The all-electric FIA Formula E Championship races into Miami this month.
Sébastien Buemi racing in an electric Spark-Renault at the 2014 Formula E Punta Del Este ePrix in Uruguay last December.
While fast cars zip up Biscayne Boulevard every day, on March 14, the high-speed racers zooming along the thoroughfare will not only be legal, they’ll be eco-friendly as well. That’s when the FIA Formula E Championship, the world’s first fully electric open-wheel racing series, arrives in Miami. Produced by the same governing body that sponsors the traditional Formula One races, the Formula E Championship features all-electric cars that look similar to Indy race cars but reach speeds of up to 150 miles per hour, accelerating from 0 to 62 mph in a neck-snapping three seconds.
The original philosophy behind the series was to “promote sustainability and help accelerate electric-vehicle technology, but also to be more relevant to the current climate,” explains Alejandro Agag, CEO of Formula E. Rather than adopting a general “save-the-earth” attitude, the group sought to promote e-energy to a specific target audience. “The whole series is designed to appeal to a new, younger generation of motorsport fans, to help change the perception of electric vehicles, so that the first road car these new fans buy is an electric one.”
This greater purpose may be why, in just two years, the project has launched in 10 major cities around the world and attracted well-known drivers such as Bruno Senna, Oriol Servia, and Franck Montagny, as well as high-profile team owners like Michael Andretti, Jay Penske, and Leonardo DiCaprio.
A Formula E car on display at the Pérez Art Museum Miami.
Miami was added to the competition roster last October in a joint press conference with Mayor Tomas Regalado (the only other US race is in Long Beach, California). “Miami was chosen because it shares the values that are the basis of our championship,” says Agag. “It’s a city that looks to the future, experimenting with new technologies, [and it’s] a place where you want to have fun.” The 1.5-mile course winds up Biscayne Boulevard, under the MacArthur Causeway, and around AmericanAirlines Arena, with qualifying rounds throughout the day on Saturday, March 14, and the 45-minute final race in the late afternoon.
Beyond the thrill of the race lies the ever-present purpose of the event, which is to educate both consumers and the auto industry. “We want to use motorsport to help improve the current technology available—just as other racing series have done for the combustion engine,” says Agag.
As to just how important that technology is to the environment, FIA conducted a private study to discover the potential global impact of the Formula E. Although the results are projections, they’re nevertheless quite astounding. Global research organization Ernst & Young found that Formula E could help sell an additional 77 million electric cars, which could save 900 million tons of CO2 and 4 billion barrels of oil, and provide healthcare savings of more than $30 billion due to pollution reduction. “People often don’t fully appreciate what huge benefits switching to electric vehicles can have on their everyday lives,” says Agag. “We firmly believe the future is electric.” The FIA Formula E Miami Championship takes place Saturday, March 14; visit fiaformulae.com for schedule and course information.