Longer races, new cities and tighter qualifying highlight Formula E Season 8

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The 8 ^th  season of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship kicked off last weekend with a double-header in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. Mercedes-EQ driver Nyck de Vries won the first race, while ROKIT’s Edoardo Mortara took the second race. With the season up and running, the inaugural Vancouver E-Prix is just five months away. July 2nd and a West Coast summer might seem like a long time away, but for race promoter OSS Group, things are moving along fast and furious.

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“Before Christmas things were moving along, regular pace, and then all of a sudden we get back from the holidays and people have just realized we are less than six months away,” OSS Group Vice-President Anne Roy said from Montreal earlier this week. “And all of a sudden everyone wants everything now.”

February is shaping up to be a busy month, with the expected announcement of the Canadian E-Fest concert headliner for the trackside outdoor stage, and an in-person visit by Formula E executives.

“Following the Mexico race weekend, (Formula E CEO) Jamie Reigle and a number of Formula E officials are coming to Vancouver for a steering committee meeting,” said Roy.

The 16-race season will see a number of changes surrounding qualifying and race regulations, in addition to three new venues on the calendar as Jakarta and Seoul join Vancouver as first-time host cities. Here’s a look at what’s new and improved for 2022:

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Thanks to an increase in power to the Formula E Gen2 cars from 200kW to 220kW, 10 minutes of race time has been added to each of the timed races. In addition, power allowed when a car is in Attack Mode will increase to 250kW from 235kW in Season 7.

“The ability to increase race time when we have incidents during the regular 45-minute race is a product of the rapid evolution of electric vehicle technology and the continual improvements in energy efficiency by ABB Formula E teams,” said Alberto Longo, Chief Championship Officer and Co-Founder of Formula E.

There is also a new qualifying format that features groups and head-to-head duels. The first round will see two groups of cars making multiple attempts at fastest laps within an allocated time. The top four fastest-lap drivers in each group will progress into head-to-head duels on a knockout basis in quarter-finals and semi-finals. Pole-position will be decided in a final head-to-head duel, with all grid positions based on either success in the head-to-head duels, or lap times depending on which stage of qualifying drivers reach.

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“The changes being made to qualifying and race time reflect our and the FIA’s focus on sporting integrity and maximizing the racing spectacle,” Longo explained. “Our new qualifying format will showcase the teams and drivers head-to-head throughout the season while still allowing any driver on their day to take pole position. For our fans, the new qualifying format was designed to be intuitive, unpredictable, and entertaining.”

Roy said the changes made to qualifying and races will only make the most exciting open-wheel race series even more compelling and close.

“Formula E has more dogfights (than IndyCar or F1) because the cars are pretty much even. And there is a lot of talent on track,” the Canadian Motor Sport Hall of Fame member said. “And with attack mode its all about strategy and conserving energy. It’s not about just jumping in the car and stepping on the gas.”

Formula E CEO Reigle, a Canadian and Vancouver resident, is also stoked for what promises to be the best season in the groundbreaking all-electric, open-wheel series.

“With more races in more global iconic cities than ever before the season ahead is set to be our largest to date as we rebound from the impacts of Covid-19 over the last two seasons,” said Reigle. “Combined, the revised calendar and new regulations will mean that Season 8 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is expected to be the best yet for our teams, drivers and fans.”