ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Season Nine sporting regulations ratified by World Motor Sport Council

Format tweaks with races now run to a certain number of laps – Greater opportunities for upcoming drivers

In keeping with its pioneering spirit, the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will roll out a number of key changes for its forthcoming 2022/23 campaign, officially ratified today (18 November) by the FIA World Motor Sport Council.

Building upon the success of the new knockout qualifying format introduced in Season Eight which generated greater excitement, Season Nine will feature format tweaks – designed to fully exploit the potential of the smaller, faster and lighter Gen3 cars – and greater opportunities for upcoming drivers.

Moving forward, races will run to a certain number of laps rather than time – in an effort to make them simpler to follow while allowing teams more control over their own strategy. In the same way, the additional racing time implemented in Season Eight at the end of E-Prixs interrupted by Safety Car or Full Course Yellow periods proved to be popular amongst competitors and fans and will therefore be retained, but in the interests of consistency, neutralisation periods will henceforth be compensated by added laps rather than added time.

Fast-charging technology will allow for the introduction of ‘Attack Charge’ at selected E-Prixs. Attack Charge will take the form of a mandatory mid-race 30 seconds pit-stop, made possible by a 600kW boost charger. This will then unlock two ‘Attack Mode’ periods, during which the power output of the all-electric single-seaters will increase from 300kW to 350kW.

In the meantime, the existing format of two standard Attack Modes per E-Prix – providing drivers with a temporary power boost – will remain in place, with competitors now able to choose their activation strategy in an effort to maximise wheel-to-wheel racing and overtaking opportunities.

In order to make Formula E more accessible to rookies, meanwhile, every team must now conduct at least two FP1 sessions over the course of the campaign with drivers who have never previously competed in the championship.

Season Nine of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will get underway at the famous Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City on 14 January, 2023.

Pablo Martino, Head of Formula E Sporting Matters at the FIA, said: 

“Capitalising upon a successful Season Eight, we have now made further slight modifications to the racing format as we endeavour to bring the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship to an ever-wider audience while encouraging teams to trial fresh talent. With the advent of the eagerly-anticipated Gen3 single-seater, a 22-strong grid featuring iconic automotive names and some of the best drivers in the sport, I am confident that Formula E’s new era will be bright.”