Joe GallopFormula E has unveiled a new look ahead of season nine of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship and the debut of the Gen3 car, including a new rebrand, teams, formats and host cities.
Three cities will host Formula E races for the first time: Hyderabad, India (Round 4, 11 February); Cape Town, South Africa (Round 5, 25 February) and São Paulo, Brazil (Round 6, 25 March).
The Gen3, which Formula E said is the fastest, lightest, most powerful and efficient electric race car ever built, will make its competitive debut in Round One in Mexico City on 14 January, following pre-season testing next month in Valencia.
McLaren and Maserati are new to the Formula E grid next season. They will join names in motorsport including Jaguar, Porsche and Nissan among the 11 teams and 22 drivers competing for world titles.
Sporting regulation updates include a return to racing overlaps; rookie drivers taking a seat for teams in FP1 sessions; and a plan to introduce a 30-second 4kWh ‘Attack Charge’ boost at select races, made possible through the development of the most advanced EV battery in the world today.
To coincide with the start of the Gen3 era, Formula E has rebranded the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. The rebrand will be rolled out over the coming days, weeks and months starting with Formula E’s digital estate. In the new year, new web and app functionality will also be launched online in a bid to enhance the fan experience.
For Season 9, an “all-new sonic identity” has been developed for use across broadcast, digital and marketing channels, with the new sound of the Gen3 race car at its core.
Test recordings of the race cars were captured to form the basis of the sonic identity, with the recordings remixed into a suite of sound assets. New broadcast title music and a full broadcast score was recorded at Abbey Road Studios with a 55-piece orchestra.
Formula E chief marketing officer Henry Chilcott said, “This new identity is part of our ongoing mission to build a new category of tier one sport. It’s a system designed to inspire and excite fans around the world as well as create a stronger, more extensible platform for our partners, teams, manufacturers and broadcasters”.