CarNewsCafe had the pleasure of catching up with Alejandro Agag, CEO of the Formula E series. We previously spoke to Alejandro last year.
Formula E Year One
Alejandro is excited about the first year of the series and told us the results exceed his expectations. He mentioned how the Miami race was sold out and that the upcoming Long Beach race should be well attended. It’s a good thing to see how well the public responded to these cars. We are even more excited about what Agag has in store for the near future.
Formula E, Next Season
By now, you should know that Forumla E is a two car per racer, divided to about 25 minutes each. At that point, the pilot comes in and switches the car for one with a charged battery pack. As of next year we will see the series opening to different manufacturers. So far, Renault is the only manufacturer and 8 new teams have signed up. We can only expect more by the following year.
I quizzed Alejandro on the possibility of adopting wireless charging with Qualcomm Halo’s amazing inductive charging system. To recap, the Qualcomm Halo system was tested on the Drayson Racing Technologies modified Lola, the Lola B12/69 EV at supercharger speed. It uses a three ground coil approach and one in the car. The advantags of this system is that it does away with misalignment, something that plagues current wireless charging systems.
Formula E, The Future of Racing
We live in an interactive world and racing will not be left out of the picture. It seems Alejandro would like to see more Fan Boost, the system where fans can give a driver an energy boost on the Formula E website. This might come into questioning from many race enthusiasts. However, the idea is simple. We should ultimately be able to watch a race and give our favorite team a boost while in action. Think of it this way. Two racers are fighting for a spot. One closes the door and forces the other back. If I feel it wasn’t fair play, I could give the one who was pushed back a boost, which would translate in a real time an extra energy boost to take over the offending car. At this stage, we should also be able to monitor the pilot’s heart rate and biometrics.
If you can extrapolate, this also means that race car drivers will have to polish on their personalities and show their best face at all times. I’m looking forward to this. I’m pretty much turned off from prima dona in high stratosphere who feel above and beyond the fans that support them… in more ways than one.
In the meantime, enjoy the rather quick video we were able to shoot for you CarNewsCafe readers with Alejandro Agag, CEO of the Formula E series.
