Formula E

Well, people are being suprisingly negative about this; my opinion is that it&#x27;s a very good thing for the image of the electric car. Especially if it gets shown on TV. It can bust all of the &quot;slow&quot;, &quot;unmacho&quot; negative stereotypes.<p>There will probably be ongoing changes in the technology regulations; there always are.

The article is erroneous in stating that F1 has the same engine for all teams. The engines are mostly similar but they are made by different manufacturers.<p>See here: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Formula_One_season" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;2013_Formula_One_season</a>

&gt;&gt; &quot;The schedule is set to include London, Berlin, Rome, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Beijing, Bangkok, and Purtrajaya, as well as stateside races in Los Angeles and Miami. &quot;<p>The fact that this is run completely on street circuits will hurt it. Over taking is incredibly difficult on street circuits and that will turn most people away from it.

Would anyone like to speculate on the reason why they would rather, the teams switched cars, instead of switching batteries?<p>It does not seem like the kind of decision that would catalyze innovation feasible for the consumer market.

<i>and the pit stops don’t just involve swapping tires or batteries, but switching cars</i>.<p>This is <i>not</i> what racing is about. Racing is about making sure you not only go the fastest around the track, but it&#x27;s about endurance of the car itself. Particularly in what amounts to a manufacturer race where it&#x27;s all about the car.<p>I love this idea otherwise. Electric cars are getting better and better each day.

Original Formula 1 was ruined by restrictions on maximal engine performance, acceleration... even tyres are dictated. In result cars are practically identical and race is very boring.<p>By reading article Formula E is going to have similar limitations. It is very sad, we just lost technological race where victory would be won by innovation.<p>&gt; During the race, the cars are forced into a power-saving mode of 133 kW (180 hp)<p>&gt; The motor is good for a maximum output of 200 kW (270 horsepower), but that power is only allowed to be used continuously during practice and qualifying.<p>&gt; Formula E racer can go from 0-60 MPH in three seconds, while the top speed is limited to a rather anemic 140 MPH

But why do the cars look so much like regular F1? They wouldn&#x27;t need much air intakes, only some for cooling... Are the batteries so big?

I hope Formula E serves as an excellent gateway drug into something more, erm, exciting.<p>Watching refrigerators go around a racing track for an hour at a time, with no car endurance, making no noise, doesn&#x27;t sound like an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon.<p>Hopefully F1 viewership will go up.

I would like to see a Elon Musk&#x27;s Tesla compete in this race

The biggest problem with this race series is the organizing body. The FIA is a dinosaur. Unless they change their ways you will not be able to watch these races in the US unless you have expensive cable&#x2F;satellite service that include the Speed channel. The FIA has not embraced the Internet. There is no easy way to watch F1 races online.<p>I hope they take a different approach with Formula E.