Formula E's shortcomings

04-05-2026

I'll preface this by saying I don't dislike Formula E. It is, ultimately, a racing series that provides a much needed platform for testing out the "future" of motorsport and street technologies. However, although the idea itself is nice, the execution has been flawed at times.

From PR, to inhibiting technological freedom, to gimmicks that made the first few seasons feel artificial, Formula E has shot itself in the foot more times than I care to admit, and as much as I want it to succeed, it must realise that it is no longer the only electric racing series, and other categories might be poised to take its place (including Formula 1, if F1 can stop sabotaging itself too).

Fanboost

Fanboost was a gimmick introduced in the very first season of Formula E, allowing fans to pick a driver which would receive a power boost during the race. Since in FE the cars are far more similar than in F1 (sharing battery, motors, chassis, and more), this presented an immense advantage that is completely decoupled from driving ability and engineering prowess.

Unlike "balance of performance" in endurance, which aims to make the racing more enticing in a category where cars are wildly different (with some teams having objectively superior cars), Fanboost never needed to exist. Formula E has great racing already, as the cars are basically the exact same (which has its drawbacks) and a relatively short wheelbase compared to F1, all this does is turn the sport into a popularity contest.

Thankfully, the organisers of Formula E realised this, and withdrew the system from competition in recent seasons.

Energy deployment limits

Formula E instituted energy deployment limits, which on the surface makes sense: battery technologies are inconsistent, and it's possible to have a battery pack which is slightly worse than your competitors'. Naturally, this is even more important in a sport where batteries are standardised.

This is not unique to batteries, Mecachrome engines in F2 have been embroiled in controversy for essentially being a coin toss - either you got an absolute rocketship of an engine, or a time bomb that would detonate halfway through the race.

However, this comes at a cost: although it makes the racing "fairer", it removes an element of unpredictability which absolutely exists in other racing formats, and makes for some confusing racing. Energy deployment limits also exist in categories like WEC, although they serve a different purpose - it is an extension of BoP (balance of performance) measures. More powerful, faster cars get less energy per stint, and must make up that difference by using different driving styles. Even then, BoP aims to bring the teams closer together without providing an immensely unfair advantage to weaker teams.

Batteries/motors in FE, however, should not be standardised to the point it has to implement the same rules as a junior category. This is a world championship class sport, where the virtues of great engineering should be extolled, teams should be free to implement aerodynamic, chassis, battery, and motor changes.

There are technical solutions for this, and if having each team choose a "battery supplier" is too much (most ICE racing series allow you to pick an engine/chassis supplier), just do it like F1 - measure the amount of energy put into a battery, and with more powerful engines, the difference will not be enough to fundamentally alter the results of a race.

This artificial limitation resulted in some hilarious race conclusions, namely, Valencia 2021, where many cars were forced to coast to the finish with enough charge in the tank to make it to the line at full speed. Not only is this damaging to the reputation of the sport, but it makes it seem like electric cars are less performant, reliable and efficient than ICE vehicles. For a sport that aims to popularise electric propulsion, this just doesn't go.

Street circuits

This is very much a technical limitation. Electric cars cannot reach the same top speed as a F1 car, and this means classical circuits with long straights/corners (like Spa or Silverstone) cannot be used in their GP configurations.

The solution (apparently)? Street circuits. However, most designs incorporate 90 degree bends, a complete lack of exit areas (which may be a plus if you like crashes) and (organically) limited circuit design that doesn't account for overtaking opportunities, sweeping curves or even safety.

Street circuits can be done well (and Formula E has raced in Monaco), but it must incorporate actual circuits (even if the layout is altered, like Valencia) in the calendar. This is not unique to FE either, street circuits have taken over F1 as their organisers are able to "lobby" the F1 group to race on them.

As the cars get faster (the current gen can reach 320 km/h) and battery technologies improve, racing in actual circuits is non-negotiable, and must be done if FE wants to be taken seriously.

Standardisation

A team's chassis, battery and motor are all predefined and standard across the category. Although FE says that teams are able to "write their own software" and upgrades come in the form of software, that doesn't instill the need to innovate in teams, which flips the script: instead of FE technology filtering down to the street, innovation is done by electric car companies and then brought to FE.

Unlike F1, which started off in an era where CFD did not exist, and cars were cigars with huge engines strapped to the back, FE was born in an era where aerodynamics was "figured out" already, and with cars driving in clausthrophobic street circuits, drag/downforce play slightly less of a role.

Even then, teams are not afforded the freedom to significantly alter their aerodynamic setup, resulting in cars that behave the same, have similar tyre/battery wear, and drive similarly.

