Accelerating Appeal: Competitiveness is Energising Interest in Formula E ⚡️
With bold strategies and big ideas, Formula E has an opportunity to not just be chasing the giants of the racing world— but to be driving alongside them.
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BIG IDEA
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Originally, Formula E was founded on three core pillars: to champion sustainability, to develop real technology that could transition from the racetrack to the road, and crucially, to establish itself as a highly competitive racing series.
Now in its 10th season, the series is beginning to emphasise not only its environmental credentials but also these other pillars which have allowed it grow so fast, particularly the competitiveness which it possesses.
As Formula E’s CEO, Jeff Dodds articulated on the Sports Pundit Podcast, “Without a competitive and compelling motorsport to watch, no one cares about sustainability and racetrack to road technology transfer. No one's tuning in just to see those two things. They need to also see an amazing motor racing series.”
This competitive balance is starkly different from that in other series, like Formula 1 - a challenge that I’ve explored previously here.
“We are a much more inclusive motorsport and currently a more exciting and competitive one to watch,” claimed Dodds, speaking ahead of Round 6 and 7 in Misano, Italy.
“We're five races in, with five different winners. Every season comes down to the wire, decided in the final race, and each weekend is packed with hundreds of overtakes,” he adds.
While we have since had a repeat winner with Pascal Wehrlein winning in Round 7, the driver standings currently see six different constructors represented within the top six.
This parity is maintained through strategic regulations, including a cost cap of around $14 million. This ensures teams must focus on efficiency and innovation rather than sheer financial power.
“70 percent of the car is common across Formula E... We have a road tire which is common, a chassis which is common, a battery which is common… What is effectively open for the individual is the rear powertrain and the software, two incredibly important things for developing next generation technology for manufacturers,” Dodds explains.
“I think it's a combination of the commonality of the car, so the areas you can actually invest [in] to differentiate, the type of racing we do, [mostly on] street circuits, and also the very high and comparable quality of the drivers, means you get a much tighter sporting format,” Dodds continues. “There have been seasons in Formula One, of course, where it's been highly competitive as well, but I think the way they're structured makes that much more complex.”
In keeping with its pioneering spirit, Formula E has also introduced innovations like ‘Attack Mode’ and is developing the ‘Attack Charge,’ which promises to add 10 percent battery life in just 30 seconds of charging when launched.
However, the competition is now incredibly cautious about integrating new features that might compromise the sporting integrity - having famously scrapped ‘FanBoost’ from the 2023 season due to such concerns.
The series is right to focus on this balance and Dodds is smart to emphasise where he believes Formula E can stand out – especially with Verstappen currently so dominant within motorsport’s flagship property.
In doing so, he is arguably giving Formula E the Virgin treatment; drawing on his experiences at Virgin Media, where he served as both CMO and COO.
“Richard Branson was incredibly famous for entering industries where there was a lot of opportunity to disrupt but using the incumbents as a way of demonstrating their point of difference,” Dodds explained.
“In the same way that Virgin Atlantic might've done that with British Airways and Virgin Media might've done that with British Telecom, we can do that here with Formula One and MotoGP.”
This doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game, though.
Dodds sees Formula E not as a rival to Formula 1 or other racing leagues, but as a complementary force, enriching the motorsport landscape.
“I'm always reluctant to say we want to be the ‘biggest’ or ‘bigger than Formula One’ because I really don't believe that one of us has to lose for the other one to win. I think that there is more than enough interest in motorsports for there to be a very successful Formula One and a very successful Formula E doing things slightly differently and talking to slightly different audiences.”
As Formula E accelerates into its second decade, it is redefining what it means to be a modern motorsport: faster, cleaner, and thrillingly competitive.
With bold strategies and big ideas, the series has an opportunity, as Dodds lays out, to not just be chasing the giants of the racing world— but to be driving alongside them.
THE PODCAST
Want to hear more from my conversation with Jeff?
We discuss applying lessons from telcos, working for a Virgin business, what differentiates the Formula E product, balancing purpose and product, retaining competitive balance, hosting an E-Prix on the streets of Tokyo, whether men and women compete in the same racing series, and going behind a paywall in the UK.
Listen to the full podcast via the link below - and I’d love to hear what you think! 👇
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The Big Idea is brought to you by the Global Institute of Sport!
The Global Institute of Sport is the leading destination for Master's degrees, executive education and professional qualifications in sport around the world.
They count world-famous stadiums and surrounding venues among their state-of-the-art campus facilities across the globe, including London's Wembley Stadium, Miami's DRV PNK Stadium and Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Ready to master the global sports industry? Enquire today about their in-person and online courses.