Past and future? The Formula E cars, here with Pascal Wehrlein in the Porsche, create too much wind on the way to more attention.
Image: Imago
In the fight for more attention, Formula E has come up against a problem: the cars are more powerful, but endless slipstreaming takes the excitement out of the races. Evolution eats its children.
It has happened again. This time in Berlin. The same pictures as in São Paulo, despite all attempts at appeasement. “The first laps are war,” says McLaren driver René Rast on TV station Pro Sieben: “Nobody wants to lead the race.” The seventh and eighth races of the Formula E season, held on Saturday and Sunday at the closed Tempelhof airport, were again no commercials for the electric series. She has created a problem for herself. The balance of Saturday reads like this: 190 overtaking manoeuvres, 23 lead changes, eight different leaders. Or in the words of World Championship leader Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche): “It was a lot of chaos again.”
Sonke Sievers
Deputy Head of Department for Sport Online.
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Formula E has been buzzing around the world for nine years. The fact that Audi, BMW and Mercedes withdrew cost radiance, but did not pull the plug on it. Especially since well-known manufacturers such as Porsche, Maserati or Nissan are still cavorting in the electric series, which is constantly fighting for attention. Who remembers? When the range of the electric vehicles was initially not sufficient for a proper race, the fast charger was not plugged in during the pit stop. Instead, the drivers had to pull over during the race to hop into a waiting car with a fresh battery in the pits.