FORMULA E

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“We are proud to have had a hand in shaping this visionary concept from the outset.�

Georg F. W. Schaeffler

Alejandro Agag Founder and CEO of Formula E

The father of success

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Admittedly, the story is a little kitschy, like something out of a feel-good entertainment film. But it needs to be told in order to understand how Formula E ticks – especially its mastermind, founder and boss, Alejandro Agag.

The year is 2011. In the world of motor sport, Sebastian Vettel proceeds to win his second World Championship with relative ease driving for Red Bull, and the DTM sees its 25th season with Audi driver Martin Tomczyk as champion in the Schaeff ler colours. However, the most momentous event in motor sport history this year occurs at an Italian restaurant in Paris, where three men meet

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for dinner among friends: Alejandro Agag, FIA President Jean Todt and Antonio Tajani, then a member of the European Commission and now serving as President of the European Parliament.

Talk at the table focuses on the future of motor sport, automotive development and its impact on society and the environment – one of EU Commissioner Tajani’s fields of focus. Red wine may or may not have been involved in this dinner, but what is certain is that their discussion eventually ends with a joint idea: a racing series for electric cars. An outline of the concept is jotted down on a napkin that clearly divides up the roles. Tajani’s task is to push for electromobility within the EU, while Jean Todt creates an e-racing series with the FIA. “And I’ll be the promoter,” Agag writes below the sketch, which he ends with a smiley face. Then he and Todt sign the napkin. And just like that, Formula E is born.

Now Alejandro Agag is by no means someone who seals his deals on napkins over red wine. Born in 1970 in Madrid to the son of an Algerian banker, he boasts an impressive résumé: member of the European Parliament at the age of 29, after which he became an investor, owner of a GP2 team, holder of the TV rights for Formula 1 in Spain and co-owner of the English Championship football club Queens Park Rangers – along with Bernie Ecclestone and Formula 1 figure Flavio Briatore, among others. This is only a small selection of his most striking accomplishments, but it gives a clear indication of his trajectory. “I had a wide range of experience in motor sport and sport in general. That really helped me to set the right course for Formula E from the beginning,” Agag says.

Agag is certainly not lacking when it comes to creativity, passion and the right network. Now he bets it all – plus a major financial investment – on Formula E, which involves finding teams and technical partners, getting sponsors excited, initiating a drivers’ club with interested drivers and creating a personal team in London

“I had a wide range of experience in motor sport and sport in general.

That really helped me to set the right course for Formula E from the beginning.”

Alejandro Agag is the founder and CEO of Formula E.

Long Beach

Formula E usually gives established circuits a wide berth, and exceptions to this rule are rare, very rare. One of them is the city circuit of Long Beach, the coastal town close to the major California city of Los Angeles. The course that proceeds around the aquarium and along the boardwalk has made a name for itself thanks to numerous IndyCar races. It welcomes Formula E during seasons one and two. Afterwards, the US ePrix hands off the baton to New York. In terms of transport infrastructure, the contrast couldn’t be greater: while New York

City has a well-developed public transport system, the car is king in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area, which is reflected in land use, emission levels and traffic jam intensity.

But California is also the first place in the world to put air pollution on the agenda. All emissions requirements have their origins here. Even the seed that developed into electromobility first sprouted here. And thanks to Hollywood’s proximity, film stars like to show up here – like Leonardo DiCaprio, who is now co-owner of a Formula E team.

Punta del Este

Uruguay’s coastal community is a popular holiday destination. It is known as the Riviera of South America and can be reached by speedboat from Buenos Aires. The town situated on the narrow peninsula has some 10,000 inhabitants. However, they are visited by around 750,000 people each year. With a pit lane on the beach, this Formula E race serves up a helping of beach life and the cool, casual vibe that goes with it. And, in fact, Uruguay is leading the way in

electromobility in South America, along with Chile.

Numerous buses and taxis here are electric, and with its “Ruta Eléctrica”, the country already has an extensive fast-charging power grid in place along its most important motorway. The 2018 race was held in the run-up to the global FIA Mobility Conference in Uruguay’s capital Montevideo, where sustainable projects and ideas from the world of mobility and transport were discussed.

