Formula E 2021 race and season discussion

[Fundoreen]

London races sum up Formula E perfectly.
2 races round the loading bays of what looks like a vast warehouse. Nothing but untidy concrete and steel to look at.
Claustrophobic racing of too big cars round a go kart track.
This is our green sustainable future according to this sport and its sponsors. Miles and miles of industrial estates as far as the eye can see but all dressed up with some auld bks about sustainability.
Meanwhile the horrible evil past of things like F1 run around green spectacular country backdrops. The things that the wealthy dont want you to have as you will in future exist in the drap grey of inner city everywhere and they will own everything ouside thats nice.
Stick it up your arse.

[kiseca]

And yet Monaco was one of the better races of this year for any formula.

It has it's ups and downs and London was a down for sure, but it has also managed to provide some good entertainment this year.

Formula 1 is going through a purple patch but that's not immune to the occasional farcical race either. Granted they manage that less often then Formula E.

[Kraken]

Fundoreen said:

London races sum up Formula E perfectly.
2 races round the loading bays of what looks like a vast warehouse. Nothing but untidy concrete and steel to look at.
Claustrophobic racing of too big cars round a go kart track.
This is our green sustainable future according to this sport and its sponsors. Miles and miles of industrial estates as far as the eye can see but all dressed up with some auld bks about sustainability.
Meanwhile the horrible evil past of things like F1 run around green spectacular country backdrops. The things that the wealthy dont want you to have as you will in future exist in the drap grey of inner city everywhere and they will own everything ouside thats nice.
Stick it up your arse.

You make the mistake that many people make. You assume it's one or the other and both can't exist.

The industrial estates are nothing to do with FE itself. They don't create those estates for them to race on you know.

Don't get me started on the bks about the wealthy you mention. The vast majority of people I know who own country property are poorer than those living in the city.

[Lotus102]

I like Formula E but it feels as though it's its own worst enemy sometimes. Tells you all you need to know that the commentators were labelling stuff that wouldn't be accepted in any other series as 'very Formula E'. A little chaos can be a good thing, but with FE it's starting to feel as though the chaos is in danger of becoming the point. It's understandable that a series that started out with a big commitment to doing things differently will stumble from time to time, especially as it attains a state of maturity that some of the issues that were put down to youthful high spirits now have to be treated with a bit more seriousness. If DiGrassi had actually come to a stop and there was no legal reason for him not to get the win, that would have been a huge blow to the series' credibility. Tbh I'm a little surprised that Allan McNish would go to bat so hard for something that could have harmed the series so badly.

Likewise, the indoor-outdoor race was worth trying, but I'm not sure it added enough value to become a regular feature. Racing around city centres or iconic places like Templehof is one thing, racing round an exhibition centre, not so much.

Wonder if they could fix up the old Crystal Palace circuit again...?

[ajprice]

They need to sort the qualifying system, in the last few races the leaders have qualified at the back because they're out first so are clearing the track for the later cars and have the least rubber down on the surface, and some of these places are very dusty.

[Lotus102]

ajprice said:

They need to sort the qualifying system, in the last few races the leaders have qualified at the back because they're out first so are clearing the track for the later cars and have the least rubber down on the surface, and some of these places are very dusty.

That does seem a bit perverse. There's mixing the grid up a little and there's deliberately hamstringing the fastest drivers. Maybe if they drew lots to see which group goes in which order?

[ch37]

Any one of 14 drivers can technically still win the championship today, bonkers.

[DanielSan]

Mercedes have announced they've leaving at the end of 22.

[Kraken]

DanielSan said:

Mercedes have announced they've leaving at the end of 22.

Is that official yet? Lots of speculation which I think is correct but I haven't seen an official statement.

[Teddy Lop]

DanielSan said:

Mercedes have announced they've leaving at the end of 22.

That surprised me. Regardless of what one personally thinks of formula-e's "eco-message" the mercedes brand did seem fully paid up members.

[Mr_Thyroid]

I looked up the race start time on the FE website and pretty sure it said 1600 BST so very dissapointed to look up the live feed on BBC Sport only to find them crowning the winner.

I don't know why they have to make it so hard to look up the race schedule.

[mmm-five]

Mr_Thyroid said:

I looked up the race start time on the FE website and pretty sure it said 1600 BST so very dissapointed to look up the live feed on BBC Sport only to find them crowning the winner.

I don't know why they have to make it so hard to look up the race schedule.

Same for me.

Was about an hour late to the live stream yesterday as I took the info on their website as correct.

Trying to find Formula E under 'Motorsport' is almost impossible...almost like they don't want you to find it.

[Teddy Lop]

mmm-five said:

Same for me.

Was about an hour late to the live stream yesterday as I took the info on their website as correct.

