Raiseth your eyebrows, this is Formula… G?

Yup, Formula G. Ex-F1 driver Nick Heidfeld co-founds electric racing series that’ll mix pro drivers with amateurs

It’s not every day we do a double take when our inbox pings, but this is undoubtedly one of them: former F1 driver Nick Heidfeld has kick-started a new, electric racing series called Formula G. Yup, gee.

Established alongside co-founder Dilbagh Gill, the premise is this: Formula G will be a support series with 10 teams and 20 cars… and 40 drivers.

And no they’re not dual-seaters. The plan is to run the cars in two states of tune, with non-pro drivers (they mean ‘amateurs’, don’t they?) running at reduced power in an ‘F-G2’ race and then more experienced hands taking over in the full ‘F-G1’ championship.

In F-G2 the cars will be limited to 150mph, but fully unleashed in F-G1 they'll be 3.5 seconds per lap faster (Where? Spa or Monaco?) and capable of up to 180mph flat out.

Right… *exhales deeply*. Formula G is billing itself as the only racing series «capable of delivering a completely turnkey 'green racing solution’ that’s ‘affordable, accessible, exciting, and competitive». We think the G stands for green, but we're not 100 per cent sure.

Heidfeld — who scored 13 podiums and 259 race starts in an 11-year F1 career that ended in 2011 — said: “When Dilbagh talked to me about this programme I was immediately interested, and I am delighted to be a co-founder of Formula G – an electric dual-power racing championship has not been done before.”

And that’s it. Forgive us for the unbridled cynicism.

We hope we’re wrong. Formula G plans to launch late next year, with independent championships in four regions. Details about the drivers, teams, and the tech behind the cars themselves will follow in due course.

For now, all we know is that they'll be built to FIA Formula Regional and Formula E standards, with a carbon composite front and rear crash box, a battery integrated into the monocoque and — of course — a homologated halo.

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Meanwhile LEDs on each car will show fans the