Johnny Herbert has detailed why Formula E must make some significant changes to its identity to ensure that it gains an even bigger fanbase.
The all-electric championship will celebrate 12 years of existence this year, and its 13th season will be likely to commence this December.
And it is not just any new season, for it is the campaign that sees the start of the Gen4 era, bringing added excitement.
The all-new car is slated to reach speeds of 200mph, and is projected to lap some circuits, such as Monaco, faster than the current Formula 2 machinery can.
As a brand ambassador for Lola – which will mark Season 13 as its first as a standalone manufacturer – Herbert keeps a vested interest in Formula E.
One problem the new car brings, due to its bigger size and increased speeds, is that the championship has been forced to find new locations for its races.
FE has always prided itself on being a ‘city centre championship’, and some of its unique tracks, such as the London Excel venue, Berlin Tempelhof and Tokyo, will be struggling to cope.
The introduction of Jarama this season, to great success, has shown that a segue to more purpose-built tracks can be implemented without fuss.
And with other classics, such as Zandvoort and Brands Hatch, being tipped to feature on next season’s calendar, Herbert thinks that this shift may be necessary to ensure FE can keep its relevance, and bring in some new audiences.
“I think purely for the speed of the cars, they [the circuits] were always going to have to change,” he told Motorsport Week in an exclusive interview.
“The London E-Prix – you’re never going to be able to do it at the exit with those cars, because they’re just ridiculously fast. You could detune them, but then what’s the point of detuning something when it should be just sort of left to be raw and fast?
“So, it was an obvious step that had to be taken, and it will benefit the drivers, it will benefit the teams, it will benefit the manufacturers, and fundamentally it should benefit Formula E as a whole, because it will be looked at, I suppose, in the new light of being more serious, really serious.”
Johnny Herbert believes compromise will guarantee a ‘growth spurt’ for Formula E
Herbert continued, however, by owing Formula E credit for its unique circuits providing an old school challenge in some respects, but rejected the likelihood that many of the drivers will convey displeasure at a move from those tracks.
“It’s always been serious about it, trying to do those city track circuits,” he said. “Sometimes it gets criticised for being that bumpy and everything else.
“Personally, I remember going to certain tracks in Formula 1 when I started and they were bumpy as hell, but it was a challenge, and the challenge should be always a big part of it.
“If it’s bumpy, yeah, well, it’s bumpy for everybody. Is it physically harder? Yes, that’s part of it at the same time. So, I never agreed with people who said, ‘no, that’s ridiculous, that’s crazy’.
“No, it’s not. That’s just because it’s different. You know, you watch Indy Car, they go to really bumpy tracks as well. Do they moan and complain about it? No, they don’t.
“The drivers generally don’t, I think, because they do like the challenge. They might moan and complain a little bit, but it’s moving in a direction that I think is only going to benefit Gen4, and Gen4 is only going to benefit Formula E, and actually it’s going to benefit everybody involved because the drivers are going to thoroughly enjoy it, the teams are going to enjoy probably the technology that’s there, and it looks like a proper car as well, which is nice.
“So, it’s got all the right ingredients to have a nice growth spurt.”
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