Alejandro Agag: Formula E is already a driving force for innovation

Alejandro Agag first had the idea of setting up an all-electric racing series four years ago. Two years later, his dream became a reality when Formula E held its maiden race in Beijing. After two successful seasons, the Formula E CEO talks to DHL InMotion about his personal highlights, the biggest challenges and the future of the world's most innovative racing series.

Formula E has just finished its second Season. How do you feel when you hear that?
Well, I'm really excited about what is still to come. I always have a lot of fun during races, so I think it's great. But I'm very pleased with how the season has gone. It's a great feeling to become stronger and stronger with Formula E.

After two seasons of Formula E, what has been your personal highlight?
Good question! I haven't thought about that yet. I think it was when we got the green light for the first race in Beijing. That was the highlight of my whole life in Formula E. It was such a huge moment, because we had been working on the project for two years, and no one really knew whether it was going to happen or not. And in that moment when everything became reality, that really was a highlight. But there had been lots of small highlights as well: when you get a new team, like Jaguar, or a new partner or good feedback from the fans!

And what has been the biggest challenge so far?
The biggest challenge was probably to convince people. There were a lot of people who didn't believe in Formula E. They didn't believe that it could happen or that it could be successful. They didn't believe in us, in the concept or the idea. So, we had to convince a lot of people. Still, it's a very enjoyable challenge, convincing people, making them believe and change their minds. A lot of people have changed their minds completely and are now more positive towards Formula E.

The next season will start in Hong Kong in October. What are your goals for Season 3?
First of all, I want another season like this one and the one before, a really close season with a lot of battling going on. Then I obviously want to make the Formula E brand bigger around the world. We've got to go for a really big push on the brand and the promotion of Formula E. And then I want to make Formula E the best platform for our partners and the latest team to join, Jaguar. We really want to deliver a fantastic platform for them, so that they can get a lot out of it, because these people believe in us and had faith in us almost from the beginning. Now it's time for us to give them something back.

There are cities I'd like to visit. Sydney, for example.

Alejandro Agag

You've often mentioned that your biggest dream was to hold an ePrix in New York City. With the Season 3 finale scheduled for the Big Apple, your dream has now come true. What will your next dream be?
A race on the moon! No, but it's true that the New York race was one of my biggest dreams, and I think we are there and very close to making it a reality. So now I need to look for a new dream. I don't have one yet, but don't worry, I'm very good at thinking up new dreams. I'll come up with one soon.

Are there any other cities that you'd like Formula E to go to?
Yes, of course, there are cities I'd still like to visit. Sydney, for example, is a place that I'd love to see, and I think Dubai would be great too. Those are the next ones I'm targeting.

Formula E is very concerned about sustainability. This is reflected in the initial scheduling of the race calendar and how the racing cars are charged - emission free. Is there anything that Formula E can or needs to improve in terms of sustainability?
Of course, there are always things we can improve. Logistics is obviously one of the areas in which we can constantly improve further, but I think that having partners like DHL, who are constantly striving to help us become more efficient with regards to the global championship logistics. We too can continue to improve these aspects, we hope to drive the technology advancement which will deliver innovation to support these efforts and of course, we need to do better in many other aspects as well. Formula E's whole value changes with sustainability.

I'm very keen on moving from two cars to one.

Alejandro Agag

Looking to the future, the first eRace will be staged in Las Vegas in January 2017, Formula E intend to introduce the new autonomous Roborace racing series for Season 5, and at some point in the future, the batteries will last so long that a car change will no longer be necessary. Are there any other developments that you'd like to see?
Well, I'd like to see cars that fly, but that's going to take a little while longer, so we'll only see them in Star Wars for now. However, I'm very keen on moving from two cars to one car, and then what I want to see is batteries that last longer and longer. I think this is the best place where we can try out new ideas in technology. We are already a driving force for innovation in battery technology. That's where I really think we can make a huge contribution.