- Formula 1's governing body says it will work to develop electric-car racing.
- Competition could begin as early as 2013, according to reports.
- International concerns about climate change are pushing the issue.
PARIS — Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile President Jean Todt has confirmed that Formula 1's governing body is working with European Commission representatives to develop a racing series for electric vehicles.
"We want as soon as possible to have new categories with new energy," Todt told Financial Times. "As much as we can do it all over the world, we will do it."
The announcement this week comes during the first of three United Nations climate change conferences, this one in Bangkok, Thailand.
It also reprises chatter about the Formulec EF01 electric racing series announced by the UN during its most recent conference in December in Cancun, Mexico.
A prototype Formulec EF01 single-seat racing car, developed in cooperation with the Mercedes F1 team, was displayed at the 2010 Paris Auto Show last October. In testing at two French circuits, the prototype achieved 0-60 acceleration in 3 seconds, with a top speed of 155 mph.
The point of promoting the electric racing series is to help sell the public on abandoning internal-combustion engines. The EU has set a goal of a 50-percent reduction in petroleum-fueled cars in European cities by 2030 and elimination of them by 2050.
In contrast to that attitude, F1 commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone is opposed even to the idea of hybrid power options for the global grand prix series.
Teams this year are continuing to experiment with Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) technology, and the series has announced plans to convert to smaller, more efficient, longer-lasting engines.
Todt says the FIA will work with the EU to develop racing series for various electric-powered go-karts and automobiles. Burkhard Goeschel, formerly with BMW, is head of an FIA electric-car commission.
Inside Line says: Will alternative power eventually crowd the internal combustion engine out of existence, as climate change alarmists would like? Stay tuned for further developments. — David Green, Correspondent
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1198sp says:
03:18 AM, 04/10/2011
@suxoid, surely you jest. It will be interesting to see what sort of battery packing they develop to allow quick swaps. Maybe package them into 8 x25kg modules that can be swapped by hand.
F1 races are only 190 miles, so they can probably let each team start the race with 5 or so sets of batteries.
compressor says:
04:32 PM, 04/08/2011
This is good news. Racing improves the breed especially when it comes to weight and size.
@cjw88: racing teams spend tons of resources developing aero improvements for their cars because the vast majority of forces acting against the car are aerodynamic in nature given high average speeds. A 5% in aero improvement is worth much more than a 5% bump in engine output or drivetrain weight reduction. Secondly, aero improvements can vastly alter handling limits, balance, accleration/braking performance, tire wear, and fuel economy - things that are very important to racing teams.
The ICE has not reached its peak and likely never will. It may eventually be beaten out due to competitive proposion sources or lack of fuel, but measuring its peak in terms of % total resources spent in racing development is a poor way of doing so.
mce63 says:
03:22 PM, 04/08/2011
Frankly, I wish it were not the FIA starting this up. I can only imagine the mess of rules they will come up with....Max battery cell size, weight, voltage...Only to change it again next year.
suxoid says:
11:49 AM, 04/08/2011
Imagine pulling in for a pit stop. 16 hours to charge the battery and the race is over.
cjw88 says:
09:58 AM, 04/08/2011
It's about time. Don't get me wrong. I love hearing a F1 at full song, but I feel that the internal combustion engine has had its prime. Racing teams spend more resources developing the aerodynamics of their cars than in their motors these days. The problem with that is the technology for that aero doesn't apply to most road cars. Electric propulsion needs the development that F1 can overwhelmingly provide.