Beginner's Guide to Formula E
So, you're new to formula e.
Welcome! I'm glad you've found an interest in ABB Formula E and want to learn more about the series.
So what do you want to know?
What's the basics?
Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The inaugural championship race was held in Beijing in September 2014. Since 2020, the series has FIA world championship status. Racing takes place on a mixture of temporary street circuits and purpose built tracks. The Formula E championship is currently contested by eleven teams with two drivers each. The sport features electric-powered race cars similar in style to the hybrid-drive cars of Formula 1 and other single seater categories. Unlike some other racing series, Formula E primarily uses all weather tyres (not different compounds, although wet weather tyres are available as required), which from the 2026-27 season will be supplied by Bridgestone. The cars used are more in line with a 'spec' series, given that the battery pack and chassis are of standard design rather than unique to a team, although some parts such as the powertrain can be made by a team or provided by a supplier/customer team.
How can i follow formula e?
You can find the Formula E social media here:
Website: https://www.fiaformulae.com/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/FIAFormulaE
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FIAFormulaE
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fiaformulae/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fiaformulae/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fiaformulae?lang=en
Formula E app: Available for Apple and Android (race updates and unedited team radio)
How can i watch formula e?
There's a section on the FE website which tells you how to watch in your region. As I'm in the UK, I can advise mainly for my area: if you're not UK based I'd suggest putting your details on the link provided to see how to watch where you are. For the UK, E-Prix and qualifying sessions for the 2026-27 season of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will be shown live on ITV4 and ITVX. Formula E will also globally be available on Disney+.
What's the weekend format?
The weekend generally consists of two practice sessions of 45 minutes each, followed by a qualifying session and a race, for a single header race. This will be known as E-PRIX UNLEASHED - using a high downforce aero setup, a 30 minute 'sprint' race, no PIT BOOST and 6 minutes of ATTACK MODE.
Where a weekend has a double header race, there would generally be two practice sessions, a qualifying session and a race, then the following day a further practice session, qualifying session and race. The second race would be known as E-PRIX and will be 45 minutes long, use the low downforce aero setup, feature 8 minutes of ATTACK MODE as well as a mandatory PIT BOOST.
How does qualifying work?
From season 8 onwards (2021-22), Formula E are using a "knockout" Duels style qualifying format. Regulations were updated for the 2026-27 season - We made you a video guide - click here!
What was fanboost?
Fanboost was a Formula E only feature. For each race, fans could vote for their favourite driver via the official website or app to give them an extra power boost which was activated by pushing an overtake button. Voting started 3 days before the event and closed after the opening 15 minutes of the race. The five winning Fanboost drivers each received an extra power burst that could be used in a 5-second window during the second half of the race.
On 18th November 2022, Formula E confirmed via an update to the sporting regulations that Fanboost was discontinued and will not feature from Season 9.
What is attack mode?
Attack Mode is a Formula E feature where drivers can activate a temporary power boost (from 300kW to 350kW) by driving through activation points on the circuit, which will take them out of the normal racing line. It is mandatory to use the total amount of time allocated for the Attack Mode. You could liken Attack Mode to the DRS feature in Formula 1, or Push-To-Pass in Indycar where it would be used either to attack or defend.
In each race, Competitors will be allocated with a specific quantity of Attack Mode to be published in a Bulletin at the beginning of each Competition.
What's Gen4?
The start of the 2026-27 season (season 13) brings us a brand new racing car called GEN4 - you can find more details here.
GEN4 is the next chapter in electric racing: the most powerful Formula E car ever.
Capable of reaching speeds in excess of 335kph, 0-100kph in approximately 1.8 seconds, and 0-200kph in just 4.4 seconds - 1.5 seconds faster than its predecessor - GEN4 will deliver 50% more power in race mode than the previous GEN3 Evo race car. The GEN4 car will be an average of 10 seconds faster per lap than the GEN3 car in qualifying mode. In ATTACK MODE, GEN4 produces up to 600kW of power, a 71% increase in base output over GEN3 Evo, delivering performance that pushes the limits of electric racing. GEN4 is the only single-seater race car with permanent all-wheel drive.
The chassis is 100% recyclable or reusable, featuring bodywork constructed from at least 20% recycled carbon fibre and bio-based composites. Teams can now switch between specialised high-performance dry or "Monsoon" wet compounds, both engineered from sustainable materials to support the car’s 100% recyclability goal without sacrificing grip. It will also be the first time Formula E cars feature different bodywork comfigurations - two aerodynamic packages that switch between high-downforce qualifying and low-drag race modes.
What's "pit boost"?
PIT BOOST is an innovative and mandatory mid-race feature that sees cars given a 10% energy increase (3.85kWh) through a 30-second, 600kW boost in the pit lane. It will be used during one of the two races across a double-header.
All drivers must stop during the race for this extra energy, however each team is only provided one PIT BOOST rig which prevents them from doing any double-stacking. This will also create plenty of drama and excitement, as each competitor navigates an additional element of race strategy and could potentially alter race outcomes and tactics. Drivers must serve a minimum pit stop time of 34 seconds, with 30 seconds of that being allocated for the charging itself. This new sporting feature is a huge technological step forward in EV charging, deploying significantly more power than current consumer superchargers.
Anything else you want to know?
If there's a question you still have and I've not already covered it, please feel free to get in touch via any of my social media pages and I'll see what I can do!