Formula E adds extra race to season climax at London's Battersea Park
The UK's Donington Park racetrack was chosen as the official home of Formula E last year, so it was only fitting that the final race of the inaugural championship be held in Blighty, too. The plan has always been to close out the season in London, but you can't exactly turn part of the capital into a racing circuit without cutting through reams of red tape. The initial proposal to transform Battersea Park into a makeshift track was approved late last year, but race organisers can breath a further sigh of relief as full planning permission has now been granted by Wandsworth Council. This was essential, as there would be no ePrix without the temporary facilities required for race teams and spectators alike. The Battersea Park racetrack -- the layout of which is yet to be finalised -- won't host just one event, though, as the FIA has also announced the London leg will become a double-header, with separate races being held on June 27th and 28th.
The first all-electric Formula E season kicked off in spectacular fashion in Beijing, China last year, and since then other races have been held on city-street circuits in Malaysia, Uruguay and Argentina. And there are several more in the calendar before the final two races at Battersea Park, which will not only mark the end of the championship, but will also be the last time all teams compete in identical Spark-Renault vehicles. You see, all participants received a couple of these stock EVs for the first season, so as to establish a level playing-field. For the next championship, however, teams are allowed to modify their vehicles, using different batteries and motors to hopefully give them an edge over their competition. The teams are under strict instructions not to focus on improving aerodynamics and the like, though, as that would defeat one of the main aims of Formula E: to develop new technologies that can quickly trickle down to consumer vehicles.
