Formula E season five: here’s what you need to know

Former Formula 1 star Felipe Massa has returned to motorsport. Specifically, to Formula E, where the veteran Brazilian racer will join the Venturi FE team to contest season five and beyond – he’s signed up for three years.

But what exactly has he signed up for? Formula E has attracted a host of big-name manufacturers to the sport – Audi, with Nissan, Porsche, BMW and Mercedes incoming – and promised faster, more powerful cars to improve the spectacle.

So, here’s what we know about the next generation of electric street-racing, so far...

The biggest change to the current setup. FE has introduced a much more powerful battery, promising nearly twice the energy storage capacity available to the teams and drivers.

Which means…

Truth be told, a bit of drama unfolds in the mid-race car change. Currently, cars can run at full pelt for half a race, until they need to head to the pits, and the driver jumps into a second car with a fully charged battery to finish the race. Most of the time it’s spot on. Infrequently, not so much.

For the 2018/2019 season however (season five), this bigger battery means drivers can power through the entire race in the same car.

Power has been increased by 50kW to 250kW, a total output roughly equivalent to around 335bhp - for qualifying. The maximum amount of power available during the race is 200kW (270bhp), while max power regeneration is set to 250kW.

The 0-62mph sprint – fundamental to Formula E’s street-racing philosophy and city circuits – takes just 2.8s in the new generation of cars. Which, anyway you cut it, is really, really fast.

Top speed? Reckon on 174mph. That's BMW's prototype season five FE racer above.

Halo’s been engineered into the chassis for season five cars, but for FE they get a special LED light strip. The strip will showcase things like different power modes and “other race-related information” – more details of which we’ll find out before they get racing later this year.

Specifically, a Michelin Pilot Sport all-weather tyre, bespoke for FE and “the unique demands of electric street racing”. We’re told the tyre is lighter than before, gets a new graphic design, and features lower rolling resistance. Crucial to speed and efficiency.

That’s 900kg including the driver, with the battery taking up 385kg of that total. Yeah, we all know batteries are heavy.

Size wise, it’s 5.1m long, 1.77m wide and 1m high. Assuming you can’t really visualise that – understandable, really – think of a thinner, lower BMW 7 Series stripped to its core. Roughly.

Be honest, this is what the motorsport world needs right now, doesn’t it? All angles and sharp edges and fins and wings and things. Now imagine an entire field of these – Felipe Massa included! – going wheel-to-wheel for an entire race with no mid-car swaps and rapid acceleration in and out of corners.