2014/2015 FIA Formula E Championship Series Discussion

[AJGracing]

I don't think I've seen anything about this here yet, so I thought I'd make a thread for it.

Site: Formula E - Official FIA Formula E Championship

Overview Intro:

"Formula E is a new FIA single-seater championship and the world's first fully-electric racing series.
Commencing in September 2014 through to June 2015, the championship will compete in the heart of 10 of the world's leading cities - including London, Beijing and Miami - racing around their iconic landmarks. For the inaugural season, 10 teams, each with two drivers, will go head-to-head creating a unique and exciting racing series designed to appeal to a new generation of motorsport fans.
It represents a vision for the future of the motor industry over the coming decades, serving as a framework for R&D around the electric vehicle, accelerating general interest in these cars and promoting sustainability."

Schedule:
Race 1 - Beijing, China 9/13/14
Race 2 - Putrajaya, Malaysia 11/22/14
Race 3 - Punta Del Este, Uruguay 12/13/14
Race 4 - Buenos Aires, Argentina 1/10/15
Race 5 - TBA 2/14/15
Race 6 - Miami, USA 3/14/15
Race 7 - Long Beach, USA 4/4/15
Race 8 - Monte Carlo, Monaco 5/9/15
Race 9 - Berlin, Germany 5/30/15
Race 10 - London, United Kingdom 6/27/15

I personally would like to see where this is heading. An all electric race car series sounds interesting. Will try to keep up with this. What do you guys think about this new series?

 

[Nitro]

I'm curious to see how a fully-electric racing series will turn out. Might have to watch some of these races.

 

[evan07]

Pretty interested in this. Can't wait to see what the racing is like.

 

[ShadowKnight508]

Here is the stream for Formula E Qualifying. This stream will (should) also have the race coverage as well. Enjoy!

MyNameIsPaulLevesque on USTREAM: . Building

 

[evan07]

These things sound better than the new F1 cars. I like what I'm seeing so far.

 

[dalejrgamer]

Staying up for this? It'll be on FOX Sports 1 in 15 minutes.

 

[dalejrgamer]

Well, that's one way to debut the new series.

Prost is an idiot.

 

[ChevyMan150]

Well damn, what a scary flip caused by a stupid move. Happy for Di Grassi. Glad Nick is okay but my God that flip looked like really bad news.

 

[ShadowKnight508]

Shame that Prost made that stupid move (block) going into the last turn, for it was shaping up to be an epic drag race to the line if they both made it through the last turn onto the frontstretch.

Glad to see that Heidfeld was ok after launching into the air off of the curb and rolling the car in mid air after slamming into the barrier as hard as he did. I can see why he was so pissed off after climbing out of the wreckage and jogging off towards Prost to show his displeasure. That block was uncalled for and it could have turned out terribly if Heidfeld's car hit that barrier cockpit-first as hard as he did.

In the end, a great race with interesting strategy, some good racing, some nifty moves, and the first Formula E flip goes to Heidfeld after that big hit.

 

[ShadowKnight508]

For those who missed it, the Vine video on the link below shows the last-turn mess between the Top-2.

https://vine.co/v/OaeP9BzrFaz

EDIT: Youtube Footage

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0O3V8pJj0E"]Nick Heidfeld Huge Crash | 2014 FIA Formula E Round 1 Beijing - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Julio Chang]

I woke up to watch it. Went back to sleep immediately after it ended so I haven't gotten a chance to comment on it until now. Anyway, that was an exciting, albeit, scary way to kick off a series.

The racing up until that point was decent. It wasn't mind blowing but it was solid and based on the scoring there was more passing going on than they showed on TV. Suddenly people would be a few spots up or a few spots back and the passes weren't show on TV. So better coverage will help.

That was also in unusual course design. I'll be curious to see what those cars do at more traditional style courses. Regardless I was glad I woke up to see it and will be interested to see how the series develops from here.

I don't view it as the future of motorsports as it's been touted, but simply another form of motorsports. Hopefully it's handled well and can stick around.

 

[dalejrgamer]

Things I like:
It's a unique form of motorsport with a unique atmosphere.
How accessible the tracks seem like, with every track a street circuit (a smart move)
Fan interaction via "Fan-Boost"
How racy and close the cars are, given that they're basically set up like IROC cars of the past
Like any other form of motorsport, you never know what's gonna happen next.

Things I don't like:
Background music on repeat
SAFETY CAR!!!
Pit stops just by changing cars (tho, they had to--hot-swapping batteries could end in disaster)
Too many chicanes taking away prime overtaking spots
the way FOX Sports 1 covers the race with the international English feed (they should have sent a team over there)

 

[evan07]

That might have been one of the worst moves I've ever seen in big league racing. All that aside the race was great I think this series is going to do pretty well.

 

[dalejrgamer]

Even Prost knew he fucked up:

 

[MillsLayne]

Pretty crazy finish, especially for it being the inaugural ePrix. The series definitely has potential, but some aspects of it feel strange. Changing cars instead of a traditional pitstop is kind of lame, although I'm not sure how else they could do it. And yes, turn off the constant techno in the background.

 

[Cody Ficker]

The cars are silent, so you've got to do something for the fans while they're there. For whatever reason, that means setting up a DJ, (err, I mean "EJ") to play EDM during the race.

While that's a good idea. The EJ doesn't appear to have the most unique library to work with. More so, EDM tends to get old after awhile and begins to cheapen the environment by becoming stale. Hopefully this changes in future events.

 

[instantCLASSIC]

I read on Twitter that they sound like tea kettles, and yeah, they kinda do. It was hilarious watching them jump from car to car on the pitstop, but that last move by Prost was stupid, and it was totally intentional, despite what he tweets.

 

[evan07]

Race is starting on FS2 for those interested.