Formula E has "not abandoned the prospect of giving manufacturers the opportunity to build their own batteries, but the postponement of competition will run well into the next decade," according to Scott Mitchell of AUTOSPORT. The series started with a single-specification battery, built by Williams Advanced Engineering, but had an "aggressive initial target to allow teams to produce their own within the first five seasons of competition." It "then became clear" it would continue with a single supplier for the second-generation FE car, with battery built by McLaren Applied Technologies to be introduced for '18-19. This delayed "bespoke batteries" until the championship's eighth season, around '21-22 at the earliest, but CEO Alejandro Agag "wants the championship's third generation car to be protected from this." He said, "Batteries should not be open for the third cycle. So, I think if we ever open the battery -- which we may -- it would be season 11 ('25) onwards" (AUTOSPORT, 12/9).
'NOT THE FUTURE': PLANET F1 reported Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel "dismissed" the potential of Formula E becoming the "future of motorsport despite the increasing presence of big-name manufacturers." Formula E will welcome BMW to the sport next year, with Mercedes and Porsche joining the year after, but Vettel cannot see the all-electric series becoming a "threat" to Formula 1. Vettel: "To me, this is not the future. E-mobility is currently very popular in the world, but anyone who is honest and identifies with motor racing does not think much of Fomula E" (PLANET F1, 12/9).
