Roger Alton

I’ve seen the future of motor racing, and it’s quiet

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issue 30 July 2022

Are petrolheads’ days numbered? I only ask because having just been introduced to the quiet, petrol-less world of Formula E, I’m rather taken by it. Apart from anything else, part of the fun of spectating is making your feelings heard, which isn’t easy against the 130 decibels generated by F1 engines.

The Formula E world championship arrives in London’s Docklands this weekend, weaving in and out of the ExCeL for races 13 and 14 of the season. That’s ‘E’ as in electric and plainly non-fossil fuel motoring is the future, though how soon isn’t clear. Formula E people think single-seat racing is a good way to promote it, and once you see a race you have to agree.

The cars are beautiful, and the whispering whizz of the tyres on the track is quite hypnotic

It’s every bit as thrilling as F1, often more so. The cars are beautiful, brilliantly driven, and the whispering whizz of the tyres on the track is quite hypnotic.

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