Discover more
Autoweek's Vanguard Awards aim to commend the people and companies that are looking down the road, not simply in preparation for what we’ll be driving in five or 10 years’ time, but defining it - risk-taking now for validation later. The awards are presented to leaders that embody a forward-thinking ethos and demonstrate some achievement in pushing the industry toward its future - and Agag was duly adjudged the winner in the Person category for 2023.
In an extract from Autoweek's feature on Formula E's founder, current Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds spoke of his Agag's forward-thinking, "bold" character - reminding him of another visionary he's worked with in the past.
"I was very lucky to have worked at Virgin and got to spend a lot of time with Richard Branson," Dodds told Autoweek. "Entrepreneurs have a very specific style, a restlessness, a customer centricity, a drive to innovate, to change something, to break new ground.
READ MORE: Autoweek's 2023 Vanguard Award, Person, winner Alejandro Agag in profile
"And Alejandro for me sits very much in that bucket. Candidly, I would say he's not the kind of man you put in an organization that's at the mature phase of its lifecycle where you're looking to eke out incremental growth from over 20 years. He wants to do big, bold, exciting, exponential experiments and drive new innovation. He's a very charismatic man, very partner-centric, loves the teams, loves the product, loves entertainment."
"There were a lot of people that thought we would fail, but some people joined to give it a try," Agag said, on the 10-year Formula E journey. "And luckily, we succeeded."
Formula E: Ideas on a napkin to FIA World Championship
What started as nothing more than a shared dream between Formula E Founder Alejandro Agag and former FIA President Jean Todt, noted on the back of a napkin back in 2011, has developed into the fastest growing motorsport series on the planet.
The idea for an all-electric street racing series started out as nothing more than a collection of notes on a napkin.
On the evening of March 3, 2011, FIA President Jean Todt and Spanish businessman, Formula E Chairman Alejandro Agag, met in a Paris restaurant and gathered their thoughts in just a few words on what would become the world's first all-electric international single-seater championship.
Formula E’s founding mission was for its race through the streets of the most iconic cities in the world - with a grid full of the best racing drivers and teams around - to show just what sustainable mobility was capable of, driving electric vehicles to the fore in the race for a better, cleaner future.
Since making its debut in the grounds of the Olympic Park in Beijing in 2014, Formula E has grown into a global entertainment brand with motorsport at its heart. Now, with 11 world-class teams and 22 drivers on the grid, the championship has become a destination for the world's best motorsport teams and racing talent and is the leading electric race series on the planet.
Record following
Just last week, Formula E published its most recent fan and audience figures. The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship's fanbase hit new highs in 2022/23, up 17% year-on-year to 344m, with 225m viewers tuning in live over Season 9.
Formula E’s international fanbase increased 17% year on year to 344m*, taking it past NASCAR to become the fourth-largest motorsport. Germany and the USA were the fastest-growing markets by fanbase, up 45% and 30% respectively.
More than 225m viewers watched Formula E races live during Season 9, up 4% on the previous season. China and the USA, plus new race markets of Brazil, India and South Africa all saw significant increases in live race views.