Formula E Gen4 set to retain peloton-style racing in feature events

Gen4 will bring two distinct race profiles

Formula E’s Gen4 era is expected to preserve one of the championship’s defining characteristics: peloton-style racing in its longer feature events.

Drivers anticipate being able to attack more aggressively in shorter, sprint-style races. The longer event, however, is expected to maintain the energy-management battle that has shaped Formula E under the current generation of cars.

“In a sprint race, the saving element will be smaller, so you’re probably more rewarded with a good qualifying session,” de Vries told Motorsport.com. “Then, the feature race is more in a peloton-style direction. I still think that that will be a feature that is transferable from Gen3 to Gen4.”

Mahindra’s preparations for the new era have already begun, as covered in its Gen4 testing report.

Energy management remains central

Formula E races begin with drivers lacking sufficient energy to reach the finish without regenerating charge. Heavy braking, lifting and coasting therefore remain integral to race execution, making energy management a constant strategic consideration.

That approach has also attracted criticism. Drivers have accepted that some conservation is unavoidable, but several have objected to periods when saving becomes so extreme that the field compresses into a convoy. Sebastien Buemi recently criticised the “convoy” racing seen at the Berlin E-Prix, where drivers deliberately dropped back to conserve energy.

Edoardo Mortara supported de Vries’ assessment of Gen4 but stressed that predictions remain tentative until the cars run together on track.

“Some of the races, I think they call them the sprint races, will be probably a little bit more pushy. But I still believe that there will be some saving. A lot of things will have to be defined,” he said.

Mortara added that the level of management required remains unusually demanding compared with other championships. “It’s only strategy. It’s only management,” he said. “This one is pushed to an extreme that you don’t have in the other championships.”

The Gen4 transition may therefore alter the balance between sprinting and conservation, but the feature race is still expected to retain Formula E’s distinctive tactical tension.