Formula E co-founder opens up on plans for long-awaited support series

Formula E co-founder and chief championship officer Alberto Longo has opened up about the series' ongoing plans for a genuine support series to act as a feeder category.

Since Formula E's inception, the Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy has been its only support series. However, it was axed at the end of Season 6 and could not be held at every venue due to the size of the vehicles.

For Formula E to truly reach the top level, support racing and a genuine feeder system are seen as vital, with all the other major championships having had one in place for decades.

Formula 1 has Formula 2 and Formula 3 on its support bill at most events, while other categories, such as Porsche Carrera Cup championships, are often also in attendance. MotoGP has Moto2 and Moto3, and usually features additional support races across its weekends, giving fans a reason to arrive early and stay late.

Formula E does not have that, and one of the concerns surrounding its move to more permanent circuits is the lack of on-track action. When fans visit venues such as Brands Hatch and Zandvoort, regardless of what they have come to watch, they usually expect a consistent flow of track action and racing.

The all-electric series is aware of this and continues to actively pursue a support series, but it must fit with its sustainability message. An internal combustion support category racing ahead of a Formula E event would send entirely the wrong message.

Creating an all-electric feeder system is Longo's goal, with the aim of making it as accessible as possible for young talent while keeping costs to a minimum.

Discussing if Formula E wants a support series sooner rather than later, Longo told RacingNews365 during an interview: "Definitely. But we have been looking at it since day one. Obviously we have done it very responsibly, meaning that we really want to take care of our championship, Formula E. 

"Also our goal was more to try and find partners along the way, to help us with this type of [support] racing. Also, there are quite a few challenges, one is obviously that from Gen1 and Gen2, the tracks that we were racing at were pretty challenging to find space in the paddock for an extra garage, even when we had the I-Pace Jaguars, they couldn't come to every single race. 

"The other one is the fact that you see today, Formula 2, Formula 3 are such expensive categories for drivers that I really want to go far away from that. 

"If we are to create a ladder for Formula E, it should be in the same way as we have done in Formula E. It's drivers with the best talent possible. They come and get paid, they don't need to buy their seats."

Longo's ideal support series

According to Longo, he expects to hold 50 meetings with potential partners for a support category over the next year. The revised target for a support series is now Season 14, which is likely to begin at the end of 2027, the second campaign of the Gen4 era.

That target has continually shifted, with Formula E initially hoping to introduce support racing for the current campaign and then again for the start of Gen4. The NXT Gen Cup was scheduled to become a support category in 2024, although the plan collapsed at the final hurdle.

In a perfect world, Longo wants to build an entirely new, single-make car from scratch, costing no more than €300,000. He wants a category that is inexpensive for teams to run, allows drivers to be paid and, by being single-make, enables the best talent to shine.

It is something Formula E is working tirelessly to achieve, with Longo believing that using Gen2 or Gen3 cars is not a viable option due to the running costs.

"You could say, 'okay, it's very easy, you guys have Gen3s, you guys have Gen2', but those cars, actually, Gen2 was the pinnacle of electric motorsport four years ago. Gen3 is the pinnacle of electric motorsport today," explained Longo. 

"It is a very expensive car to maintain, so putting those cars in the hands of people working with a low budget, so we don't ask the drivers for money, is a big challenge. So, where is the solution going to come from? 

"My perception is basically developing a new car from scratch, in the region of €200,000 to €300,000, something like this, and power, probably single make would be ideal, because this is where you actually find the talent, when you give them the same tools and they just perform on track. 

"But, yeah, all that together, as you can imagine, doesn't make it very easy. Are we looking for it? Day and night. I really believe that this is what is going to help Formula E to grow, not only in awareness, but also to find that [future] talent."