JUNE | THE COMMENTATOR
Martin Fullard
on Formula E’s
formula
I
, like you, don’t want to
be inconvenienced. Yet, I
absolutely don’t want to see
the planet decimated by human
impact and I yearn for a clean,
green solution to everything. I
was listening the James O’Brien
on LBC this morning and he
made an interesting point.
With regards to the new Ultra
Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ)
now in force in London, he has
great sympathy for the honest,
hard-working plumbers who
must now pay an extra £25
before they’ve even turned a
tap, but says to really help the
planet, first it has to hurt. The
tradespeople of London are the
first to bruise until they can
afford to replace their diesel
vans with electric or hybrid ones.
Suffering early hardship is
certainly something the all-
electric Formula E racing series
is experiencing. In May, London-
based Formula E Operations
revealed that its pre-tax loss
increased by 26.7% to £22.6m
in 2018, resulting in combined
losses of £142.2m since it ran its
first race meeting back in 2014.
If you’re interested, Virgin Media
(owned by Liberty Global) are the
biggest shareholders, at 23%.
Accounts for the year
ending 31 July 2018 show
that revenue rose £33.5m to
£114.5m, driven mainly by a
new title sponsorship from
Swiss engineering group ABB.
However, this was hacked
back with a spend increase of
£38.4m on more staff and the
42
Perfect Formula
“Suffering early hardship is certainly
something the all-electric Formula E
racing series is experiencing”
development of a new battery
which can last an entire race
distance (at the moment, drivers
have to use two cars, swapping
halfway through).
However, true to O’Brien’s
parable on the ULEZ charge, it
seems the financial hardships
are proving to be worth it long
term. In 2017, a total of 220,000
people turned up to watch
Formula E races, but this more
than doubled in 2018 when
476,000 spectators turned up
across the season.
Why such a surge in
popularity? I think it’s less
to do with the series’ zero
emissions, and more to do with
the experience of the event
itself. Formula E races take
place on temporary circuits in
city centres (including around
Docklands and ExCeL London
from 2020) rather than at proper
race circuits, which are more or
less always located miles out in
the country, with the nearest
attraction usually a BP garage.
The temporary circuits
provide endless opportunities
for brand activations and
experiences and, thanks to
the urban location, it’s easy to
access. It’s a day out, a festival, a
chance for street-food vendors
and entertainers to make a
killing. It’s the perfect formula.
Nearly 80% of the series’
revenue comes from licensing
and fees for hosting races, and if
audiences continue to increase
at the rate they are, there is no
doubt Formula E will be in the
black. Watch this sport closely.