Enlarge image
Formula E world champion Nyck de Vries
Photo: GERMAIN HAZARD / imago images / PanoramiC
Just imagine Mercedes - this traditional motorsport brand - winning the Formula 1 world championship title on a German racetrack. It would have historic significance, global headlines would certainly be.
Last Sunday, Mercedes actually won a world championship.
In Berlin.
In the formula E.
However, the title win by Nyck de Vries was a sporting fringe.
In line with this, Mercedes announced its exit from Formula E on Wednesday.
The team will still compete to defend its title, but in 2022 this racing series, once hailed as the future of motorsport, will be over.
»When we entered Formula E, we approached the series and its innovative approach to motorsport with an open mind.
We have invested a lot of hard work in the team to build it up and make it competitive, ”said Mercedes Motorsport Director Toto Wolff about the exit.
"Now we will do everything we can to ensure that we finish our Formula E adventure successfully in season eight."
For the car manufacturer from Stuttgart, who no longer sell any combustion engines by 2030 at the latest and wants to have converted completely to electric motors by then, Formula E has degenerated into an adventure.
That sounded different in 2019, when Mercedes dared to get involved in the extremely successful Formula 1.
In Formula E "we not only reach the previous motorsport fans, but also very urban, technically interested, young people".
Formula E stands in its own way
Now Wolff and other top managers from Mercedes no longer see any real use in the series, instead the Silver Arrows want to concentrate more on Formula 1 as a "development laboratory" for the production of road cars, as stated in the announcement on the exit.
But that shouldn't be the whole truth.
Formula E did not manage to establish itself as a recognized and interesting series in the motorsport world.
Going into the city centers with the quiet engines - in Berlin they drove again on the Tempelhofer Feld last weekend - may have been a good idea, but it did not create any sporting relevance.
In addition, Formula E suffers from a set of rules that are difficult to understand (fan boost, attack mode), in which the strongest drivers are sometimes penalized.
Inconsistent start times of the races and disproportionately harsh penalties against teams, which are already pronounced for minor violations, also ensure low acceptance among motorsport fans - and so the marketing effect for the manufacturers is also reduced.
BMW and Audi have already dropped out
Formula E doesn't just have to cope with the departure of Mercedes.
Two major partners, BMW and Audi, already left at the end of this season.
Both manufacturers want to get involved in other electric-related racing series in the future, such as the Dakar Rally or the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
There, the teams have more room for development and can, for example, compete with batteries they have developed themselves - an important factor in improving road models.
That is not allowed in Formula E.
There the teams compete with standard chassis, but also with provided batteries.
Own developments are not possible in this way.
Will Porsche stay in Formula E?
Formula E founder Alejandro Agag remains calm despite the third well-known manufacturer loss: “In the EU and Great Britain, the automobile companies are facing regulations that prescribe the transition to a fully electric future.
That strengthens the vision of Formula E. «
Agag believes in the continuation of his series.
Above all, he relies on the third generation of Formula E cars, which will be introduced from 2022 - when Mercedes is leaving.
The cars will then be faster, lighter and, thanks to a budget cap, also cheaper.
So far, Jaguar, Mahindra, DS from Citroën, Nissan, Nio and, from Germany, Porsche have signed up for the new generation.
This is quite remarkable compared to other series, but the draft horses are missing - and Porsche could change its mind if the rumors of entry as a Red Bull engine supplier in Formula 1 come true.
Formula E will find it difficult to gain sporting relevance in this way.
