Formula E

FIA grants Formula E full world championship status from Season 7

Fraser Masefield
03 Dec 2019
3 min read

The FIA ABB Formula E championship has been granted full world championship status form the 2020/21 season following a vote of the FIA World Motor Sport Council members.

The agreement to grant world championship status means that the premier all-electric series becomes the fifth world championship under FIA governance, after President Jean Todt and Chairman of Formula E Alejandro Agag signed the agreement at the FIA headquarters in Paris.

“The creation and development of Formula E have been a great adventure. I am proud that today we confirm its FIA world championship status,” Todt is quoted on the official FIA website. “Since we started this journey, Formula E has undoubtedly gone from strength to strength. Within a short timeframe, the series has proven itself relevant for the automotive industry with two more major car manufacturers having joined the series at the start of the current season, bringing their total number to ten.

“The commitment and professionalism of those manufacturers and their respective teams is mirrored in the quality of the driver roster which has improved with every season. Since its first race in Beijing in 2014 and with every E-Prix thereafter, Formula E has proven that the concept of cutting-edge electric racing works. I wholeheartedly welcome Formula E as the latest FIA world championship.”

Now entering its sixth season, the series has quickly evolved to become one of the most exciting in motorsport, featuring wheel-to-wheel street racing across some of the most iconic cities in the world, at the same time showcasing the development of electric vehicle technology and the promotion of sustainable mobility.

With some of the biggest automotive manufacturers in the world, including BMW, Audi, Jaguar, Nissan and now Porsche and Mercedes joining the established electric pioneers such as DS Automobiles and NIO, the ABB Formula E series is now an important global spectacle.

“It was always our ambition to one day become a FIA world championship,” added Chairman of Formula E Alejandro Agag. “Everything we have done and delivered to this point has been working towards this particular moment in time. Achieving the feat and being granted with FIA world championship status adds more credibility to what is already a fully-fledged formula of racing and a spectacular sporting product. This agreement and announcement truly puts Formula E in the top tier of international single-seater racing.

“It has been a tremendous effort from many people involved and none of it would have been possible without the support of FIA President Jean Todt and the federation, as well as the dedication and commitment shown by our teams and partners. Now we can say we have done it. But it is only the beginning of a new chapter under the banner of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.”

Fraser Masefield

Sports news and features writer, web editor and author.

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