Formula E will have two new venues and a double-header in Monaco for the very first time, having announced a 17-race, 11-event 2024-25 calendar today.
As revealed by The Race last week the campaign - the first to feature the new Gen3 Evo car - will revert to straddling years for the first time since the 2019-20 season when it kicks off in Sao Paulo on December 7 2024.
That will be followed by a now traditional mid-January slot for a ninth Mexico City E-Prix at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and then the first double-header of the season at the Diriyah races.
There’s a sole to-be-announced event (for March 8) in the calendar that’s earmarked to be the first Formula E race in Thailand in Chiang Mai, while a first visit to Homestead’s road course is officially slated for five weeks later.
Homestead will replace Portland on the calendar as Formula E’s US round in 2025 and CEO Jeff Dodds credited Portland for “opening our eyes” that former or current IndyCar venues could be suitable for Formula E.
“The race in Portland last year was a bit of a surprise to us," he said. "It delivered a much better race than we thought it might.”
Dodds acknowledged that it’s IndyCar fans who are Formula E’s main target market for its US races, so attracting that audience is crucial to ticket sales for US races.
While it’s no longer on the calendar, Homestead’s oval configuration used to be a staple of CART/IndyCar in the late 1990s and 2000s.
Dodds also admitted the draw of being able to call it Formula E’s ‘Miami Grand Prix’ boosted its marketability above the likes of what Portland can offer.
As for additional US races - like a mooted race in Los Angeles’s Dodger Stadium, over which talks were held - Dodds “wouldn’t rule it out” for the future. He said there could once again be more than one US race on the calendar - as there last was during Formula E’s inaugural season in 2014-15, with Miami and Long Beach.
Monaco double-header
One of only three European events takes place on the first weekend of May with Formula E’s first-ever double-header in Monaco.
“There was lots of talk after the Formula 1 race in Monaco about whether after 95 years that circuit is still suitable as a motor racing circuit. And we delivered over 200 overtakes on the Monaco circuit this year,” Dodds said.
“So to be granted the opportunity to go there and do back-to-back races for the first time ever in motorsport history in Monaco is a lovely moment for us as a championship.”
A three-stringed Asian leg starts with the second Tokyo E-Prix on May 17-18 before moving on to Shanghai on May 31-June 1 and then ends with the return of Jakarta on June 21, after it had to be cancelled last year.
Tokyo also expands to a double-header - while Jakarta scales back to a single race.
A return to Europe then closes the season with doubles at the Berlin E-Prix in mid-July and then what is likely to be the final E-Prixs at London ExCeL Arena on July 26-27.
Berlin is believed to have the possibility to move to April should either of Chiang Mai or Homestead hit issues.
Why Misano is gone
Dodds stressed calendar continuity was a key consideration of Formula E's 2024-25 calendar, with only Misano not returning from 2024's schedule.
This is because Formula E is keen to secure a long-term Italian venue after the series claimed that the Rome circuit - which had served as exactly that - was no longer suitable for the increased speed of the cars and the Misano experiment this year proved unpopular among teams and drivers.
"They made us feel incredibly welcome there [at Misano], it felt like a lovely event. But the reality is for the location, which is quite a way away from the nearest airport, and the style of racing - which not every one of the drivers or the teams loved - it didn't feel to us like it was going to be the permanent, long-term home," Dodds said of axing Misano.
"We think we need to be closer to a large city, ideally on a built or street circuit, not a permanent circuit.
"Our view was if [Misano] isn't going to be our permanent home for this calendar, let's introduce a different venue [in Thailand, which can be long-term] and keep looking and make sure we get the right home for Italy in the future."
Formula E calendar 2024-25
Sao Paulo – December 7
Mexico City – January 11
Diriyah – February 14-15
TBA (likely Chiang Mai) – March 8
Homestead – April 12
Monaco – May 3-4
Tokyo – May 17-18
Shanghai – May 31-June 1
Jakarta – June 21
Berlin – July 12-13
London – July 26-27
