The Automobile Club of Monaco is impervious to the vagaries of electric power during the E-Prix

A constantly evolving discipline, Formula E requires intellectual gymnastics in race management and in the stands, and ever more precautions at the trackside for the stewards of the Automobile Club de Monaco.

These hazards were overcome this weekend by President Boeri's teams, not without having to deal with unprecedented situations.

Winner of the GP2 Series in 2012 in Monaco and now race director for Formula 3, Johnny Cecotto Jr. assisted the ACM teams in race direction during this E-Prix, and summed up the confusing aspect of Formula E.

"The cars are much slower than F1 cars but also much smaller, which allows for a lot of overtaking and makes the race fun. But between Attack mode and pit-boost, at a certain point, even we who had 200 screens in front of us, we no longer understood where who was in the standings. When Rowland moved back in front on Saturday, I had anticipated it because I can easily analyze all the tactics with my experience, but in the stands I wondered if people were following."

False electrical alarm

In this, the role of the (excellent) commentators will have been invaluable for the spectators, just as the multiplication of giant screens in recent years on the circuit has allowed novices not to lose their grip.

Behind the scenes, communication between the FIA ​​and ACM proved just as crucial. An example of this was this Sunday morning's Sam Bird crash at Sainte-Dévote, where the efficiency and speed of communication made it possible to secure the stewards' intervention.

"We faced an exceptional situation. The light on the car was green [indicating that there was no electrical danger, editor's note], the station chief positioned himself to intervene but the FIA ​​told us not to touch it because they had an alert on the telemetry," explains Jean-Michel Matas, deputy general steward of the ACM and referent for the stewards.

On the screen, the FIA ​​engineers detected an anomaly in the telemetry data, enough to interrupt the intervention as a precaution. It turned out to be a false alarm.

"They then explained to me that the alert must have come from the fact that the car had violently hit the curb and the battery had taken a hit. It wasn't damaged, but it moved to safety. This allows us to understand for the future that just because the light is green doesn't mean it's not dangerous."

"A special technique that doesn't exist in F1"

Adaptability was constant throughout the weekend. Another example was the lifting of damaged vehicles.

"Formula E cars have the particularity of not being balanced when they are lifted. We saw this again on Saturday when they had a problem with the anchoring to compensate for the car's tilt. It's a particular technique that doesn't exist in Formula 1 and, this Sunday morning, we held a briefing with all the station managers to remind them of these principles, which are not common."

A well-oiled machine that has shortened race interruptions and provided an increasingly popular show among young people and family-oriented people.

A less expensive alternative to F1 in the stands, which purists do not, however, imagine will one day supplant the queen of disciplines.

"Seeing a Formula 1 or a Formula 2 car with the noise, the smell of burning gasoline and the much higher speed will always give me more emotions. And driving in F1 is still another planet. There are many more settings, controls on the steering wheel, the aerodynamics are much more impactful," confides Johnny Cecotto Jr.

The date is set for the F1 grand mass, from May 22 to 25, with Charles Leclerc's gang.