BMW continue partnership to supply official vehicles

12/01/17 • 1 min

This is It Only Takes E Minute, in which Formula E signs a partnership to keep the coolest safety car in motorsport.

Formula E and BMW have agreed an extension to their partnership which has been in existence since the sport began, with the German manufacturer supplying the official vehicles. That's the safety and medical car to you and me, and it's a good looking one. The BMW i is a fully electric car, naturally, and the i8 provides safety car duties whilst the i3 is the smaller medical car.

There are some modifications to the road cars, particularly wireless charging pads. As safety car driver Bruno Correia says: "This system, it's very easy, we just park the car over the pads and it immediately starts to charge. We have to intervene as quick as possible, imagine me coming out of the car to take the cables off, plug it in."

The agreement is for a multi-year partnership, with Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag saying: "It’s a legendary brand in the world of sports and in the car industry and soon we will also have them in the pit lane trying to win."

Credit: Sam Bloxham/Formula E

See more on BMW continue partnership to supply official vehicles

This is It Only Takes E Minute, in which Formula E signs a partnership to keep the coolest safety car in motorsport.

Credit: Sam Bloxham/Formula E

See more on BMW continue partnership to supply official vehicles

Previous Episode

New global advisory board formed, headed by Alain Prost and Christiana Figueres

Welcome to It Only Takes E Minute, where I'll introduce you to the members of a brand new supergroup.

In an effort to continually assess the impact on the planet, Formula E founder Alejandro Agag has put together a new global advisory board to consider and provide advice on various subjects including business and media, plus emissions, electric vehicles and sustainability.

The group will be led by Christiana Figueres, who created the Paris climate agreement, and Alain Prost, long time racer and current Formula E team owner, with Agag, Charles Chao of SINA, Gerd Mauser of Jaguar Racing, former F1 team principal Martin Whitmarsh, Marco Parroni of Julius Baer and reigning Formula E champion Lucas di Grassi all also on board.

Prost says: "Being with Formula E since the very beginning I've seen first hand how it has grown and developed, not only as a championship but also the impact it's already having on the road car industry."

Credit: McLaren Honda

See more on New global advisory board formed, headed by Alain Prost and Christiana Figueres

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Michelin to continue as tyre supplier until end of 2021

You're listening to It Only Takes E Minute, where we celebrate the brilliant mascot that is Bibendum.

Much of the focus of Formula E tyre supplier Michelin is on season five of the sport, as they are set to introduce tyres for the brand new next-generation cars. In the meantime, though, they have agreed to extend their partnership with the sport until the end of the 2021 season, bringing their total tenure up to six years.

The challenge Formula E presents to Michelin isn't to be underestimated - they have created unique treaded tyres that are all-weather, ready to handle the wet conditions as well as the dry. There hasn't been a wet race yet to see how they handle, but it has to happen at some point.

FIA President, Jean Todt, said: "Season five will mark the start of the exciting next generation of the Formula E Championship and I'm pleased to see that Michelin will continue to be a part of this journey as the official tyre supplier."

For Michelin, Pascal Couasnon, Motorsport Director, added: "After having developed innovations such as the firs highly energy efficient 18-inch competition tyres for single-seaters, Michelin will continue its research and technology transfer work during the coming seasons."

Credit: Sam Bloxham/LAT/Formula E

See more on Michelin to continue as tyre supplier until end of 2021