What Formula E needs next after saying goodbye to Gen2

The 2021-2022 Formula E season finale brought the curtain down on the Gen2 era of the all-electric world championship. It elevated FE to new heights, fulfilling its intended directive. While it is a good launching pad for the impending Gen3 cycle, there are certain aspects the series must tackle for the new era to have the same impact as its predecessor

Jake Boxall-Legge Aug 16, 2022, 8:53 AM

It’s the end of a generation in Formula E. As the chequered flag fell on the second Seoul E-Prix, the all-electric series’ 100th race, it also signalled the end of the Gen2 era that picked up a nascent series and transformed it into something beyond. It brought a new visual style to Formula E, more power, and guided the series through a pandemic and a manufacturer exodus. The venerable warhorse is now being put out to pasture in anticipation of the faster, smaller and more sustainable Gen3 package.

If there was any criticism laid at the door of the original-generation Formula E car, it was that it looked too much like an amalgamation of every other single-seater racing car out there. The front end was very Formula 1 in intent, and the rear end was not dissimilar to IndyCar. It suggested that Formula E was there to compete with the established names, rather than complement them. The complete overhaul in bodywork for Gen2 evoked a very different image.

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Author Jake Boxall-Legge

Jake Boxall-Legge Autosport’s Technical Editor. Having studied Automotive Engineering with Motorsport at the University of Hertfordshire, West Country-born Jake's original ambition was to design racing cars. During a year between studies in which he accidentally rekindled a love of writing, he took up a Master's in Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes. Halfway through his master's year, he was offered a place on the Autosport Academy, conducting occasional freelance duties before becoming the press officer for Formula 2 and GP3 in 2018. Autosport offered him a return to the fold later that year to serve as its Technical Editor. His voice appears on a number of videos and podcasts, and can often be found writing about terrible Formula 1 cars in excruciating detail. In his spare time, Jake enjoys baking and blames his failure to make it past the Great British Bake-Off interviews on his tenuous grasp on choux pastry. His dream is to open a brunch cafe - and his willingness to make outrageous puns in inappropriate situations has earned him the contempt of his colleagues.