Lack of funding left region on Formula E starting grid
Formula E will not be coming to Birmingham in 2020 after the sport’s governing body revealed it will be holding the season finale double-header around the streets of London.
It will be the first time a Formula E race has been held in the UK since 2016, when it was also in London.
Although the news was not unexpected, the failure is a blow to the Mayor because his 2017 election manifesto said he would “develop plans for a world-class Electric Superprix on the streets of Birmingham, to promote the West Midlands automotive industry around the world”.
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said it was “disappointing” that Formula E racing would not be taking place on the region’s roads next year.
He said: “Formula E continues to grow in popularity and while we couldn’t raise the funding and make it work this time round, we will look at this again to see if there is a further opportunity to bring this exciting sport to the streets of the West Midlands.”
Formula E is a series of races between electric cars which started in 2014. The current season started in Saudi Arabia in December and will finish with the 13th race in New York in July, having gone via South America, Asia and Europe.
Montreal, which pulled out of being a host city in 2018 after a change of mayor in the Canadian city, reportedly spent $24m (£18m) of public money on the staging of its race in 2017.
Other cities including Paris and New York, have been able to host a Formula E race without public subsidy by covering the costs through sponsorship.
The West Midlands Combined Authority declined to comment on how much it had been looking to raise, and whether the lack of funding appetite was from the public or private sectors, or both.
A Formula E spokesperson played down the likelihood of a future race coming to Birmingham.
He said: “We held discussions and had conversations about hosting a potential race in Birmingham, however we also had other options on the table and returning to London was our first priority.
“We’re still open to the consideration of two races in one country – especially in such a key market – but as a global championship we want to expand our reach and there’s a lot of interest from many other cities across the world.”
Street had revealed he was in “advanced” negotiations with Formula E in May last year, only to be quickly rebuffed by Birmingham City Council leader Ian Ward, who described such claims as “premature”.
However the Mayor still believes the West Midlands would be an appropriate venue for a Formula E race.
“That would be fitting because our region is a world leader in automotive technology and our advanced engineering can be seen in these electric race cars,” he said.
The £80m UK Battery Industrialisation Centre is to be built close to Coventry Airport while this week Jaguar’s first all-electric car, the I-Pace, was named European car of the year – although while it was designed and engineered in Britain, the vehicle is manufactured in Austria.
The Panasonic Jaguar Racing team race the Jaguar I-Type 3 in the Formula E championship, and the team’s drivers include former Formula 1 and Nascar driver Nelson Piquet Jr.
