The London Formula E race contract is set to be extended to include a 2026 E-Prix at the unique inside and outside ExCeL venue in London Docklands, The Race can reveal.
The plans, which are agreed and likely to be signed by the end of 2024, will include taking the arena venue to the end of the Gen3 era and could be extended further if civil engineering plans to increase the track can be invested in.
Formula E was looking seriously at shifting its UK round to Silverstone after talks with the British Grand Prix venue ramped up in April.
But a lukewarm reception to that possibility is believed to have part-driven the negotiations with ExCeL to extend the initial agreement which lapsed with what would have been a final race in 2025.
The ExCeL was meant to host its first race in 2020 but that was deferred until 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. Since then, double-headers have been held each year with the events deemed largely a success with sell-out crowds and large-scale activations happening across the UK capital.
Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds would not be drawn on the specifics of an extension deal to include 2026 but did say that ExCeL was “an amazing venue for us” and that the plans were for “either finding wherever we want for our long-term home for Gen 4 as a one year [in 2026, the last of Gen3], or extend out with the ExCel”.
“They’re both viable, we’ll announce something reasonably soon I suspect,” he said.
The Race has learned that recent talks between Formula E and the ADNEC Group comprises Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, which owns the London ExCeL venue, have been fruitful and that even a date has been initially agreed.
This is believed to be for August 2026 due to a shift in the calendar which is likely to be centred around a later date for the Tokyo E-Prix as engineering work is scheduled for the Big Sight - a convention centre in the capital - earlier that year.
Will ExCeL be Suitable for Gen4?
There is a trope that is being perpetuated in Formula E circles at present that the Gen4 car arriving in 2026 will immediately outgrow several circuits currently used. In some cases, there might be a certain percentage of truth but a one-size fits all answer should be treated very cautiously.
It is expected that Gen4 will be much faster than the present cars, but the present cars are in general lap time terms around the F3 mark and probably overall a little bit slower. So, should that mean Formula E cannot go to street/arena tracks like ExCeL, Jakarta, Monaco and Tokyo?
It’s funny because the last time The Race listened none of the tracks above other than ExCeL have been talked about as being emasculating for quicker cars.
Monaco has always been treated as an exception, which is a strong term to use because in Formula E it literally has been due to the fact that overtaking is possible, not easy, but possible with the Attack Mode make-up Formula E has.
Tokyo is probably just as tight and overtaking limited as London ExCeL but not a peep has been made about its potential suitability for Gen4 racing.
Background and context is important here because Formula E has been cutting back its race venue expenditure in recent seasons with notable cost cuts coming from the cessation of activities such as the popular Rome and Diriyah circuits.
A much cheaper alternative of Misano replaced Rome last season but it didn’t work as a spectacle. The new Jeddah Corniche track in Saudi Arabia will replace Diriyah as Formula E’s deal with the Saudi government goes into the second phase of its decade-long deal.
This will reduce costs significantly in terms of build and infrastructure costs, meaning that Formula E is continuing in its quest to try and break even for the first time in its 11 year history.
It’s a key objective for Liberty Global and a directive for Dodds who joined the company just before the media monolith took a majority shareholding control of the business last year.
The plans for Silverstone, or another alternative permanent facility in the UK to become the new home of Formula E for the Gen4 era at the end of 2026, were largely driven by the cost-reduction factor but masked by a notion that ExCeL would not be able to contain the quicker Gen4 cars.
While this has some truth, the possibility also exists for some extension work to be done at the ExCeL venue to elongate the track. This would take significant investment though by Formula E which has previously baulked at executing this due to planning permissions and costs.
What will Formula E do? Will it invest in a successful, relevant, efficient and fan friendly venue like ExCeL or go for a cheaper and more transient ‘home’ at a permanent track?
Dodds told The Race that Formula E believes ExCeL “won’t be suitable for the Gen4 car” and that “we've been really honest and had a collegiate conversation with Excel".
“They are also aware of that," he added. "They know it's not going to be suitable for that car. We're looking at alternative venues [for Gen4] and that could be venues in London.
“But it could also be a fixed circuit in the UK, and of which there are very few that would be suitable for a world championship. Silverstone and Brands Hatch are the two obvious ones.”
Dodds also warned that Formula E was “not trying to be Formula 1, so continually drawing comparisons with Formula 1 is not healthy.
“[Silverstone CEO] Stuart Pringle and the team do an exceptional job at Silverstone, we really like them there and it’s an amazing circuit. But if you choose to go there you immediately draw further comparisons and more questions about us versus Formula 1.
“I’m not quite sure we need to do that. We’re forging our own path.”
The truth is that Formula E, from a venue perspective, actually doesn’t really know at the moment where it wants to go and what it wants to be in Gen4 location wise.
That is clear and probably understandable considering the inherent volatility it has on its key problem child – race calendars.
For the majority of fans though there will be crossed fingers that the seemingly imminent good news of an ExCeL contract extension for 2026, could be a pointer to something even more permanent beyond the present rules set.
