166 replies to this topic

[RedBaron]

Opposition? 

 

I'm in no way opposed to FE. I just don't enjoy it. It's not narrow-mindedness, at least not on my part. It's a personal preference for faster, more exciting, more viscerally appealing racing on real racing circuits. When FE can provide that, I'll be on board.

 

Narrow-mindedness, imho, is closer to what you just did --- categorizing very narrowly everyone who doesn't hold your viewpoint.

 

 

You're right opposition was the wrong word to use, rather knee-jerk reaction to dislike it. Your reasoning for not enjoying it is absolutely valid (not that it needed validation).

 

I wasn't intentionally labelling all those who doesn't enjoy it with my statement. You can quite easily pick out the people who have created an informed opinion and those who haven't. My comment was aimed at the latter, who are narrow minded and quite possibly haven't even watched a race.

Edited by RedBaron, 30 June 2015 - 12:49.

[AustinF1]

Horner: Formula E "looks more of a competitor to GP3 than Formula 1" 

 

http://www.motorspor...-to-gp3-not-f1/

[RedBaron]

Horner: Formula E "looks more of a competitor to GP3 than Formula 1" 

 

http://www.motorspor...-to-gp3-not-f1/

 

Sadly Branson's rather overly enthusiastic comments are going to bring these articles on by the bucket load, as people within F1 are posed the question 'Do you think F1 will be be surpassed by Formula E'. It was a bad move and will result in negative headlines.

 

Formula E loses every time to F1 as it stands and into foreseeable the future. 

 

Just like I am sure he thought Virgin racing would win in F1 from nothing, he thinks Formula E will win the sports battle. It takes a lot of hard work and long time.

[LuckyStrike1]

Richard Branson made a stupid comment about a battle that doesn't exist. 

 

FE and F1 has their own respective place but Branson with one stupid comment managed to put a negative spotlight on Formula E it doesn't deserve. 

[Reinmuster]

As long as FE continue to be supported by multi-car manufacturer, I think the series will prosper.

[Tsarwash]

Every series I've mentioned will live on, for some years. I'm not convinced this contrived marketing excercise will.

Isn't F1 just a contrived marketing exercise ?

[nvspace126]

The only way FE can overtake F1 in 5 years, it would be due to a complete implosion on the F1 side. I have greatly enjoyed the racing this year and I believe it will improve in the next few years due to the technological improvements within the series. However, I don't think the series has the panache that F1 does and it does not have the historical connotation that exist in F1.

 

However, the future seems promising. The circuits need work, but for casual viewers, I think the scenery of the circuits is amazing. The marketing team is doing great work and the online presence is excellent. They have interviews, highlights, special events and races all presented to us on Youtube - everything is accessible to the fan to learn about the drivers and the series. The other big thing is that manufacturers seem to have an interest in the series in a direct or indirect way. Next year we will have both Renault and Citroen racing, and Audi is doing consulting under the ABT team. Add a Toyota, Nissan, Honda or Chevrolet in the mix; you might really get some backing in the series.

 

There are still things that need to be improved on the racing end. Some are caused by the present technology and others are caused by the circuit design. I think the speeds and race lengths need to go up. For the length, they could do double-headers for all races; I think this would improve the spectacle while the batteries are still unable to deliver 50+ lap races. Also, the speed will be increased with the development of the batteries. The torque levels of electrical cars are quite high and they have to be controlled to avoid burning the batteries rapidly. I’m really curious how they evolve. The circuits on the other end need to be revised and they need to avoid those first corner chicanes. I'm actually surprised by the lack of accidents on the first laps - some of those turns created jams on the first two laps.

Edited by nvspace126, 30 June 2015 - 15:38.

[FerrariV12]

Whether or not FE ever rivals F1 in that way (I honestly have no idea and there are valid reasons to predict it will or it won't), I'm not getting the A1GP comparisons at all.

 

Aside from the country thing, which was just window dressing and seemed to become more lax over time (I'm sure Italian driver Enrico Toccacelo drove the British-run Team Pakistan entry at one point, or something like that anyway), it had literally no other USP. They tried to hammer home the whole "equal cars, driver talent really counts, blah blah" thing but seemed oblivious to the fact as a spec series they were very much in the (overwhelming) majority and there was nothing special about that at all.

 

At least FE is genuinely unique, and it'll live or die by that.

