FIA Formula E Championship comes to Montréal

The FIA Formula E Championship is a global electric racing series that features open-wheel cars powered exclusively by electric energy.

It is said to represent a vision for the future of the motor industry over the coming decades, serving as a framework for research and development around the electric vehicle, accelerating general interest in these cars and promoting sustainability.

The President of the FIA, Jean Todt, initiated the concept as a means to demonstrate the potential of sustainable mobility. Formula E CEO, Spaniard Alejandro Agag took the idea and created a global entertainment brand with motor racing at its heart.

The series has relied on major players in the motorsport industry, such as Formula 1 teams Williams, and McLaren, as well as tire manufacturer Michelin and race car builder Dallara, as well as global blue chip brands such as DHL, Qualcomm and TAG Heuer.

Twenty cars lined up on the grid for the inaugural race of the series, the Beijing ePrix in September 2014. For Season 1 (2014/2015, with the championship spread over two calendar years), all the teams used the same car and powertrain - the Spark-Renault SRT 01E. The cars remained the same for Season 2 (2015/2016), but the powertrain technology has been opened up. Seven manufacturers have produced new motor, invertor and gearbox solutions.

The involvement of major car manufacturers

Now in Season 3 (2016/2017), several major car manufacturers are involved or are starting to be, supporting race teams such as Renault, Jaguar, Audi, BMW and Citroën. Other big names of the auto industry like Mercedes and Ferrari are rumoured to be seriously considering entering the series soon.

Ten teams with two drivers each make up the field today. Racing generally takes place on temporary street circuits built downtown, which are approximately 2 to 3.4 km long. During Season 3, the Formula E series visited major cities of the world: Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Monaco, Paris, Berlin and New York City. The Hydro-Québec Montréal

The Hydro-Québec Montréal ePrix will place on a 2.75-km, 14-turn street course that has been created specifically for Formula E and that is located near the Maison de Radio-Canada and the famous Jacques-Cartier Bridge.

Two races in two days

Testing, qualifying and the race are all held during a single day. The Montréal event will be a double header, which means that there will be a race on Saturday, July 29 and a second on Sunday, July 30th. A race lasts between 50 and 60 minutes. Each driver must make one mandatory pit stop to change cars with the two pit crew helping the driver do his seat belts, and for safety reasons, there is a minimum required time of 47 seconds for pit stops. Tire changes, unless caused by a puncture or damage, are not permitted during the mandatory pit stop.

For each race, fans can vote for their favourite driver via various social media channels to give them an extra power boost. Voting starts about two weeks prior to an event and is also open during the opening six minutes of the race. Fans vote to give a boost of 100 Kj to the three “most popular” drivers at every race. They can vote on the official website or via social media by using hashtags. Each winning driver receives an extra 100 kJ of energy to be used in a power window between 180 kW and 200 kW. Voting opens 12 days before each race.

Michelin supplies treaded tires. There is just one type of tires available, the 18-inch Pilot Sport EV2, specially designed for the Formula E car and the same tire is used on both dry and wet pavement.

On a final note, a Formula E car can accelerate from zero to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 2.95 seconds. It can reach a top speed of 242 km/h (150 mph) and can generate 1.75 g's of cornering force.

The fight for the title

The Montréal ePrix doubleheader will crown the champion. Reigning series’ champ Sébastien Buemi saw a 32-point championship lead reduced in New York City two weeks ago as he was at the Nurburgring for his Toyota WEC duties instead. He now heads into the final two races with just a 10-point advantage over Brazilian Lucas di Grassi. One of these two drivers will emerge as champion on Sunday afternoon.