Everything you need to know about the start of the 2022 Formula E season

This weekend, the new Formula E season kicks off in Saudi Arabia with Nyck de Vries as the reigning world champion. In this preview you can read everything you need to know about the new season.

The final year of a generation

The 2022 FE season is the final year of the current generation. The Gen2 cars will be used for the last time in 2022, before switching to the Gen3 cars in 2023. It is also the last year for Mercedes, who are already saying goodbye to the electric motorsport class.

The biggest change for this season is the qualifying format. In previous years, four groups were created based on the standings, with the six fastest drivers at the end moving on to the next round. Because of the ever faster track, the drivers in group 1 (the best in the standings) were always at a disadvantage.

After many complaints, Formula E has changed this for the coming year, but the sport remains unique. Now, two groups of eleven drivers are formed based on the position in the standings. The best four per group advance to the knockout phase. In that phase, drivers from groups 1 and 2 compete against each other until the final for pole.

Source: Formula E

Changes at the teams

Despite having less to invest in the final year of this generation, two major brands left Formula E. BMW and Audi both said goodbye to the sport, leaving a big hole. However, the German manufacturers still supply their powertrain to their teams. Audi provides the powertrain for Envision Racing and BMW provides the powertrain for Andretti.

Which drivers are competing?

Nyck de Vries is defending his title in Formula E with Mercedes and also again together with Stoffel Vandoorne. Important competition is again from the camp of DS Techeetah, which with Antonio Felix da Costa and Jean-Eric Vergne again has three FE titles in its lineup.

René Rast, Alex Lynn and Tom Blomqvist left FE for other classes, but the electric class has gained quite a bit of talent in return. Antonio Giovinazzi comes over from F1 to Dragon/Penske, Indy Light champion Oliver Askew drives for Andretti and two-time Macau winner Daniel Ticktum drives for NIO this year.

Formula E calendar 2022

The 2022 Formula E calendar is pretty booked with no less than sixteen races on the calendar and ten different venues. Two races will be held in Saudi Arabia, Italy, Germany, America, England and South Korea. The season concludes with a Double-Header in Seoul on August 13-14.

Where can you follow the ePrix of Saudi Arabia?

On January 28 and 29, the first two races of this season will be held in Saudi Arabia. On the street circuit of Diriyah, the drivers must first drive the dust and sand off the track during the free practice sessions before they can set a fast lap.

On the first day there are two practice sessions, qualifying and a race, while on the second day there is only one practice session. Qualifying is held on Friday at 13:30hrs Dutch time and the race starts at 18:30hrs. On Saturday, qualifying is at 14:00 and the race starts at the same time as on Friday.

Just like last year, the start of the Formula E season can be followed on GPblog. The results of practice and qualifying can be found on our website.