Why Formula-E
 

Watched the race yesterday & I must say. It’s tremendously boring!

It’s like watching a video game. They all sound like an iPhone app and what’s with the cars having to go wide to gain energy?

Why cant Porsche just give this up & look into F1.

I gave it a chance.

It's the worst. As much as I love Porsche, I hope they lose their asses on this and learn an important lesson.

Electric cars are the future. We, the older enthusiasts, can bemoan it all we like, but it's the truth. If Porsche wants to lure in the next generation of fans, they have to go where the market is evolving too.

I watched the first race and have not watched one since. Someone offered me a VIP ticket for the race they did in NY and I said "no thanks".

I'd rather watch curling than Formula E.

When the racing is this bad and silent and uninvolving, nobody of ANY age will watch. And I am a bit more cautious about the "electric cars are the future". Our power grid can barely handle existing loads. And, smug virtue signalers notwithstanding, electric cars are actually dirtier over their entire lifecycle than a modern gasoline equivalent.

Let's not get bogged down with the facts - electric cars are the future!

Meanwhile, California has rolling blackouts whenever the temperature goes up because of A/C usage.

I’ve tried to watch it in 3 different occasions - it’s horribly boring. I can’t get a handful of laps each time..:

Electric cars may be the future but they don’t have to be our race cars of the future. The younger generation may like electric cars for the street but my guess is that, generally speaking those aren’t the target audience.

I liken Formula E to the WNBA... niche market but will never become mainstream and certainly not self supporting

I kinda straddle the fence on this one...

I do think the future is electric, not because of environmental concerns. When it comes to variable spped and precision It's just a better way to move stuff. That said, the excitement of racing is the sound. IMSA or F1 is just as boring on mute.

So where does that leave us. My crystal ball says you will have "technology" racing that will be a niche market like Darpa challenge where people marvel at the capability. And you will have good old fashioned historical ICE racing like horse racing is today.

Not saying I'm thrilled with my prediction, but I do think it's accurate.

"Why cant Porsche just give this up & look into F1."

Two words come to my mind: Money and future.

These are likely important to Porsche.

I have only watched Formula E a few times on TV... will be watching more. At present, I much prefer watching other forms of auto racing, but it is early days.

We will see what happens down the road as the demographics continue to change... perhaps in ways not anticipated.

I see many e-vehicles everyday since I live ~5 miles from Tesla.

Since Q3 of last year, my professional focus has shifted aggressively toward emerging and deep tech innovation and disruption, and venture, and the future of mobility is part of that shift. My network has expanded. In my professional network, I am 1 degree away from the mgnt of Formula E, the leaders of the companies in Formula E and all the leaders involved with the evolution away from ICE.

The train is on the tracks.

One thing I am just starting to read about is how the global pandemic is potentially causing momentum in actions related to concerns about climate change.

Lots of perspective "out there" on these topics. Likely less perspective in these Forums.

I agree somewhat, I definitely don’t think they’re targeting a younger demographic; as I’d be in that category, and I find FE to be extremely boring to watch.

It’s actually on right now as I write this message and I turned it off.

It was at least bearable to watch yesterday when I recorded it and I left it on 2x fast forward speed while watching it lol

Sound is important with racing, but F1 has much more going for it. Between the rivalries and battles on the track. One little mistake can end a race with how fragile the F1 race cars are.

Watching FE was like watching bumper cars at Boomers. The cars are built to protect the wheels and the side skirts/fenders allow the cars to bounce off each other while cornering lol it’s kinda funny to watch sometimes. Because when you liken that to F1; if they tried pulling that, the wheels would either fly off or send one of the cars in spinning off into the wall.

That’s what makes F1 exciting. There is more strategy involved and you have to weigh risks that could have massive impacts on the standings. Risks that are dangerous at that!

Sounds like Porsche being cheap again. As they have huge capital & massive umbrella under VW.

A part of me wonders if FE is just a way to compete with F1 without putting real time & money into it.

First they pull GTLM in IMSA, then what’s next? They pull out of WEC to focus on FE? When in reality, it’s hard to see FE surviving. So what’s left?

A storied history of Porsche racing seems to be hanging in the balance.

The cost and resources required to run Formula E are significantly lower than other forms of motorsport. It's relatively cheap and easy to get into for an OEM and good for PR among non-auto enthusiasts. The VW group is doing anything they can to get us to forget about their diesel crimes and appear to be eco-friendly.

True - most of the parts come from Hobby Lobby.

Cost of program vs marketing value.
In that case, NOTHING comes close to FE in Europe, jumping into that ring is the easiest decision they will make.
Any car salesman can now say they are in electric racing without going into what Le Mans and hybrid prototypes are etc...

Worst thing ever. I’ve been to an E race. They sound like slot cars. Least compelling event ever.....its the future.
Only thing dumber is watching iracing.
The future sucks.