Formula E eyes longer races for 2019/2020 Season

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Formula E is considering longer races for Season 6 in order to increase the need for battery management.

For Season 5, Formula E changed its race format, switching to timed races as opposed to using a pre-defined set number of laps that were utilized in the series' first generation of racing.

The upcoming 2019/20 campaign, which will start on November 22 and 23 with a double-header round in Ad Diriyah, will see a number of changes including an energy subtraction of 1kWh during Full Course Yellow and Safety Car periods.

"We're going to stick with a 45-minute race. We might extend it a bit to put the uncertainty about battery management back in, because in the end, energy management is what should prevail in our championship and it's true that 45 minutes might be cutting it a bit short," said Formula E co-founder Alberto Longo.

"We wanted to be conservative and now we know where the limit is and we can be a bit more aggressive, so maybe we will increase the number of laps, but this is a first."

Drivers, including Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler's Lucas di Grassi, have praised the direction that Formula E is going in, however, expressed concerns about the unknowns of the series' desire to increase energy management:

"I think the direction of the rule is really good because it will make the race more equal but there are few unknowns that we do not know yet," the Season 3 champion told Motorsport Week.

"Imagine that you have five laps remaining, normally you have 10kWh for five laps. But then you have a safety car for 10 minutes. What’s going to happen?

"Are you going to reduce 10kWh in five laps? It’s a bit of an unknown so we still need to see where it will go but the direction is good."