Let’s See What the Next Generation of Formula E Cars Will Bring
I already expressed my disappointment, to put it mildly, with the direction Formula 1 is set to take in 2027 and 2028, but let’s see how Formula E will fare as of next season, since today’s race marked the end of the “current era”, using GEN3 Evo cars. The next season, set to begin in December, will feature GEN4 cars, which are supposed to be way more powerful. However, I’m thinking that GEN3 was more of an improvement when it was introduced, because GEN4 is larger and heavier and doesn’t regenerate that much more energy, so I’m thinking that those high power values will only be available relatively briefly, and the lap times won’t drop all that much. Plus that larger and heavier cars are also harder to handle, and tend to make for more difficult overtaking, especially on narrow street circuits.
Admittedly, actual circuits are making their way into the calendar, which will make a difference, but the most obvious admission of the limitations of GEN4 is the fact that double-header race weekends will no longer feature two “proper” races, but one “proper” race and a shorter sprint race, and I wonder if the “proper” races won’t be shorter than the current ones as well. And, while those shorter races will indeed show off more of the raw power of GEN4 cars, they’re going in the opposite direction when it comes to promoting electric vehicles for regular use. Not that still seeing personal vehicles as the norm isn’t a serious problem either way, but for the time being electric ones are a lesser evil, all things considered, and battery life usually tends to remain the primary concern… At least after the price.
Still, the racing itself has always been exciting in Formula E, so I hope that the larger and heavier cars won’t have a noticeable negative impact on that. And it also remains to be seen what the few team changes and, at least at this point, apparently many driver changes will bring. One thing that’s certain is that, after having taken part in every single Formula E race so far, Lucas di Grassi is retiring, and that may be considered another end of an era in itself. And Sebastien Buemi, who had also participated in all seasons, albeit missing a few races, will also be out, though in his case the problem is the fact that the more crowded Formula E season will result in more clashes with FIA WEC, where he also competes, and he obviously had to make a choice. But neither of them have been at the top for quite a while, so it’ll be noticeable in terms of names, but perhaps not that much in terms of results.
