Next Is The E

This weekend was the first race in the new Formula E auto racing series. As you might guess from the name, it's kind of like Formula 1, but for electric cars. And it's organized by the same organization, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).

There's been some scepticism, since this series will, of necessity be smaller, slower, and cheaper than the big series. But lesser racing series have survived in the past, so it could work out. Because it's really too early to tell whether it will be successful, most media reports have focused on silly questions like whether auto racing fans will take to racing that's so quiet, which just makes all of us in racing fandom look like fools. Of course, there have been complaints in Formula 1 about the sound of the turbo V6's used this year in comparison to the V8's that have been in use for years, so maybe we really are that simple. And the inaugural race ended with a dramatic crash at the end, so less sophisticated fans should be convinced now.

I think Formula E could be successful, because it has a couple of big things going for it, aside from its environmental credentials. One is the aforementioned lack of noise. That means a great deal of flexibility in locating races. Rather than go to tracks in the middle of nowhere, or street courses carefully positioned in cities but far from residential areas, you can have electronic car racing anywhere. Street races have been successful; if you can find a good location, the community will really get behind them, even when the racing series itself is struggling, as we've seen with the IndyCar races at Toronto and Long Beach.

The more hidden advantage is that it gives the FIA an opportunity to start over, without Formula 1's baggage. As successful as the top series is, there's so much about it that needs reworking. They're constantly fighting the issues of high costs, lack of parity, and reining-in ever increasing speeds. I have to admit, they're making some progress on these fronts, but all the way they're fighting organizational inertia, and racing teams that benefit from the current situation. It doesn't help that series organizers spent about twenty years trying to ignore their problems, instead promoting their boring parades of delicate, high-speed contraptions as a competition of engineering. That trained a generation of fans to think of racing as being about fancy technical specs, not actual competition.  So now they too push back against tightening the rules for the sake of exciting racing.

So Formula E gives a chance to start over, and build a series on competition, not esoteric engineering. And it will work, but it will take time to build up interest. Will the FIA give it the time it needs? I have no idea. The FIA is an odd beast: a huge, highly profitable organization, but with a few eccentric and not-entirely-pleasant individuals in positions of great power. So I could believe that Formula E will get a chance to succeed because it is a sensible long-term investment, or because someone sees it as a personal legacy. But I could also believe that it won't get a chance because the short-term balance sheet won't look good, or because someone quickly tires of this hippy electric crap.