First Formula E race: anyone watch ?
 

I recorded it and it was interesting, except my DVR cut out the last minute of the race and I missed a major turn of events apparently !

In a week where Apple released the Iwatch (not a fan boy, but it's a milestone of sorts) and where I test drove a Tesla, it is kind of interesting to witness this first electric series race. It seems like the future is finally happening in our lifetime ;-) Now whether one likes that future or not is up in the air....

Personally, I was intrigued by the series. The lack of engine noise is an issue but there are many noisy series still. These cars sound very much like a "Tron" special effect. Not awful, just odd... The big issue with them for me is the performance. 14 laps only before having to swap for a fully charged car is not enough. Then the tires look skinnier than my street car's, which is a shame for a formula anything, and the speed did not seem all that impressive. I think this has potential when the battery can give them more juice, more speed and therefore require bigger tires...

The car change in the middle is a little odd too... Too much time to be gained or lost there, as I saw it (broadcast wasn't super clear or I wasn't awake enough), I think to be fair the race should kinda stop and restart based on previous positions, but then again this is a like a driver change Le Mans style, except it's the same driver and a car change ;-)

It was kinda cool, I'd like to see how it develops.

Planning on watching it on Monday on the plane.

I tried to watch it, but it was painful. Not a fan of street circuits, and this one was as lame/boring as they get. narrow, 90º corners and chicanes.

I ended up Fast forwarding through the whole thing.

I agree on the street circuit. I forgot to mention that. Boring track. But the cars have potential, I think, and good things could come off them - like faster hybrids. I'm still amused at the car change deal. Silly...

They sound just like my old RC10s!

It was interesting to watch, but not a big fan of the track. I don't think I'll be very interested in the series until they start approaching F1 speeds.

What a dirty move by Prost at the end.

Formula Golf Cart. Top speed about 100 mph, two cars per driver required to go the distance of about 75 kilometers, or, in real money, about 50 miles, at least as I figure it. Plus, as others have mentioned, really silly track. And Prost's move at the end - What. Was. He. Thinking?

I watched it and was dissappointed. The techo music playing almost constantly was awful.

But the worst part was the car change. I was looking forward to seeing a giant D cell being lowered into the car on pit lane.

I'm not a fan of the car changes, but it is not a new concept.

Back in the days of wooden ships and iron men, when the drivers were fat and the tires were skinny, guys like Fangio would commandeer his teammate's car if his own had broken and his teammate would let him. It was not unheard of for drivers to finish both first and third in the same race.

Still, I'd rather see a battery swap.

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