Many of you will have heard about Formula 1, the mega-rich sport which travels all over the world to pit the best drivers against the rest, but have you heard of Formula E? Over the years Formula 1 received a lot of negativity and criticism about the negative impact that the sport had on the environment, and in an effort clean up they have launched the Formula E which is electric cars that are driven around the course.
This is a spot which has not quite taken over as many thought that it would, but little by little it is getting much more attention and more people are recognizing how exciting this version of the sport can be. Since it began Formula E has been slowly attracting more fans and currently they are seeing the biggest turnouts yet, at race tracks across the world. I went with my buddy Haidak last year to the Mexico City event, and we were both blown away by just how exciting the sport was. Many will bemoan the lack of noise or the fact that the smell of petrol isn’t all around, but there is much to enjoy about this sport.
Thrills and Spills
There are more breakdowns, suspensions, and crashes in the Formula E than there are in any other racing event, which makes it perfect for the fans. Furthermore, this is a sport where there are more overtakes per race than in any of the other Grand Prix’. This means that fans get treated to a really exciting event which is jam-packed with all kinds of action.
Low Cost
If any of you have ever tried to go to Formula 1 then you will know just how expensive it can be, especially if you are looking to buy anything fancier than the bargain-basement seats. The issue with Formula E is that there weren’t enough people buying tickets and filling up the grandstand, which is why they have greatly slashed prices in order to bring more people there. We paid around $!0 for our seats in Mexico City, an absolute bargain for a great day of racing.
Extras
Something else which the organizers of these events have done to try and get more people through the door is to make some changes to the rules which bring about even more excitement. For example, there are no number laps in this sport, racers will drive for 45 minutes and when the time is up, whoever is in the lead wins the race.
They also have attack modes that allow the drivers to have 2 or 3 moments where they are permitted to use additional power, and they even have a fan boost mode which is where fans vote for their favorite driver, and whoever wins gets some extra power for 3 seconds. The idea of this is to make the sport more fun, give people more reasons to watch and let people have a great time, with some cool extras to look forward to.
Management
This is a sport which is very difficult for the drivers who not only need to be able to drive the cars around the track, they also have to be vigilant around how much power they are using. In the rules, drivers are not allowed to change the battery or recharge their battery, which is why they have to be smart with how much power they are using at different stages of the race. This is why we have to have respect for these drivers becasue they are not just managing the car itself, but also the amount of juice which it has.
Fun Loving
I have spoken to many people who said that the atmosphere at the F1 races was very serious and whilst it was enjoyable, it was not massively fun. Here at the F-E however there was such a fun vibe to the whole event and you could feel it even before you entered into the stadium or saw the cars. Maybe it is becasue the sport isn’t considered as elite, or perhaps becasue there is less money in it, but either way, there was a really cool and happy vibe all throughout the grandstand.
Honestly, this is a really great sport to fall in love with and for me, there is very little difference between this and F1. The greatest difference between the two of course is that this one is environmentally friendly and that deserves our sport alone. If you are looking for something different today then the next time that the Formula E comes to town, make sure that you do all that you can to get yourself a ticket, you won’t regret it for a second.
