Formula E

Very big.

As for the earlier part of your post referring to Tweet Based Boost, my opinion is essentially unprintable, so I'll try to water it down a bit! I'm all for innovation but there are some things where one must draw a line…

• Motor racing is done by competitors; in the first instance for self-indulgence, and secondly – and only for a tiny percentage at the top of the talent pile – as a source of income; although drivers who earn their keep by performing for said spectators may be imbued with a slight sense of obligation as an 'entertainer'.
• Motor racing is watched by spectators who attend events (or switch on a TV) to be entertained by the spectacle of competition, rather than being perversely involved in the outcome.

The idea of deliberately blurring what has been (rightly, in my view) a clear and very well-established dividing line is anathema to me, despite the obvious motivation behind the idea being to give spectators a greater sense of involvement. Obviously, in today's technological era, there is huge potential to be exploited. However, the idea itself is not at all novel*!

*Think Romans, Gladiators, and or (Edit: Blimey, that took some effort to get into this post!)

 

In that case.... Send karthikeyan to the Lions!!

 

Just imagine if we got Cosi involved and then tweeted him to the championship!

 

Just think Bernie, Someday you might be a part of Formula E along with all the other F1 Rejects probably as soon as there is any sniff of decent money.

 

Beijing has unveiled its street circuit:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/112885

Looks almost exactly like the Sydney Olympic Park Circuit for the V8 Supercars (that's not a good thing). It's a giant square with some chicanes in it. Also, what the heck is up with the pitlane?

 

wow ...................

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excitement central there!

 

Wouldn't it have easier to not have those chicanes? There's going to be no overtaking at them, and it doesn't look like they'll be that much of a challenge to the drivers

 

All Formula E races are to be broadcast on ITV4

Excellent, free to air motorsport!

 

Yay good news. Well done ITV! Get Tony Jardine and Jim Rosenthal on the phone right now

 

What happens if someone forgets to bring a plug socket?

 

Lots and lots of double A's.

 

Saw someone make an interesting comment on twitter (it happens occasionally!). One of the big concerns about F-E was the lack of noise that the cars produced, which would ruin the spectacle. Now F1 has much less noise (at least on TV), will this help convert people to the new series? Whilst F-E might be closer to GP2 or 3 in pace, and lack some of the glamour initially, it's going to be freely available to watch and showcase a lot of decent drivers.

 

The Formula E Driver's club expands further!

Trulli, Heidfeld, d'Ambrosio and Sam Bird are the new names added, giving:

Daniel Abt - Audi Sport Abt
Christijan Albers
Jaime Alguersuari
Jerome d'Ambrosio
Marco Andretti
Nathanaël Berthon
Sam Bird
Marco Bonanomi
Sébastien Bourdais
Alex Brundle
Sébastien Buemi
Adam Carroll
Karun Chandhok
Dani Clos
Ben Collins
Conor Daly
Robert Doornbos
Kuba Giermaziak
Lucas di Grassi
Nick Heidfeld
J. R. Hildebrand
Ryo Hirakawa
Ma Qing Hua
Narain Karthikeyan
Christian Klien
Jon Lancaster
Katherine Legge
Vitantonio Liuzzi
Nicolas Minassian
Franck Montagny
Giorgio Pantano
Agustin Paya
Adrian Quaife-Hobbs
Stéphane Sarrazin
Takuma Sato
Bruno Senna
Oriol Servià
Adrien Tambay
Jarno Trulli

Mostly a pretty solid field there, with the cars being identical to begin with, I'm hoping for some close racing.

 

All these drivers can't be racing at the same time can they?

 

I think one team had already confirmed their line up

 

These are just the people who have said they want to race. It up to the teams who they choose. IIRC there are 10 teams.

 

yeah, 10 teams, 20 drivers 40 cars.
Personally I think it would be a good idea to add a 'team' that featured young up and coming 'guest' drivers from the country/city hosting that race weekend.

 

The drivers listed are all "ambassador's" for Formula E, and have to be named as such to be in contention for a race seat. I think the idea is that from the outside it looks like all of these drivers are keen to race and it'll be a competitive series, rather than sporadic, often uninspiring driver announcements that make it look like the teams are struggling to get quality drivers interested. I don't expect there's much demands placed on the drivers in order to make the list, so some are probably just doing it to leave the opportunity open should they need/want it.

I was curious what F1 links there are, surprisingly more than I thought. There's enough F1 experience there to fill the grid with dubious combinations of ex-F1 team drivers. Take a look at these "dream" teams:

E-Prost: Trulli, Heidfeld
E-Williams: Clos, Senna
Super-AgurE: Sato, Montagny
EJordan: Pantano, Karthikeyan
Green-Bull: Klien, Buemi
Toro Verde: Alguersuari, Bourdais
Minard-E: Doornbos, Albers, Legge
Force Endia: Hildebrand, Liuzzi
E-HRT: Ma Qing Hua, Chandhok
E-Virgin: di Grassi, d'Ambrosio
"E-Brawn": Bird, Andretti


For reference, who people have driven for.

Christijan Albers - Minardi, Midland, Spyker
Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso
Jerome d'Ambrosio - Virgin, Lotus
Marco Andretti - Honda
Sam Bird - Mercedes
Sébastien Bourdais - Toro Rosso
Sébastien Buemi - Toro Rosso, Red Bull
Karun Chandhok - HRT, Caterham
Dani Clos - Williams, HRT
Robert Doornbos - Minardi, Red Bull
Lucas di Grassi -Renault, Virgin
Nick Heidfeld -Prost, Sauber, Jordan, Williams, Sauber
J. R. Hildebrand - Force India
Ma Qing Hua - HRT, Caterham
Narain Karthikeyan - Jordan, HRT
Christian Klien - Jaguar, Red Bull, HRT
Katherine Legge - Minardi
Vitantonio Liuzzi - Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Force India, HRT
Franck Montagny - Super Aguri
Giorgio Pantano - Jordan
Takuma Sato - Jordan, BAR, Super Aguri
Bruno Senna - HRT, Renault/Lotus, Williams
Jarno Trulli -Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault, Toyota, Lotus

 

I'm very pleased to see continued interest in what really is a ground-breaking series.
The noise factor is a very peculiar oddity; but I have a hunch people will gradually become accustomed and that the 'problem', if that's what it is, will gradually fade.

For the moment of course, and for the next decade at least, F1 and FE will remain poles apart. But I can foresee a closing of the gap as F1 considers it's place in tomorrow's world; and FE loosens its regulations to allow teams to build their own chassis, and for other teams to enter into the series.

I'm also very comforted by the news that it will be 100% free to view in the UK. This was essential, in my opinion.