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The FIA Formula E Championship is the world’s first all-electric single-seater racing series. But what do those words actually mean, how does the technology work, and who are the key players behind the scenes?
Read on to find out more…
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Safety Car
The Safety Car is a BMW i8 that has been significantly uprated to make suitable for the role, including the addition of a roll cage and race-based brakes and suspension. Sponsored by Qualcomm, the car is kept charged and ready to go by its Halo system deployed via Chargemaster. Bruno Correia is the official safety car driver. The Portuguese racer has fulfilled that role since the start of Season 1 and is ready at a moment’s notice to spring into action to neutralise the race so that essential work such as retrieving cars, attending to drivers or repairing barriers can take place.
Sarrazin, Stephane
With a CV that covers everything from the World Rally Championship to Formula 1, Stephane Sarrazin is one of the most versatile drivers in the world. From the opening race of the inaugural season Sarrazin raced for Venturi, recording the team’s first pole in Battersea Season 1. However, ahead of the Season 3 Berlin ePrix he switched to TECHEETAH, with whom he will see out the rest of the season.
Sato, Takuma
The 2017 Indy 500 winner was one of the intrepid 20 drivers who took to the track for the first Formula E race. The Japanese ace left with a brace of points too courtesy of setting the fastest lap for Team Aguri.
Schaeffler
German-based industrial giant Schaeffler is a technical partner and title sponsor of the Abt team. It produced the team’s powertrain for Seasons 2 and 3.
Scrutineering
Scrutineering is the process of checking the legality of the cars. All the cars are required to enter parc ferme at the end of the race, but the FIA can call a driver in at any time during the event for a random spot-check. The penalties for technical infringements vary according to the severity of the offence.
Senna, Bruno
Bruno Senna raced for the Mahindra team in Seasons 1 and 2, scoring his only podium finish in the London ePrix Season 2 finale.
Servia, Oriol
Spaniard Oriol Servia drove in the first four Formula E races for Dragon Racing and started the Putrajaya race from the front of the grid after pole man Nico Prost was penalised. He finished seventh in the race, the best result in his four Formula E outings.
Shields, Nicki
Nicki Shields is the pitlane reporter for Formula E’s world feed and is also one of the co-hosts of Shakedown Live and the presenter of CNN's Supercharged magazine show.
SPARK
SPARK was set up by ultra-successful ASM/ART team owner Frederic Vasseur to design and prepare the car for Formula E. It supplies all the spare spec components, which includes the brakes, front suspension and bodywork etc.
SPARK SRT_01E
SPARK’s first creation was the SRT_01E, the world’s first all-electric single-seater racing car. The 01E was used by all the teams during Season 1 and by Andretti and Team Aguri in Season 2. Although the car no longer races, it is still used to test data for the new Season 5 car and to give media, celebrities and VIPs an opportunity to experience what it’s like to be a Formula E driver.
Speed, Scott
Scott Speed made a big impression on his debut for Andretti, taking second place after a charging performance in Miami. However, it would be the only points he scored in his four races.
Stewards
The race Stewards are appointed by the FIA and their role is to oversee the correct running of the event. If a rules breach has taken place, it is the stewards who determining what the penalty is in accordance criteria that are laid out in the regulations.
Super Pole
Super Pole is the session where the Julius Baer Pole Position winner is decided. The five fastest drivers from the qualifying group stages go out one at a time to set a lap time using the maximum 200kw of power.
They take to the track in the reversed order of who was fastest in the groups stages, so the driver who was fifth fastest goes first, followed by the fourth etc. The order of the times from Super Pole determines the top five positions on the grid, with the positions 6-20 made set using the combined times from the group stages. The driver who goes fastest in Super Pole receives three bonus points.
Sustainability
Formula E endeavours to showcase the most relevant and groundbreaking technologies relating to sustainability. We are committed to becoming the first carbon-neutral motorsport in the world, with all the electricity used in the set-up, running, and de-rigging of the event derived from sustainable sources. In addition we have signed up to numerous sustainable business credentials including the Green Sports Alliance, ISO 14001 and partnering with UN Environment.
Click here to learn more about our sustainable credentials.