Exclusive: Formula E CEO reveals 'eyeballs' attraction in signing F1 drivers

Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds has revealed why former F1 drivers are an "attractive" option to the series.

Since FE's first race in 2014, such drivers have been an integral part of the grid. At present, there are six - Jean-Eric Vergne, Sebastian Buemi, Stoffel Vandoorne, Nyck de Vries, Pascal Wehrlein and Lucas di Grassi.

The most recent F1 driver to switch to FE (excluding de Vries who started in FE before switching to F1) is Antonio Giovinazzi, although he left after one disappointing season. 

Drivers like Zhou Guanyu, Yuki Tsunoda, and the recently axed Logan Sargeant are interesting for FE, as they would each bring to the category "eyeballs" from key global markets for the all-electric championship. 

"China is a cool market for us," Dodds exclusively told RacingNews365 in a recent interview.

"We all saw how he [Zhou] unlocked the excitement in the crowd in China, and drew a big crowd in China because he was the home favourite. So they're supporting him. 

"Where we have big markets, places like China and the USA, I think having drivers from that nationality creates an interested fan base, because all of a sudden, they've got someone to root for. 

"So whether that's Zhou or whether it's Tsunoda in Japan, or whether it's Sargeant from the USA, or whatever, I think having those drivers in Formula E is good."

FE 'not out hunting'

As noted by Dodds, F1 does, as things stand, have a "greater presence" than FE, expected given its history. 

When an F1 driver moves to FE, it introduces an entirely new fan base to the championship, with increasing viewership being the ultimate goal for any motorsport series. 

Whilst this makes F1 drivers an attractive option for FE, the series is not chasing them, with Dodds convinced the current grid could compete with the F1 field. 

"The reason Formula 1 drivers are attractive to us, other than they're good drivers, of course, is because Formula 1 has a greater presence than us," explained Dodds. 

"And therefore if they move to us, they bring an interest from people that perhaps haven't considered Formula E and didn't even know it existed, and then they start to look at it to understand more about it. 

"So I'll never apologise for bringing more eyeballs to the sport. But it's not like we're out hunting Formula 1 drivers to try and persuade them to come across. 

"I think as a collective, as I've said, I would back our 22 drivers against any other series in the world, including Formula 1."