Why is Formula E’s new GEN4 regulatory cycle a real F1 scare?

As Formula E pre-season testing prepares to get underway on Monday in Madrid, Formula E's new Gen4 car is offering a timely reminder of just how quickly the electric series is closing the performance gap to Formula 1. 

Full technical details of the machine, which accelerates harder than an F1 car and matches a Formula 2 car for top speed, have only sharpened that impression, and recent private running has made the comparison look even more pointed to.

The Gen4 car produces a standard race output of 450 kW, around 603 bhp, rising to 600 kW, or roughly 816 bhp, in qualifying trim and when Attack Mode is deployed. 

That figure represents a 71 percent jump in peak deployable output over the outgoing Gen3 Evo car, alongside a 43 percent increase in usable battery capacity, now up to 55 kWh.

Those numbers put Gen4 ahead of F2 on paper. The Mecachrome-powered F2 car produces 620 bhp from its single-turbo 3.4-litre V6, noticeably short of Gen4's peak output, despite running in a lighter, rear-wheel-drive configuration. 

Formula E's Gen4 reaches 100 km/h in around 1.8 seconds and 200 km/h in 4.4 seconds, comfortably quicker than F2's 2.9 seconds and 6.6 seconds respectively. Top speed is identical at 335 km/h (208 mph), though F2 needs Monza-spec low-downforce aero and DRS to get there.

That theoretical edge has already shown up in practice. Porsche recently conducted a private test at Monza with its development Gen4 car. It reportedly broke Formula 2's lap record there in the process without even attempting a qualifying-style run.

Where Gen4 genuinely embarrasses grand prix machinery is in its drivetrain. The car runs permanent active all-wheel drive, with motors on both axles, something strictly banned under F1's rear-wheel-drive regulations. 

Regenerative braking tops out at 700 kW, recovering close to half the energy used in a race, far beyond anything F1's current hybrid system permits. Switchable aero configurations, allowing teams to trim for high downforce or low drag depending on format, add another layer of sophistication once reserved for F1 engineering departments.

First 'legitimate' chance for Formula E versus F1 comparison

Gen4 is not yet an F1 rival on raw numbers. The car weighs around 954 kg without a driver, carries treaded rather than bespoke slick tyres, and its 55 kWh battery limits races to around 45 minutes to an hour, compared to F1's 305-kilometre, sometimes two-hour grands prix. 

Formula E teams still rely on lift-and-coast energy management to make it to the flag, whereas F1 deploys its hybrid systems as a performance tool rather than a survival mechanism.

But the trajectory is what matters. Gen4 debuts in 2027 with a season-opener in Mexico City on January 16, almost on an identical layout used by F1. The championship has expanded its calendar to include permanent circuits such as Circuit of The Americas, Brands Hatch and Zandvoort to accommodate the car's increased pace. 

The exact lap-time gap between Gen4 and 2026-spec F1 cars on a shared permanent circuit has not yet been measured in competitive conditions, leaving one open question hanging over the entire comparison. 

What is no longer in doubt, after Porsche's Monza outing, is that Formula E's all-wheel-drive, high-regeneration electric platform is advancing technologically at a pace that should concern a championship that still, for now, holds every performance card that counts.

"I think Gen4 is such a material step up from where we were with the Gen3 and Gen3 Evo car that perhaps it's the first legitimate point [to be compared to F1]," Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds told RacingNews365. 

"It feels like it's the first legitimate chance to showcase the potential of electrified racing. I think the important underlying message is exactly that, which is, this is emerging technology. We all believe in this organisation, it's superior technology, and will become more superior in the future. And Gen4 is a great time to start to showcase that."