Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner has rejected Sir Richard Branson’s claims that Formula E will rival F1 in the future.
The inaugural Formula E season came to a close in Battersea Park, London at the weekend.
Despite the tight and twisty park circuit offering little opportunity for overtaking, the weekend saw a dramatic championship battle draw to a close with former F1 driver Nelson Piquet Jr winning the championship.
Some people have argued, myself included, that the electronic technology is not quite ready for a world championship series such as Formula E, which sees the drivers change cars mid-way through the race as they, as yet, do not carry enough charge to last an entire race distance, which in regards to the London E Prix was just 52 miles.
But despite its limitations according to Sir Richard Branson, who part owned the Virgin team in Formula One which eventually became Manor Marussia and now competes in Formula E with Virgin Racing Formula E will surpass Formula 1 over the next five years.
‘I think in four or five years you will find Formula E taking over from F1 in terms of number of people.
‘As time goes on, the clean energy type of business will power ahead of other businesses.’ he told the BBC.
But Horner has hit back.
‘Formula E has done well to get where they are, but you can’t compare it in the same sentence to F1.
‘It’s positioned totally differently to Formula 1. The cars look slow.’ he told the BBC.
‘The fact that you’ve got to change car halfway through the race – I’m not sure it’s delivering a great message about sustainable energy if you’re saying you can’t get to the end of a grand prix or the end of a race without having to change cars.’
Formula E cannot compare with F1 says Horner
