formula evie

Everybody’s favourite electric cars are back on track in Sao Paulo on Saturday 6th December. If this is your first season following FE, or you just want a refresher, here’s your pre-season-12 guide.

What is Formula E?

Formula E is an all-electric motorsport championship. Launched in 2014, it mixes high speed action with a focus on clean energy and innovation. Instead of traditional race tracks, they race on tight street circuits in major cities, making the races intense, unpredictable, and very fun.

A lot of people don’t give FE a chance, because they ‘don’t like electric cars’ or whatever else- but FE is actually fast. The current GEN3 car can hit a top speed of about 200 mph, and they accelerate from 0–100 km/h in around 1.8 seconds: that’s faster than a Formula 1 car! Season 12 is actually the last season of the GEN3 car, next season will see the new GEN4 car which will be even faster.

Another thing FE has over F1 is that the cars are smaller. Take Monaco for example: in 2023, there were 116 overtakes in the E-Prix whereas in the F1 Grand Prix that year, there were 22. And that was only because it was in wet conditions- the previous year (2022) saw just 13 overtakes. This means you get a lot more action!

The competition is also closer because all FE cars have the same chassis, battery, and aerodynamics. Each team develops their own powertrain, software, and rear suspension. Also- no tyre strategy or pit stops! All cars race on all-weather tyres in all races. Very cool!

Wait a minute … no pit stops??? Well, kind of. In one race on double header race weekends, they have Pit Boost! Which is a mid-race, ultra-fast “charging stop” where the cars pull into the pits, plug in, and get a quick battery top up in a 30-second 600 kW burst. That extra energy gives drivers more flexibility for the rest of the race so they can push more instead of constantly saving battery. 

In every race, they also have Attack Mode: by driving through the “activation zone” off the racing line, drivers unlock a temporary power boost, usually around 50 kW, and the car gains four wheel drive. These give teams two strategic tools during a race: when to take the energy top-up and when to use their power boost.

Who are the teams and drivers?

Formula E has 10 teams- they used to have 11, but NEOM McLaren departed the series at the end of last season. RIP McLaren FE. You will be missed.

TAG Heuer Porsche: Porsche won the 2024/25 Team’s Championship with Pascal Wehrlein and Antonio Felix Da Costa. Da Costa has moved across to Jaguar and his seat will be filled by Nico Mueller, who moved across from Andretti, because the Formula E silly season is basically like one big game of musical chairs.

Nissan: Reigning Driver’s Champion Oliver Rowland drives for Nissan, alongside Norman Nato.

DS Penske: Maximilian Gunther is heading for a second season at Penske, after a successful first season achieving two wins and two pole positions. His new teammate is former McLaren driver Taylor Barnard. 21-year-old Barnard had a very impressive rookie year and will continue to be one to watch in Season 12.

Mahindra: Mahindra’s driver line-up stays the same as last year, with Nyck de Vries and Edoardo Mortara.

Citroen: New entry Citroen have opted for a complete driver switch from their predecessor, Maserati. Jean-Eric Vergne comes over from Penske, and Nick Cassidy comes over from Jaguar for the 2025/26 season, leaving the lovely Jake Hughes without a seat. (I’m biased because Hughes was my first ever media pen interview; I was very nervous and he was very nice).

Cupra Kiro: If you’re looking for chaos, look no further. Dan Ticktum couldn’t be more at home than with Cupra Kiro, who completely lean into his … big personality- I highly recommend following their social media pages. Ticktum is partnered by FE rookie Josep Maria Marti (more often called ‘Pepe’ Marti). Marti joins FE from Formula 2, where he was formerly a Red Bull junior driver- interestingly, Ticktum was also a Red Bull junior back in the day.

Jaguar TCS: As previously mentioned, Antonio Felix Da Costa joins Jaguar this year and will be hoping for a *cough cough* more harmonious team dynamic. TLDR: he didn’t have the most fun ever at Porsche. Mitch Evans goes into his tenth season at Jaguar, clearly having lots of fun since he has driven for them since his FE debut in 2016.

Lola Yamaha: Zane Maloney will start his second FE season and a second season at Lola Yamaha alongside Lucas Di Grassi, who is a Formula E OG. Despite a relatively uneventful season 11, Di Grassi has been part of the grid since the beginning of the series and won the 2016/17 championship.

Andretti: Finally, Felipe Drugovich has a full-time race seat! After being benched at Aston Martin F1 for what felt like ages, Drugovich joins Andretti for his first season in Formula E. 2022/23 champion Jake Dennis stays with the team for his sixth season.

Envision: Like Drugovich, Joel Eriksson had also been sidelined for a few years in FE until this year when he will partner Sebastien Buemi.

What is the race weekend like?

Formula E race weekends are structured a bit differently to what you might know from other series. Instead of a practice day, qualifying day, and race day, FE says why not stick them together and do it all on one day!

They have media day and one short practice session on the Friday, then another practice session on race day before qualifying and then, obviously, the race. For double header weekends, there is practice, quali, and a race on both Saturday and Sunday. A lot of on track action!

Speaking of quali, it’s not your standard “fastest lap wins” qualifying. Instead, drivers are split into two groups (based on championship standings) and each group sets timed laps. The four fastest drivers from each group then move into a knockout “duels” phase. Winners of the duels advance through quarter-finals, semi-finals, then a final. The fastest lap in the final gets pole position and extra championship points. Don’t worry if that seems confusing- when you watch it live, it makes more sense I promise! This quali format is, in my humble opinion, very fun to watch and adds a lot more drama to the weekend.

Qualifying in Brazil is at 12:40 UK time on Saturday 6th December, and the race is the same day at 17:05. Formula E is also free to stream in the UK on ITVX, so yay!

I know we are all very wrapped up in the F1 title fight right now, and therefore may not have the mental capacity to watch Formula E as well this weekend, but we will also soon begin to lose our minds out of winter break boredom … but fear not! FE has 5 races over 4 weekends during the F1 off-season to fill the race car shaped hole in your heart.

Happy Formula E season, from Formula Evie!

Or, maybe I should say Formula EV.

Bad joke, sorry.

Enjoy!