Jeff Dodds on Formula E: 'We need to evolve'

According to Jeff Dodds, there are at least three good reasons why Formula E is changing course: “I would like to add three things: firstly, it would probably be boring if we had the same type of races (city or permanent) every weekend. You don’t want to see 17 Misano races, but I believe you wouldn’t want to see 17 races in San Paolo either, but different types of circuits.”

The changes dictated by economic returns must be fundamental for the success and safeguarding of a championship that is in its tenth edition but still needs to break many paradigms to convince more people to follow it.

“Furthermore, if we were to reuse the circuits from the first season to run Gen 3 cars, it wouldn’t be possible to race; there would be too many incidents, and we would have to stop (with a red flag) every single race. We need to evolve.”

This adaptability not only ensures the sustainability of Formula E but also underscores its commitment to innovation and progress within the realm of electric racing.

Balancing Costs and Returns with mixed events

“And finally, and we shouldn’t be embarrassed to say it, let’s think about the cost of racing in Tokyo: for the first time, we closed the streets of one of the most expensive cities in the world for a motorsport event; it was an incredible investment on our part. Instead, racing on an existing circuit is much less expensive for us. We need to balance costs with economic return.”

“These are the three fundamental factors: variety in circuits because we believe it’s useful to test the capabilities of the car; the fact that the cars are improving so much that they couldn’t race on half of the circuits we used in the past; and finally, we need to balance investments and make sure we’re growing in the right direction,” concluded Jeff Dodds.