Formula E: 2022, the big 8

The longest season in the history of the championship.

For this eighth season, the organizers have prepared a 16-race calendar, which is unprecedented. Among these numerous events, there are 6 weekends with 2 races, as well as 3 new destinations: Jakarta, Vancouver, and Seoul. The season will conclude with a double-header in South Korea on August 13-14, while the championship in 2022 will kick off with a double event in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, on January 28-29. Just like in 2020 and 2021, Paris is not included in the list of selected cities.

An unprecedented sporting regulation

While Formula E qualifying sessions have always been prone to surprises, a brand new format will be introduced in season 8. Instead of being divided into 4 groups as has always been the case, drivers will now be split into only 2 groups determined by the championship standings. At the end of this phase, where drivers will set a lap time with a car developing 220kW, the top 4 from each group will compete in a series of head-to-head duels, leading to the determination of the first 8 positions on the starting grid. For this second part of the qualifying, the cars will have a power output of 250kW.

In racing, the power used will also be different from previous years. Therefore, it should not exceed 220kW, while the Attack Mode will see this value increase to 250kW (compared to 200kW and 235kW respectively before). It is also important to note that the race duration can be extended by 10 minutes in the event of a safety car intervention or a Full Course Yellow.

11 teams and 22 drivers ready to battle it out.

After Audi and BMW ended their programs at the end of last season, only 22 cars will be found on the circuits this year. Indeed, the field of competitors loses 2 units due to Audi’s withdrawal, but Andretti, renamed “Avalanche Andretti Formula E,” continues the adventure without the support of BMW.

In terms of driver transfers, we particularly note Antonio Giovinazzi’s arrival at Dragon and Oliver Rowland’s move from Nissan to Mahindra. He is replaced at Nissan by Maximilian Günther, coming from BMW/Andretti. There is also movement at Rokit Venturi as Lucas di Grassi joins Edoardo Mortara, another product from the Ingolstadt manufacturer’s program. Finally, there are no changes to the winning team at Mercedes as Nyck de Vries will continue to partner with Stoffel Vandoorne for what will be the last season of Formula E for the Stuttgart-based firm.

Season 8 calendar of Formula E