London, Formula E is entering its Gen4 era with a clear ambition to close the performance gap with Formula One, with championship co-founder Alberto Longo believing the all-electric series could be running at near-F1 pace on several circuits by the end of the next four-season cycle.
CEO Dodds, who has worked in the Formula One ecosystem and describes himself as an F1 fan, believes Formula E’s progress should not be measured simply by its proximity to the established championship. We are at the infancy of the technology here at Formula E. At the heart of Formula E’s argument is efficiency. What you’re asking me is to make a car sound like the past.
“We don’t need Formula 1 to fail for us to be successful or vice versa. “We already accelerate much faster than a Formula 1 car. Dodds said the most efficient F1 combustion engine operates at roughly 55 per cent efficiency, while Gen4 technology is expected to be in the region of 97-98 per cent. “When people say to me, it would be great if these cars sounded noisier, like a Formula 1 car.
The combustion engine’s been around for 130 years, so that’s been iterated to within an inch of its life,” he said.
“By the time we end Gen4, in the fourth season of Gen4, we will be very close to times of Formula 1 in many tracks,” he said. Formula E is only 12 years old, compared to F1’s 76-year history, Dodds pointed out, and said the younger championship had experienced “hyper-growth” while developing a fundamentally different proposition. We absolutely think there is room for both organisations to continue being incredibly successful,” he said. To make it sound less efficient, less performant, less technologically innovative,” Dodds said.
