Step Aside Formula 1, A New All-Electric Racing Championship, Formula E Begins

Formula 1 has been causing racing fans to jump with joy every time one of the super-fast cars has sped past them. However, these cars aren’t exactly ‘economic’ and neither are they promoting environment friendly driving. Hence, a new breed of racers and eco-conscious companies have come together to start a new racing league that may be focused on speed, but are striving to promote the fuel of the future that is commercially available right now.

Formula E, a new motor racing championship, has begun in Beijing, reported Sky News. The E stands for electric as in electric cars. Needless to say, there’s a lot riding on its success. The all-electric racing championship is expected to push the appeal of all-electric cars to even more masses than just people who have deep pockets and want to flaunt their desire to drive an eco-friendly speedster.

The Formula E is important from multiple angles. The money put in by sponsors is one thing. The investment by the participating teams is another as are the jobs that have been created as a result. But if the new championship is a success, the most important outcome will not be profits for firms or continued employment for drivers, but the very future of private all-electric mobility, reported The Sydney Morning Herald.

Motor races may have been perceived as a frivolous and extravagant indulgence of the rich who have a thing or two for speed, but these events have been crucial for the motor vehicle industry. Motor races in the late 19th and early 20th centuries drove many of the major advances in automotive technology. Innovations in fuel-injection systems to major breakthroughs in improving engine lubrication and drive-trains can all be attributed to companies pushing their engineers to demand the best out of the car.

Apart from innovations in speed and efficiency, the motor racing industry has been responsible for newer safety devices that have saved countless lives on roads. But the same can’t be said for all-electric vehicles, at least not just yet.

The question of sustainability has been dogging motorsports for years. Even as Formula 1 has grown into a global behemoth, it has tried to reduce its environmental impact by tweaking engines to be more efficient. But that is incremental change. Formula E presents the chance to rethink engines altogether and to create a market for innovation in electric cars and batteries.

[Image Credit | Nottingham Post]