Formula E rules

Launched in September 2014 by Formula E Holdings and the FIA, the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship’s primary objective is to promote the use of zero-emission vehicles in city centres by staging races – known as "E-Prix" – that are held for the most part around temporary street circuits. Beijing, Hong-Kong, Buenos Aires, Montréal, Paris, Rome, New-York, Miami, Le Cap, Berlin, Sao Paulo, Tokyo and Shanghai are amongst the major cities that have already hosted the series or that will shortly host the series.

Season 9 (2022-23) of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship featured several new developments, especially with the introduction of a third generation of race car for a four year cycle: GEN3.

Purposely built for street racing, the GEN3 car is faster, smaller, lighter than the GEN2 and its advanced technology will allow for the introduction of fast charging in the near future.

Although the format of free practice hasn't changed (two 30-minute sessions), the qualifying process has been adjusted slightly since Season 8 (2021-22) with drivers split into two groups, and the four fastest going through head to head Duels in one lap shootout. The winner of each Duel will progress through the quarter and semi-final stage, leaving a final pair to battle for pole position.

The duration of all races is now calculated in laps, with added laps at the end to compensate potential Safety Car or Full Course Yellow neutralisations.

However, the manufacturer has a leeway regarding the development of the electrical powertrain. Vehicles starts with the same quantity of energy in the battery so the rear powertrain is key as it enables to maximize the use of energy by reducing losses. Especially as the Gen3 has seen an increase in power (350kW instead of 250) but also its regen capacity being more than doubled (600kW instead of 250), thanks to the addition of a common front powertrain.

The cars themselves deliver a power output of 350kW (470hp) during Duels. During races, drivers are required to run two different modes, namely 'Normal' mode (capped at 300kW) and 'Attack' mode (350kW). The latter is to be activated when passing through bespoke zones, the number and length of which depend on the configuration of each circuit. Maximum energy recovery now stands at 600kW.

Finally, the points system is unchanged, with 25 points awarded to the winner, 18 points for second place, 15 points for third place, then 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1 points for the other top-10 finishers. The driver starting at the front (Julius Baer Pole Position) picks up an extra three points. During the race, the driver who completes the Fastest Lap also receives one additional point. However, the driver must finish in the top-10 places to gain the Fastest Lap extra point. If not, then the driver in the top-10 with the next fastest lap takes the honour.