- Calendar now one event short of 22-race capacity
- Mexico City will open the season if conflict in Middle East continues
- New weekend format sees one shorter race introduced at all double-headers
- Formula E needs to “ask for help” from promoters to encourage more fans to attend
Formula E has announced a record 21-race schedule for the upcoming 2026/27 season, which will see the debut of the new Gen4 machinery.
Next season sees new additions in the Circuit of The Americas, Brands Hatch, and Circuit Zandvoort – all permanent circuits that fly in the face of Formula E’s traditional strategy of racing at street tracks.
This means Formula E will no longer race at the Excel in London, where it has raced since 2021. As a result, Tokyo becomes the championship’s new season finale.
This switch is necessitated by the technical strides for next season, which include the cars having a 50 per cent increase in race power, boosting it to 450kW. Attack mode power will jump by 71 per cent, reaching 600kW, while regenerative braking will see a 17 per cent increase to 700kW.
This has made Formula E a much more attractive option for promoters looking to host a major world championship.
“There are these permanent circuits that will offer us exactly what we need, and in a way we are helping them also to revive their story, their historical presence in motorsport,” Alberto Longo, Formula E’s chief championship officer, told select media.
Circuit Zandvoort has very recent history with Formula One but will depart the championship at the end of this season, while Brands Hatch has not hosted the series since 1986. It marks a sea change in how Formula E plans its schedule and the types of circuits it is now able to attract – although street tracks remain central to its mission.
“11, 12 years ago, it was a completely different story because I had to be very proactive in order to find all those cities that wanted to host a Formula E event. Today, we’re in a completely different environment,” said Longo.
“We decide what the key markets are to go to, that’s the the top priority for us. Then a second-tier priority will be to race in the heart of those cities… and, if that doesn’t happen, then we go to the permanent tracks.
“I’m way more reactive, it’s [now] the other way around – it’s them trying to convince Formula E [to race at the circuits]. We’re very proud to be in that position today compared to ten, 12 years ago.”
Longo also revealed that the schedule is now one race short of the capacity set out in the International Automobile Federation’s (FIA) legislation for the all-electric series. Any further additions beyond that would need to be at the expense of existing races.
Plus, if the conflict in the Middle East continues towards the end of this year, then the Formula E season will get underway in Mexico City rather than Saudi Arabia. There is no replacement planned in this outcome.
Next season will also see the introduction of an all-new race weekend format. Double-header weekends will introduce a shorter race distance, known as E-Prix Unleashed. The main E-Prix format of energy saving and tactical racing will remain, but organisers want to use the shorter variation to allow these new cars to be driven at maximum capacity.
The hope is that this will also encourage more fans to attend races to see this exciting new technology for themselves with eight double-headers planned for next season. But a slight shift away from city-centre racing means that Formula E also needs to ensure its race marketing is on point.
“To be absolutely open and transparent with you, we are trying to ask for help from the owners of the tracks, so they can help us in promoting our event as well,” revealed Longo.
“The key to success in Mexico, for example, is the fact we have OCESA working together with us. The key to success in Madrid is that we have Jarama working with us, and both of them have been fantastic.
“We are not experts worldwide in every single market, so definitely you need to have that promoter locally that helps you with filling grandstands, with marketing the whole event itself.”
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