Edited by FerrariV12, 30 June 2015 - 15:41.

[427MkIV]

As long as the FIA, Bernie or whoever's in charge can get multi-billion-dollar TV deals for each series, why wouldn't they do everything they can to keep both going? Brannson's prediction would take a lot of money out of a few people's pockets.

 

FE is neat and most likely a significant part of the future, but the technology needs to develop. A race where you have to change cars after 10 or 15 laps is still a little odd, and a 25-lap race is not a feature event of a race weekend.

Edited by 427MkIV, 30 June 2015 - 16:20.

[AustinF1]

As long as the FIA, Bernie or whoever's in charge can get multi-billion-dollar TV deals for each series, why wouldn't they do everything they can to keep both going? Brannson's prediction would take a lot of money out of a few people's pockets.

 

FE is neat and most likely a significant part of the future, but the technology needs to develop. A race where you have to change cars after 10 or 15 laps is still a little odd, and a 25-lap race is not a feature event of a race weekend.

Indeed. It's kind of amazing to me that they chose to run a series in a way that highlights one of the biggest weaknseses (the biggest?) of electric cars.

Edited by AustinF1, 30 June 2015 - 16:28.

[RedBaron]

It's kind of amazing to me that they chose to run a series in a way that highlights one of the biggest weaknesses (the biggest?) of electric cars.

 

If you're referring to swapping cars. You have to get people involved get the basics up and running before anything else. The show works, it went from country to country working pretty well.

 

Once development starts batteries will improve and there won't be a need to swap cars. Battery development in general - not just relating to cars - is advancing at a staggering rate, not just longevity but size, weight and flexibility.

 

You have to start somewhere.

Edited by RedBaron, 30 June 2015 - 16:55.

[AustinF1]

Maybe. We'll see. We've been hearing the same things about battery development for electric cars for a long time. Development isn't just starting. It's been going on longer than anyone here has been alive.

[nvspace126]

Maybe. We'll see. We've been hearing the same things about battery development for electric cars for a long time. Development isn't just starting. It's been going on longer than anyone here has been alive.

 

The difference is that previously, the development of those technologies have been seen as second fiddle and not required to the development within the auto industry. There is a real push to improve their functionalities and great breakthroughs have been achieved in the last couple of years (not on the battery end alone, but on the energy gathering systems as well). I think we will be surprised at how quickly the batteries will progess. You can see the development already happening on the commercial end with every Leaf, Volt and Tesla model itteration. Also, I think the electric bike competition at the Isle of Man TT is a great exemple of development in the competitive field. Within 5 years, they were able to create bikes that could complete the full course are reasonable speed and they were able to make smaller and smaller battery packs that had more energy (and this was done with little to no manufacturer support).

[RedBaron]

Maybe. We'll see. We've been hearing the same things about battery development for electric cars for a long time. Development isn't just starting. It's been going on longer than anyone here has been alive.

 

I Googled battery development and this article popped up, it even mentions Formula E which is quite a coincidence.

 

 

We've seen a plethora of battery discoveries coming out of universities all over the world. Tech companies and car manufacturers are pumping money into battery development. And with races like Formula E starting the pressure to improve that technology is only going to get greater.

 

Future batteries, coming soon: charge in seconds, last months and power over the air

 

The battery possibilities are really astonishing. It's worth a read even though it isn't car focused.

Edited by RedBaron, 30 June 2015 - 17:49.

[KingTiger]

Indeed. First come the engine providers, next the chassis makers. That will create an open wheel racing series with different chassis/teams and engines....Which would make it pretty unique compared to the many single-make series. In fact, pretty similar to F1 in that regard.

 

If they keep to city racing and manage to attract modern sponsors (green, tech savvy, media smart), FE is just one name driver away from mass media succes.

 

FE needs to have any kind of fan interest before it gains any kind of mass success. 

[krod]

FE won't kill F1.

 

F1 has a far stronger enemy that is close to delivering a knockout blow. That enemy is F1.

[FredF1]

FE needs to have any kind of fan interest before it gains any kind of mass success. 

 

 

Why does it need mass success though? Why not a healthy niche interest?

 

They only have to look at the mess F1 has gotten itself into trying to recapture a large casual fanbase that was interested once in what was on offer but have moved away, for whatever reason, and are unlikely to ever come back.