Trying to find Formula E under 'Motorsport' is almost impossible...almost like they don't want you to find it.

Double header race weekend, Saturdays race was 4pm.

I expect they're plotting around other Motorsport/sports events that might kill live viewing figures.

[Mr_Thyroid]

Teddy Lop said:

Double header race weekend, Saturdays race was 4pm.

I expect they're plotting around other Motorsport/sports events that might kill live viewing figures.

Saturday's race was 1pm.

[kiseca]

Well that was... actually I'll put this in spoilers for those who haven't watched the race yet.

...very disappointing. 4 people in with a good chance of winning the championship. Bird isn't in it so I was rooting for Mitch Evans in the other Jaguar. He's out before he gets to the start line, along with his best placed rival. Oh well. Maybe Dennis can win it... oh. No he can't. I can't say I'm too bothered about the rest of the race now.

Anyway, I've given it a full season now. It started off promising, despite the weird characteristics well documented on this thread. But, it's a lottery. I can see now why it hasn't spawned a standout multiple champion. Not sure I'll be watching next season because of this. I don't think the best driver won. Now, that prompts the obvious question, who was the best driver? And that's my problem. I have no idea who is the best driver on the track, and I have no idea which is the best car. The latter isn't a terrible thing (though it's a bit odd given the teams can develop their cars so one should be able to stand out) but it's a bigger problem for me when I can't identify which driver has done the best this season. The results are too random. And I think this is partly a problem of the tracks and partly of the energy saving, but ultimately it seems that race success depends on the luck of a getting a good qualifying lap in, hoping your session is when the track is at its fastest, that none of the other four cars on the track mess your lap up, and that you don't mess your own lap up.

Get up front, and then any driver / car combo seems good enough to win it, and no driver / car combo seems good enough to consistently make their way through the field if they have a bad starting position. Win a race, jump to the top of the championship, spend the next 5 events handicapped in qualifying and having a really good day if you manage to get up to 10th and a point.

I'm all for close racing but I've been left with the conclusion that when a driver picks up the championship, it's not because they had their best year, it's because they had their luckiest. When luck and roll of the dice seem the primary factors to winning the championship, and driver skill rarely seems to make a difference, to me it's lost the fundamental point of a competition.

Anyway, I tried, and it did give a few great races.

[Fundoreen]

It was more exciting watching the mini pace car. I would rather watch a series based on E road cars.
Anyway you dont have to have any in depth knowledge to 'get it' . The general public know its a lot of boring rubbish and its shown
by attendance and viewing figures.
Had to laugh the previous year or so when they got the internet influencers involved trying to trick the public.
Next they will try drugging them lol.

[ArnageWRC]

I dip in and out from time to time - but I'm always frustrated by it. It's as though the rules are set up to try and catch people out; with the inevitable raft of penalties....often for ridiculous things.

Whilst both Mercedes & Audi-Sport have pulled the plug, there are still a decent number of manufacturers. However, they need to be careful not to lose many more.

[Bo_apex]

Fundoreen said:

It was more exciting watching the mini pace car. I would rather watch a series based on E road cars.
Anyway you dont have to have any in depth knowledge to 'get it' . The general public know its a lot of boring rubbish and its shown
by attendance and viewing figures.
Had to laugh the previous year or so when they got the internet influencers involved trying to trick the public.
Next they will try drugging them lol.

Ha !

Yes it's contrived tosh and they struggle giving tickets away.
Almost empty grandstands.

There's better action at your local roundabout.

[Teddy Lop]

Fundoreen said:

Had to laugh the previous year or so when they got the internet influencers involved trying to trick the public.

In what way?

I've noticed a couple of the F1 podcasts I listen to seem to be keen to big up formula e beyond its place in motorsports fan heirachy and wonder if there's some tit for tatt going on at some level.

[Sandpit Steve]

Teddy Lop said:

Fundoreen said:

Had to laugh the previous year or so when they got the internet influencers involved trying to trick the public.

In what way?

I've noticed a couple of the F1 podcasts I listen to seem to be keen to big up formula e beyond its place in motorsports fan heirachy and wonder if there's some tit for tatt going on at some level.

The one thing FE does have is a huge marketing budget. They’ve been giving away hospitality tickets to anyone with a few thousand followers.

Monaco was an exciting race, but gave the game away as to how slow the cars really are - 95” race lap, against 72” for F1 and 82” for F2.

The other contrived tracks are all dull as ditchwater, surrounded by nothing of interest except the marketing budget.

They really need to open up the whole powertrain development into a proper prototype series, or they’re they’re going to lose more OEMs. Yes, it’ll mean that sometimes one car is clearly faster, and occasionally it’ll mean one catches fire!