Authors and photographers

Jörg Walz For three decades, author Jörg Walz has been intently following the world of motor sport in his role as a journalist, communications expert and marketing mastermind. An insider through and through, he knows the various aspects of motor racing like the back of his hand, from touring cars and rallying to sports cars and Formula 1. Even off-road events such as the Dakar Rally and the Baja 1000 are familiar territory to him. Formula E, however, was terra incognita at first – logically enough. As the head of communication at components supplier Schaeffler, he brings fresh ideas and his experience in the world of Formula 1 to bear in the new series. The initiator and author of this book also gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at the early years of this booming racing championship.

shivraj gohil

Other books by Jörg Walz on topics such as the history of motor sport, Porsche and Alfa Romeo are available from Delius Klasing.

Shivraj Gohil is a celebrated motor sport photographer and art director at the photo agency Spacesuit Media. Part of the Formula E circus since the first official presentation in Donington in 2014, he has provided inspiring images to every team in the series and has exclusive access to the leading names in the sport, including Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag, various racing directors and each of the four Formula E champions. His pictures have been published around the world by media outlets such as The Daily Telegraph, CNN, redbull. com, GQ and Spiegel Online, as well as in Richard Branson’s autobiography and in the official magazines of Audi, Porsche, Jaguar and DS Automobiles.

Gohil’s unique style stands out in Formula E. His works are featured throughout this book.

MArk Schneider

Michael Kunkel

A PR expert and partner at the Hamburg-based media agency Speedpool, Mark Schneider has been helping guide ABT Sportline and Audi through the world of motor sport since the late 1990s. He was there in the early days of Sweden’s Mattias Ekström in the DTM and can recall the start of Tom Kristensen’s march to victory to become a record-holding Le Mans champion. At the time, Daniel Abt – today one of the biggest names in Formula E – was still a mere child, watching the world racing scene from the sidelines. In his role as Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler’s PR manager, Schneider has been with Formula E since its founding.

Michael Kunkel lives in Hamburg and is an award-winning sport photographer. Since 1990, he has been on hand at various Olympic events and world championship competitions in a wide range of sports. His images have won him several awards, including the prestigious World Press Photo Award. He and Jürgen Tap founded the agency Hoch Zwei in 1995. Since then, he has worked as a photographer for a number of clients in the field of motor sport.

He has been a member of the Formula E family since the series’ first test runs in the summer of 2014 In Formula E, he acts as Audi’s photographer and has contributed images to this book.

Jörg Weusthoff Stefan Pajung Right after graduating from university, the automotive engineer took part in a work placement programme at a car magazine before later becoming a reviewer for a motor sport publication. In the late 1990s, he was part of the Formula 1 circus, joining Michael and Ralf Schumacher, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Nick Heidfeld in his capacity as a magazine and book author as they toured the world. After becoming a partner at the Hamburg-based media agency Speedpool, Pajung spent more than a decade advising the DTM racing series and other clients in motor sport. He has been to every Formula E race since the 2016/2017 season.

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The art director gets his start in the early 1990s with an extensive traineeship at the advertising agency Grey in Düsseldorf and the DuMont publishing house in Cologne. In 1993, he decides to fly solo and founds his own design agency in Cologne, which is followed by the opening of a branch in 1998 in Hamburg. This proves to be a momentous move, as the Hanseatic city becomes the centre of his life – all the way up to today. For 25 years, he has been hard at work at his agency, passionately designing books and magazines in particular. Numerous awards, such as the prestigious Red Dot Design Award from 2012 and 2013, are a tribute to his artistic talents. Not only has he created this publication for the Delius Klasing publishing house, but the majority of his work as well, especially when it comes to cars and water sports. Emons Verlag – a Cologne-based publisher – also ranks as one of the Rhinelander’s most important partners.

Jörg Weusthoff is married and lives in Hamburg’s Marienthal district.