Formula E on the starting grid: the news for the coming season

{{item.title}}

Enel is back on the starting grid. December 15 brings the first round in Saudi Arabia of the fifth season of the 2018-2019 ABB FIA-Formula E Championship, of which we are Official Power Partner and, from this year, also Official Smart Charging Partner thanks to Enel X’s leading-edge technology.

The season looks set to be dominated by an array of exciting new technological innovations: the new-generation single-seaters now have more efficient batteries enabling them to complete the race on a single charge, doing so at breathtaking speed. All of this will be made possible thanks to the special edition of the Enel X Juice Pump, the Enel X superchargers. With their 80 kW capacity and weighing less than 200 kg each, they are easy to transport from one circuit to the next and will be utilised throughout the entire championship. 

At the new circuit in Ad Diriyah, once the capital of the Saudi kingdom, the drivers will be competing in the shadow of the ruins of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Deemed similar to the Macao track by motorsport experts, the circuit has no 90-degree corners but comprises a challenging series of bends that will keep tension high. A long straight on the citadel’s main thoroughfare will allow the drivers to really unleash the full potential of the new powertrains, the output of which has been boosted from last season’s 200 kW to 250 kW this year. Today’s single-seaters can hit speeds of 280 km/h and accelerate from 0 to 100 in a fraction over 2.8 seconds. Once again this year, and possibly more convincingly than ever before, Formula E is proving that sustainability, speed and spectacle all go hand-in-glove.

This season also sees the arrival in the Venturi team of the former Ferrari Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa, who is eagerly awaited at the Saudi circuit for his maiden official Formula E race. He will provide some tough competition for the two favourites for the 2018-2019 season: reigning champion Jean-Éric Vergne of the Chinese Techeetah team, and Lucas Di Grassi of Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, who won in 2016-2017. 

The Saudi Arabian event is a historic debut from every perspective. This is the first time the nation has hosted such an important motorsport event and the e-Prix is yet another stride forward in its 2030 Vision Plan strategy that also includes the upgrading of the country’s electricity grid. In January 2017, in fact, Enel and the Saudi Electricity Company signed an electricity distribution cooperation agreement that will see them share know-how concerning the latest grid technologies. Such technologies are also transforming Formula E into a pioneering laboratory for the development of e-Mobility and sustainable cities. 

Ready, steady, go! Enel provides the power and they’re off!