Exclusive: 'Conceivable' two US cities to host Formula E in 2026

Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds has revealed it is "conceivable" two cities in the United States could host races from Season 12 (2026). 

For next season, FE has moved its traditional race in the US to the Homestead-Miami Speedway, following two seasons of racing in Portland. 

It is a permanent circuit and sees the series return to Miami for the first time since its venture to the Biscayne Bay Street Circuit in 2015. With the US and China making up three-quarters of global EV sales, having a large presence in the States is vital. 

With this in mind, would it work for FE to have the same US city host a race every season, similar to what has occurred in Berlin since the sport's first year?

Dodds is not convinced this would be the right direction for the series in the States.

"If I'm honest, I'm not sure it is," Dodds told RacingNews365 in an exclusive interview. "The pros of a consistent race venue, like Tempelhof in Berlin, is people get used to the venue.

"They know it's going to be there, we get calendar consistency, the crowds can turn up year after year after year. However, two things I would say, you get a bit of fatigue sometimes with a venue.

"And also you don't necessarily attract new fans to come and watch because of the travel requirements."

Where the US has a significant advantage compared to the majority of the world is its size. In Dodds' eyes, as many as 20 cities in the US have the capability of hosting an FE race. 

This is a very different story in the United Kingdom, for example, where London is the "obvious first choice" in terms of a host city. In the US, there is no real leading candidate, due to so many cities possessing similar capabilities.

"If you look at the US, probably 20 [cities could host Formula E]," revealed Dodds. "So it's not as easy to say, 'We're going to race in the UK, London is the obvious first choice'. Maybe there is Manchester, maybe there's Birmingham, maybe there's Edinburgh and maybe Cardiff. 

"But London is the obvious first choice. If you look at the US, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, Detroit, Phoenix, Dallas, you go on and on... There are so many big cities that have motorsport heritage that could sustain a race."

US 'needs' more races

Another factor in the US' favour is there are several cities to have expressed interest in hosting FE, many of which Dodds has held conversations with. Every American city offers a vastly different experience.

As pointed out by Dodds, with the size of the nation, each city has different markets, opening FE up to different fan bases. For a series to continue to pursue more fans, it is significant. 

"So my view has always been the US needs more than one race," stated FE's CEO. "It needs at least two, maybe it ends up being more than that. The good news is we have a lot of American cities that are interested in putting on a race.

"But then I think it's quite difficult to pick and say we're going to be there forever, because when you've got all those cities who are interested with their own markets and with different fan bases. Flying from one side of America to the other takes hours, it's like flying halfway across Europe, right? It takes a long time.

"So you're unlikely to attract a New York fan to Los Angeles, necessarily. So I do think we need more than one race and I'm open to the change in the venue."

Creating a calendar is an extreme challenge, in particular as the majority of championships are increasing its number of rounds. Avoiding as many clashes is a battle, and that is before the fact FE has to close parts of some cities is taken into account. 

However, what is clear with FE and the US, is that Dodds wants at least two races per season in the country. That could happen as soon as 2026 with next season's calendar already in place.

"The calendar conversations are really complex," he said. "As you can imagine it's like playing chess, really complex.

"But we have enough live conversation with US venues that it's conceivable we could have two venues in the US for Season 12."