Formula E no substitute for F1 - Todt

FIA president Jean Todt says Formula E cars are unlikely to match the output of their Formula 1 counterparts for decades – if indeed doing so is ever even possible.

FE's second-generation car was first used last season, with improvements seeing batteries able to last the course of a 45-minute race and power top speeds of 280kph (174mph).

It was recently announced that a third-generation car will be introduced from 2022, promising faster speeds and hoping to introduce fast-charging pit-stops to the series.

Given the automotive industry's move towards electric power, FE has been earmarked as the racing series that could dominate the future, as well as prompting F1 to consider going all-electric.

However, Todt believes that for the purest racing, FE may never be able to conquer F1.

"You could not envisage to have Formula E substituting Formula 1," said the Frenchman.

"FE races last three-quarters of an hour at average speeds of up to 118kph (73mph). F1 races run for more than twice as long and the average speeds more than twice as high over distances in excess of 300 kilometres.

"There is not one [electric] race car able to do 300 kilometres at Formula 1 speed today. I mean, it would be decades before it can happen, if it does happen."

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