Formula Silent. If you like screaming this isn't for you.

Right, now if you don’t like the idea of watching big boys toys screaming around a track then I’m going to guess that Formula One isn’t for you. And scream they do, with many revving their engines out to 19,000 which is just insane. But maybe Formula E is something you could get into. You see Formula e is an all electric version of formula one and of course, its pretty quiet. They throw some interesting elements into it that you just can’t do with any other drivetrain.

So how does it work? Well here’s the main elements:

• 11 teams

• It launched in 2011 and has been steadily growing in popularity

• Racing takes place in city circuits, most of which would never allow this screaming monsters from Formula 1

• The circuits are 1.9 to 3.4 km and the cars don’t need a battery change (they did in earlier rounds)

• The vehicles have 250kW of power which doesn’t sound like much but they only weigh 800kg including the driver

• They have a top speed of 225km/hr

• Heres where it gets interesting - during qualifying they get access to all 250kw of power, but this is restricted in the main race to 200kW. But they get a couple of short bursts throughout the race (they have to drive through a special section to get access to this) and its another 25kW for a short period called attack mode, which they have to trigger at least once in each race.

• In addition, if they have chiseled good looks and a strong fan base they can also get a fan boost - voting for this starts 6 days before the event and finishes 15 minutes before the race starts. This encourages drivers and teams to market themselves positively to fans. Imagine what Schumacher could have done with that! I digress but I did here he was conscious - thoughts are with him and the family

• During the race you can see state of charge and the amount of energy each car has available, it adds a whole new element to watching racing. And of course all the technology advancements filter down.

• The races are 45 minutes and the top ten drivers get season points.

Last season Jean Eric Vergne won in the D s Techeetah vehicle which happened to be sponsored by one of Chargesmart’s suppliers, Efacec. Well done team. In the last 4 years there have been four different champions.

The next season kicks off on the 22nd of November in Saudi Arabia and this year Mercedes Benz and Porsche are joining in the fun and the cars look absolutely stunning. If anyone out there is thinking about going to this event, drop me a line. My wife and I are lining up the race in Rome on the 4th of April 2020 and you’re more than happy to join us

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