Instead of having a WEC/WRC/F1 situation where certain cars have strengths which are evident in some circuits, and weaknesses which appear in others, FE teams have a more or less consistent performance across the season. The cars themselves are not exactly the same, but the differences are so subtle you don't have "skittish" rear-happy cars driving alongside stable-but-understeery ones.

I understand this is a financial limitation (especially in a nascent series that needs all the help it can get), and it even makes for more exciting racing, but it feels to me as if FE's organisers want to focus on entertainment rather than sporting. This is fine, but it alienates those of us who watch racing so we can nerd out about car engineering, meaning the audience will be limited to people who enjoy "Drive to Survive" and pilot Instagram reels. Which, speaking of...

Influencers (Evo Sessions)

Recently, Formula E instroduced "Evo Sessions", which "pits influencers against each other in cars that reach over 200 mph". This sounds damn near suicidal to anyone with any motorsport experience (simracing or otherwise) - no one would be crazy enough to let influencers with limited racing race in F1 cars, let alone in street circuits (like Jeddah of all places) without any margin for error.

Richard Hammond's daughter crashed a FE car in Jeddah, which was called "a tragedy waiting to happen" and a place where "a single misjudgement can carry consequences far beyond one race weekend.". Not only is letting influencers race an actual world-class racing car without limitations stupid, doing so in a circuit which is considered downright dangerous even for the world's best drivers is lunacy.

If safety wasn't enough to dismiss this, do we really want to subvert the idea that these cars are marvels of engineering, meant to be tamed by some of the most talented drivers alive? Why would you ever score a PR own-goal by downgrading your category to "we've got cars so weak even a TikTok meme guy can drive them without previous experience"?

This serves to cement that the current administration of FE is looking at the sport not as a proper competition, but as an entertainment franchise that is meant to use influencers, k-pop stars, and "fan engagement tactics" to popularise itself, in detriment of the actual spirit of the sport.

Failure to capitalise on strengths

Although Formula E has many strengths (closer racing, smaller cars, more accessible tickets, etc.), it doesn't seem to focus on the right ones. Many times, I've seen FE described as a category with "better acceleration than F1" (which was never F1s forte, mind you), but never as a more exciting, aggressive version of F1. Not only that, F1 has priced out many of its fans, and it's hard to even watch it (legally) on TV nowadays, FE could absolutely fill that niche.

Instead of allowing fans to watch full race replays for free, livestreaming races (like Formula E used to do in 2023), it now hides races behind a paywall, which works for established categories (like F1, which has enough interest around it to fetch thousands of pounds for a ticket), but not for FE. Endurance categories, however, livestream their races, allow teams to livestream cockpit views, and you feel far more involved in the category than in FE/F1, which is great for fans.

WEC races also feel like an event, something you look forward to the entire year, and each race feels unique (again, going back to racing on actual circuits), whilst FE seems unable (and at this rate, won't ever be) to create "staples" of the sport. Unlike the way that Indy has the Indy 500, WEC has Le Mans, F1 has Silverstone/Interlagos/Monaco, FE does not create an "identity" around its circuits. They are not even permanent, for fucks sake.

Conclusion

Formula E is a relatively new motorsport category, and in an age of increasingly reduced attention spans, it's hard to captivate a generation of fans like other (older) categories have.

Although I don't think it is going away, and there is some manufacturer support, it is yet unclear what its intentions are for the future. At the present, it seems as if FE wants to capture a younger audience with no previous interest in motorsport (which makes sense, as older motorsport fans grew up with ICEs and their peculiarities, it is not an easy transition), but instead of instilling an interest in general motorsport, they focus on popularity measures which rely on either comparing it to other categories, or influencers.

Furthermore, if they are interested in establishing a younger audience, the new focus on Eurosport/TV broadcasting will alienate them, as younger people watch less television. The social media presence for FE is also lacking, without in-depth race analysis (opting for Instagram-reels style recaps) or a large media presence year-round (like there is for WEC/F1, constantly discussing regulations and advancements).

However, the cars (and sound engineering) has improved massively, and the end of car swapping mid race has helped with making it more similar to ordinary racing. Since the races are closer to city centres (admitedly a benefit of street circuits), transport is less of an issue, and coupled with lower ticket prices, races are more accessible. The races are usually entertaining, and if Formula 1 sticks with its deranged (no pun intended) engine regulations, it might be able to steal some viewership from it.

What frustrates me is that FE has improved immensely, and although they're headed in the right direction, they fail to establish an identity, and often times, hold themselves back by making the races harder to watch, make the teams virtually identical, and avoid purpose-built circuits (which, mind you, with a few chicanes, could absolutely be raced on).

Maybe some of these issues will be solved in due time, but they need to be acknowledged, and not all criticism of Formula E is down to "the sound sucks" or "electric cars are bad", as a lot of these issues are completely detached from electric powertrains or technology choices.