Formula E Season 11 cars now accelerate faster than any F1 car ever

Now that Extreme E is on hiatus as it reverts to Extreme H, and World Rallycross has shifted to a competition between EVs and combustion, Formula E has returned to being the premier all-electric racing series. It’s going from strength to strength, with Season 11 rolling out technical improvements. As the season progresses into its second race in Mexico this weekend, I spoke to Team Envision Managing Director and CTO Sylvain Filippi about his expectations for the coming year of Formula E and beyond.

Formula E Season 11: All-wheel drive for faster performance

“Season 11 has a lot of technical changes in the car,” says Filippi. “It will be a very big learning curve for everyone. I am very excited about the performance of the GEN3 Evo car. The reason I’m still so passionate about Formula E after 10 years is because I deeply believe in the power of Formula E to make electric cars super sexy and exciting. Ultimately, this translates to road vehicles and gets people excited about electric cars. One of the ways to do that is through amazing performance.”

The 11 Series car can use front and rear motors to improve acceleration. “We are now able to use the same power as before, 350kW (469bhp), but split between rear and front power, so we are able to do zero to 60mph in 1.8 seconds, which is simply amazing. Our Formula E car is now the fastest accelerating race car ever designed in an FIA championship in terms of circuit racing. No F1 car has ever accelerated faster.” Performance is helped by how light the Formula E GEN3 Evo car is – 760kg without driver, where the minimum weight of the 2025 Formula 1 car is more at 800kg.

“Drivers absolutely love the new car,” says Filippi. “We have more control with the new tires from Hankook and more control with the four-wheel drive. The car is an absolute beast. When you have 22 cars starting at that speed, it’s spectacular.” All-wheel drive is not available during the entire race, only during qualifying duels, when starting off the grid and in attack mode. “Up to 50kW can be sent to the front engine and that makes a big difference to traction.”

This should keep the race competitive, in a similar way to DRS in Formula 1. “Now with the front engine, a car with attack mode should be able to overtake the cars in front,” says Filippi. “It should create some amazing passing opportunities. Most of the time we are not limited in power, we are limited. So even if it’s the same power, sending some of the power to the front axle makes a massive difference.” The engines can technically deliver 600kW, with 350kW at the rear and 250kW at the front, but this is only used for regeneration. “Almost half of the energy used by the car is generated by the car itself.”

Formula E Season 11: No race charge yet

Since last season, Formula E has also considered in-race charging as a pit stop in Formula 1, which would further shake up the competition. But so far this has not seen the light of day. “It’s such a new technology,” says Filippi. “We’ve tested it in the background at manufacturer days, even sometimes in low-powered races last season. Credibility is really getting there. It’s not a two-second pit stop like Formula 1. It will be a bit longer. But if we can add 10% of battery capacity in a few seconds, that will be incredible. What we are trying to achieve is more than twice as fast as anything else that has been done. If it works, then it will be an amazing feat of technology.”

This technology is being developed in partnership with Elysia, formerly part of Williams Advanced Engineering, which has been working on 2MW charging for use with giant 264-tonne mining trucks. “Charging the race will do what Formula E is supposed to do, which is to show a truly amazing spectacle and amazing racing, showcasing technology that doesn’t exist anywhere else.”

Formula E GEN4 and beyond

Formula E car development will take another step in Season 12, when the GEN4 car is launched. “The GEN3 Evo is based on the same chassis but with different bodywork,” says Filippi. “All wheel drive means it’s a big step up in performance and the GEN4 will be another big step up. The idea is a bigger battery, more power, more grip and more thrust. This equates to a much faster car. GEN4 is going to be a monster. We need a car that really captures your imagination.”

“A lot of people are fascinated by F1, not because of the race itself, but because of the speed and the great performance of the car,” says Filippi. “That’s what makes it so exciting. Formula E should become the same. We’re halfway through GEN3 and already deep into GEN4 development. The technology that supports us is growing rapidly. The energy density power of batteries is improving greatly every year. By using the best technology we can get our hands on and packaging it in a smart way, we can make huge leaps in performance. We are not far now from a point where the cars will be so fast that the circuit will be the limit. In the early years of Formula E, we didn’t want anyone to be judged on the car, but how quickly we could improve that technology. After 9 years of development, the cars are night and day.”

“One indication of how quickly Formula E has developed compared to Formula 1 is that there are still lap records for Formula 1 cars going back 20 years,” says Filippi. “The Silverstone record, for example, is 4 years old, which means no one has built a faster car in four years. For Formula E, there is no lap record that is more than a year or two. Some of the simulations we have in GEN4 will also put us within touching distance of Formula 1. We’ll leave every other championship in the dust, which isn’t bad considering it’ll only be a 12-year series by then. We’re getting to a point now where, if you had the same control and thrust in the Formula E car, it could compete with Formula 1 on lap times. The next few years are going to be a lot of fun.”