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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Giles Richards

Formula E at crossroads with spark on track that still falls flat with the public

The Gen 3 Evo car
The Gen 3 Evo car, seen zipping around Berlin’s Tempelhof airport track, is unrecognisable from the first edition and can now zip to a top speed of 200mph. Photograph: Marc de Mattia/DPPI/Shutterstock

A racing series with purpose, Formula E heads into its season finale in London this weekend having to an extent already made its point. Mass adoption of electric vehicles, considered a somewhat fanciful future when it began in 2014, has been embraced as an integral part of dealing with the climate emergency. Still, Formula E is intent on continuing to build a championship that remains a sustainable and entertaining series. The task it faces is persuading the public to pay attention.

Those opening years did nothing to help the cause. A decade ago the cars that trundled round Battersea Park in London did little to sell the future of electric racing. They were slow and unwieldy, and sounded rather like disgruntled hairdryers. Worst of all, with batteries unable to last an entire race, drivers had to change car at the midway point.

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