Australia's Richard Petty kept Roger Penske from conquering Australia. Elsewhere in the world, Formula One ended its season at one of the biggest wastes of a billion dollars. Felipe Massa ended his Formula One career. Marcus Ericsson likely saw his Formula One career come to a close. McLaren and Honda are officially divorced. Thanksgiving leftovers are at a minimum. December is upon us. Motorsports is dwindling. Here is a run down of what got me thinking.
Going Permanent
We are less than a week from the season opener for the fourth Formula E season. There will be a full preview of the championship at the end of the week but this is set to be the longest season in the series short history with 14 races scheduled over 11 rounds.
This season sees four new locations on the schedule joining seven returning venues. Two South American countries will host the series for the first time with Santiago, Chile hosting the fourth race of the season on February 4th and São Paulo hosting the sixth race on March 17th. Italy hosts its first Formula E round on April 14th with a race taking place in Rome and major motorsports returns to Switzerland for the first time since 1955 with Zürich hosting the antepenultimate round of the season on June 10th.
Should everything go to plan, Formula E will have raced at 20 different venues in 18 different countries by the end of this season. While being a street course-only series, the series has had its good races with its bad. Fortunately, Formula E has not had any disasters of the level of A1GP's trip to Beijing. The series is set on bringing electric motorsports to the people instead of having people travel to a circuit. The concept makes sense but how long can Formula E ignore existing venues and how long can existing venues ignore Formula E? The series isn't setting the world on fire but it isn't going anywhere and the level of manufacture involvement keeps increasing and with the manufactures come top shelf quality drivers.
Mexico City is the lone permanent motorsports venue on the current Formula E schedule but even that is a makeshift course using Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez's oval and stadium section. Besides lacking permanent facilities, Formula E has not had a cornerstone round. Berlin is the only round on the schedule that has been on every Formula E calendar and that had a venue switch in year two because the Tempelhof Airport was being used for refugee housing. Monaco was on the original Formula E schedule but that race alternates between hosting Formula E and hosting the historic grand prix and is not on this year's calendar.
Formula E could benefit from going to existing racetracks and using courses that already exist. Permanent venues would allow the series a few places to grow fan bases instead of hopping around the globe and hoping to draw a crowd for two or three years before finding a new city to visit. Permanent venues could also provide for better on track action. Street courses are hit and miss and while Formula E has done a good job with most of its course going to permanent venues could alleviate headaches when it comes to going to a country for the first time.
What could a Formula E calendar with only permanent or existing venues look like? Let's take into consideration that the longest course Formula E has raced on was the Beijing Olympic Green Circuit, a 2.14-mile course. Let's set that as the limit for now. Eventually this series is going to have to tackle longer courses but baby steps. Let's also keep the winter into summer schedule. I think Formula E should run when the rest of major motorsports is off. Too often it has been lost in the shuffle of Formula One, FIA World Endurance Championship, IndyCar and more.
Where could the season start? The series has to be in China and the country has hosted the Formula E season opener before. China has had a racetrack boom over the last decade and there are some that fit what Formula E is looking for. My nomination would be the Chengdu Goldenport Circuit. This track was an unknown until A1GP went there in November 2008. It wasn't the greatest circuit in the world but something about its charming, Mario Kart-esque character makes me want some series to go back there. The circuit is 2.091 miles long. It is perfect for Formula E and it should host the season opener in late-October.
What could come next? How about Japan? I am partly surprised Japan has yet to Formula E but closing down the streets of Tokyo could be one thing that keeps the series from going there. The good news is Japan has a few options for Formula E. What would be a better place to host a Japanese round than Suzuka? The Suzuka East circuit, which famously hosted NASCAR 20 years ago, is only 1.394 miles in length. Japanese fans are some of the best in the world and they will pack the place with a race in mid-November.
Like Japan, I am surprised we have yet to see Australia host Formula E. The series has to go down under and while it is pushing winter in the Northern Hemisphere, Australia would be on the cusp of summer in December. I would choose Sandown Raceway. It is close to Melbourne, it is 1.928 miles long and it has a pair of long straightaways. It would be a great race prior to the Christmas period.
After Christmas, we have to stay in the Southern Hemisphere and Buenos Aires had the best atmosphere of all the Formula E venues to date. It is a shame the series won't return there for season four but Buenos Aires has a famous track in the city with a number of configurations. Autódromo Oscar y Juan Gálvez hosted 21 Argentine Grands Prix, 20 of which were on the Formula One schedule. The No. 9 configuration, a 2.07-mile course, was used three times. That would be a great way to kick off the New Year in January.
While we are in the Americas, the series mind as well head north and come to the United States but it should go somewhere it has never been before and probably never considered. Formula E should have an oval race and it should be at Phoenix International Raceway in early February. Formula E is an entirely new series. It is still an infant. Why should it shy away from ovals? Plus it would be a great test of speed for these cars. Let's get the most out of these cars and a one-mile oval should be the start for the series. There is nothing wrong with an oval or two in Formula E's future. Let's even make it a doubleheader.
After Phoenix, the series could head to Europe for the second half of the season. Formula E used Circuit Ricardo Tormo's perimeter circuit for preseason testing and the series should host a round there at the start of spring in March. The track is 1.92 miles long. After Valencia, the series could head to Italy in April and run a race before Formula One starts the European portion of its season. Adria International Raceway is not only 1.679 miles in length but it has a covered paddock, which I think would be great for the Formula E festivities.
Come May, Formula One will be back in Europe but between the Spanish Grand Prix and Monaco Grand Prix Formula E could fill the gap with a race on Dijon-Prenois short circuit, a 2.044-mile circuit. When Formula One heads to Canada, Formula E could head to England and to what is essentially its ancestral home, the 1.957-mile Donington Park National Circuit! It hosted the first test in the series history. The series should have already raced there.
There has to be one street circuit on the Formula E schedule but instead of going to a city and trying to build a new circuit, why not go to an existing street circuit in a country where a number of Formula E manufactures call home? The Norisring is famous for DTM and sports cars but a Formula E doubleheader on the 1.4-mile course would be an excellent close to the European portion of the schedule in late June.
Where should the Formula E season finale be held? Let's end the season in the United States in the middle of July but instead of racing around Brooklyn, let's run at the 1.5-mile Lime Rock Park and have a doubleheader. There would be no worries about noise with Formula E in Connecticut. The locals wouldn't even know a race is taking place.
This calendar is far from happening but in five years, in ten years, Formula E might be looking for something a bit more permanent.
Champions From the Weekend
Jamie Whincup won his seventh Supercars championship with a victory in race two from Newcastle and race one winner Scott McLaughlin being handed a 15-second penalty in race two for a driving infringement and dropping him to 17th in the final results.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Jamie Whincup and Scott McLaughlin but did you know...
Valtteri Bottas won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Artem Markelov and Charles Leclerc split the Formula Two races from Abu Dhabi. Niko Kari scored his first GP3 victory in race one and Dorian Boccolacci scored his first GP3 victory in race two.
Christopher Bell won the Turkey Night Grand Prix from Ventura Raceway. It is Bell's second Turkey Night Grand Prix victory.
Coming Up This Weekend
Formula E season opener from Hong Kong.
25 Hours of Thunderhill.
The World Touring Car Championship concludes at Qatar on Friday.
The Asian Le Mans Series has its second round of the season at Fuji.
Covering All Motorsports. From Indianapolis to Le Mans, Daytona to Monaco.
