Formula E breaks fanbase and performance records in 2023
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Record-breaking speeds, lap times, overtakes and race leaders in Formula E’s most competitive season yet accelerated growth of the sport’s global fanbase and live race audiences to new highs in Season 9.
Formula E’s international fanbase increased 17% year on year to 344m*, taking it past NASCAR to become the fourth-largest motorsport. Germany and the USA were the fastest-growing markets by fanbase, up 45% and 30% respectively.
More than 225m viewers watched Formula E races live during Season 9, up 4% on the previous season. China and the USA, plus new race markets of Brazil, India and South Africa all saw significant increases in live race views.
The 16-race season in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship began in Mexico City in January with the debut of the GEN3 – the fastest, lightest, most powerful and efficient electric race car ever built – and concluded with a double-header in London at the end of July.
New fans tuned in to Formula E as competition for the Drivers’ and Teams’ world titles intensified. Sporting action on the track saw performance records tumble as the 22 drivers from 11 teams in the Championship pushed the GEN3 to the limit.
New records were set for the fastest average lap time and the highest speed. There were more race leaders and more overtakes in the Championship than ever before, with most races featuring triple-digit passes.**
Andretti Formula E team driver, Jake Dennis, won the first race of the GEN3 era in Mexico City before going on to earn his first World Championship title in the penultimate race of the season with three other drivers still in contention going into the final double-header weekend.
The Teams’ World Championship was decided in the final race when Nick Cassidy won for Envision Racing, ahead of Mitch Evans for Jaguar TCS Racing who finished second in the Teams’ title chase. Cassidy will race alongside Evans for Jaguar TCS Racing in Season 10.
“We are well on the way to establishing Formula E as the most exciting and innovative motorsport for fans, alongside being the world’s most sustainable sport," said Jeff Dodds, CEO, Formula E in a statement. "Our teams and drivers exceeded all expectations from a year ago to take the GEN3 car and push it beyond what we all thought was possible. As a result, the entertainment value of Formula E racing is off the scale, which is attracting more fans and TV viewers than ever before.
"We are committed to building on that momentum and developing new ways of presenting our race events to grow the fanbase and audiences even faster.”
Seven different drivers from six different teams won races during Season 9 which featured races in the centre of Mexico City, Diriyah, Hyderabad, Cape Town, São Paulo, Berlin, Monaco, Jakarta, Portland, Rome and London. Eighteen different drivers led for at least one lap through the season and every team led a race for at least one lap.
Season 9 also featured the return of Maserati to single-seater World Championship motorsport for the first time in more than 60 years, while McLaren joined the Formula E grid.
Formula E concluded Season 9 by breaking another record, this time gaining an official GUINNESS WORLD RECORD™ title, when NEOM McLaren Formula E team driver, Jake Hughes, set a new top speed achieved by a vehicle indoors.
Hughes smashed the previous world record by more than 50km/h to reach 218.71km/h on the track inside ExCeL London, where the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship season concluded a few days later.
The world record was set in the revolutionary GENBETA project car, developed by Formula E and the FIA with partners ABB, SABIC and Hankook, which effectively ‘unlocked’ technological features of the GEN3 race car.
Season 10 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Champion begins in Mexico City on Saturday, 13 January 2024. Teams begins pre-season testing in Valencia, Spain, from 23 October.