Formula E CEO plans for championship restart in 7-9 weeks

CEO of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, Jamie Reigle, has discussed the series’ plans to resume season six by early August.

Speaking to Radio-Canada, Reigle revealed that Formula E has three scenarios, one of which will play out.

He said: “Like all sports, we hope to start again. Our plan is to start again in mid-July or early August.

“Scenario one is three weekends with two races each in Britain, Germany and possibly Korea. That would make 11 races in total, which is ok.

“Scenario two, is if we can’t get travel. We would choose a circuit, and we would go there for two weeks in August in isolation with the teams and the drivers.

“We would do four to six races in the space of five to six days, just to finish the season.”

It is understood that Germany’s Tempelhof is likely to be used if Formula E can only visit one venue.

Up to 1000 people will be allowed within the Tempelhof track, the limit coming in two weeks ago and is in place until the end of May.

Last month, Formula E founder and chairman Alejandro Agag said Formula E would be able to meet a limit of 1000 personnel.

The Tempelhof track can be ran over a variety of configurations because it is an airfield so races will be able to differ from one another.

The third scenario would be the cancellation of the season therefore meaning there will be no champion this season since six races need to be completed. Only five ePrix have taken place so far this season with Antonio Felix Da Costa leading the championship.

Reigle said that having no audience is not a problem for motorsport compared to other sports: “Once the race has started, you no longer hear the audience. Instead its the noise of the engines, with a action on the track and team radio from the drivers.

“NASCAR has done this brilliantly.”

Interestingly, Reigle notes that Formula E is not under as much pressure from the TV broadcasters to resume the season as soon as possible.

“Since we are a smaller championship, less developed than other sports, we do not have as much income from the media.

“Big sports like hockey (in America) or football have big TV contracts, and if you don’t show up, it’s clear there are refunds due. For Formula E, this turnover is small, so it’s less problematic for us.”

Formula E’s ongoing dispute with Montreal is unresolved since the series is attempting to claim back millions of pounds from the administration in Montreal for not respecting the terms of the three-year contract.

Reigle said: “The lawyers are in discussion. So on the legal side, I can’t comment.

“But the memory of a successful weekend for the teams and the drivers is still fresh. At the moment, there is good reason that could lead us to believe that Formula E could return to Quebec.

“When I talk to the teams , the sponsors, they tell me that they enjoyed their stay in Montreal, and the future of North American market is very important. This is very important for European manufacturers like Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi.

“They often tell me that we should have more races in North America, because they sell a lot of cars in these markets.”

He added: “Right now, we have a race in New York and one in Mexico. I’d like to have one or two more races in North America. And when we look at the cities where we could do that, Montreal is clearly a very good candidate.”