Formula E electrified race series comes to Brooklyn in July – NY Daily News
Formula E race series — the green version of Formula one — comes to Brooklyn next month
There’s nothing like watching high-speed auto racing — but now you can do it and save the planet at the same time.
Formula E — which, as as the Formula 1-style name suggests, is an electrical version of the high-performance racing circuit — embarked only three years ago, but has become a worldwide racing phenomenon featuring super-fast racers challenging in grand-prix-type events.
The next stop on the “green” circuit is July 15-16 in Brooklyn, when twenty cars will turn the cruise ship terminal in Crimson Hook into an electrical version of Monaco.
On the eve of the big race, we talked to Formula E legend Antonio Felix da Costa, a 25-year-old Portuguese driver who recently joined Team Andretti:
Portuguese driver Antonio Felix da Costa is a starlet on the electrified racing circuit.
What is Formula E?
Formula E is the world’s very first all-electric single-seater racing series. This is very successful since the beginning because we have always attracted from day one, big manufacturers. This has been a way to give credibility to the championship. It’s so promising as we grow so much and it’s nice to be involved in something like that.
Why did you choose Formula E over Formula one at this point in your career?
It’s good to be part of something that it’s going to help the world. We need to control global heating. Big cities like Fresh York City, Shanghai or whatever, in twenty years’ time, all their cars will be electrified. Just imagine how much cleaner these cities be, how much more pleasant it will be to breathe. It’s good to be part of that.
What differences have you felt driving Formula one and Formula E?
The very first thing there is no engine sound. An F1 car has that noisy engine sound. Obviously, that was a shock for me. But you quickly get used to it. The cars, they are not different to drive but lighter. And in Formula E, we have to think about what we are doing. We have to be more aware of what’s going on around us. And, yes, danger is the same. When you look at the cars, you will most likely can’t tell the difference. They look very similar from the outside. It’s exactly the same concept. The cars sound like electrical scooters. But that’s the entire idea for working electrified — to have less sound, to have a cleaner world not only on pollution but also on sound.
Looks like Formula 1, drives like Formula 1, but sounds like an electrical scooter.
How many pit stops to do you have to make? And how swift do the cars go?
One pit stop. The race is one-hour long. The car lasts around twenty five minutes. We stop once to switch a car. We are doing around one hundred thirty six miles per hour.
You just signed up for Team Andretti. How is it like working with such an esteemed brand?
It’s amazing. I love the way Americans do sports, in general. In Europe, everything is lot more hidden, lot more closed but Americans go after to be open, to be nice and to be engaged with fans, and that’s amazing.
What’s the future of Formula E?
It’s so promising. The world needs to go electrified, no doubt. I don’t know if the future of the motor sports is electrified but I am sure the future of the world — on the everyday role for the everyday people — needs to switch. Now all the manufacturers are planning to make electrified cars which is good. I think we are helping big manufacturers to build better electrical cars as well.