic 'cave-man' (or woman) would never have entertained the idea of getting from one place to another unaided – i.e. beyond his/her body's physical ability to accomplish it without external (mechanical) help? Then again, perhaps they were quick to learn that swimming was sometimes not only better than sinking but also a useful means of getting from A to B?

It is likely that within a couple of hundred years (or far less(!)), present perceptions of 'normality', including our common predilection to associate sounds with concepts, will be viewed as archaic; perhaps even unfathomable.

Forward thinking is all about adopting a new skin for a newer future; and dusting off the cobwebs of established familiarity.
– For any individual, I'm sure this is very difficult to do (certainly, it is for me!), but it is ultimately the only way humanity moves on…

Preferences are almost always expressed as a consequence of personal experience, even (perhaps most likely?) when this personal experience is common to most. Therefore, perhaps the biggest challenge to any new technology is coming face to face with a past steeped with an association of a particular stimulus as a prelude to an (expected) outcome.

Perhaps I've gone too deep. What I'm saying is that we might need to cast off certain prejudices, and that eventually these concerns will be confined to history.

- - -o0o- - -

*I acknowledge that some might find humankind's 'progression' as regression.
​

 

I think Sound Is a very important element in anything. At an F1 race it really builds up the atmosphere and gets the heart racing. If you go to a touring car race It is not the same atmosphere and kind of makes it feel cheap in comparison.

Another example is going to a football match at a premier league ground. the atmosphere and sound of the crowd is euphoric and is a more enjoyable experience than watching the game its self. This euphoria is not as great if you go to see your local village team...

a 3rd example is Music. When you go to a huge concert at a large arena or festival the atmosphere is immense so much so you can lose yourself in the music even if you dont like the band so much. Many a time I have enjoyed the support band and the sounds they are creating but when I go to buy their CD and listen to it the next day It leaves me rather deflated..

I wonder how Formula E will overcome this vital hurdle. I don't think they will have a problem with the TV broadcast as they can pretty much do anything to ramp up the experience. But For a spectator at an event I wonder how they will create an atmosphere?

 

I think FE will be alright sounds wise. It won't be as dramatic as F1 has been, but with the races being hosted in cities (that's still the plan right?) everything will be amplified, and people will be much closer to the action. I think 20 sets of tyres screeching through a town centre could make a fair bit of racket. Somewhere like Silverstone it would be terrible though, a wide open air field, grandstands set well back from the circuit, cars spread out over almost four miles of road. You'd feel incredibly detached from it as a spectator.

 

I'm with AG, I think it's aiming to be a different type of experience. A lot of F1 is about the raw power and cornering speeds of the cars, whilst hopefully FE will be more associated with close battles through tight streets, with crowds really close to the track. With them all being street races, what sound is generated will be bounced around off the buildings rather than dissipating, so it won't be silent. And in 20 years time, how do we know that we won't appreciate the high-pitched whine of an electric motor getting to top speed as much as a V8 roar?

 

Latest names in the Formula E Drivers' Club are
B Senna, S Bourdais, O Servia, D Abt, N Karthikeyan, C Albers, F Montagny & JR Hildebrand

FIA Formula E Championship – Drivers’ Club line-up (to date):

Daniel Abt (GER)
Christijan Albers (NLD)
Marco Andretti (USA)
Sébastien Bourdais (FRA)
Sebastien Buemi (CHE)
Karun Chandhok (IND)
Lucas di Grassi (BRA)
J.R. Hildebrand (USA)
Ma Qing Hua (CHN)
Narain Karthikeyan (IND)
Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA)
Franck Montagny (FRA)
Takuma Sato (JPN)
Bruno Senna (BRA)
Oriol Servia (ESP)
Adrien Tambay (FRA)

 

My Final Year Project at Uni involves developing pedestrian warning systems for hybrid/electric vehicles, so this is kind of my sort of thing