Singer, songwriter and Formula E convert Natalie Imbruglia talks Monaco, music and writing off a racing car. Cool.

“I’m now all about Formula E,” declares Natalie Imbruglia. There are worse ways to spend a sleepy weekday afternoon between races than by talking Formula E with the Australian actress and singer, who’s taking a break from rehearsals for her new tour.

(Disclaimer: at some point in this article, we might plug Imbruglia’s new album. Just a little bit.)

We bumped into the petite brunette with the mischievous smile in the Dragon Racing garage at the Monaco Formula E race a few weeks ago, where she was thoroughly enjoying the carnage and chaos of the event.

(And yes – when we say “bumped into”, we do mean “made a beeline for”, followed by “blushing furiously”.)

Imbruglia had been the star billing at the official gala dinner the night before the race. The venue? Monaco’s famous casino.

“How amazing to perform at the old casino,” says Imbruglia in a soft Australian accent with the edges rounded off. “It was really good fun. Prince Albert was very hospitable.”

Formula E’s gala dinner is where the stars come out to play. The drivers attend dressed in tuxedos, the surroundings are glittery and the focus of the night is a charity auction.

The show marked a return to singing for Imbruglia, who has been focusing on other projects in the past few years. Getting back on stage with a microphone didn’t come without the churning sensation familiar to most performers. “I’m always incredibly nervous – I have been since I was a little girl when I was dancing,” she says. “I think nerves can be good though. If you’re not nervous, perhaps you don’t care enough.”

Imbruglia’s gig was a short acoustic set, featuring material from her new album Male as well as a rendition of her major hit. “I have to throw Torn in there otherwise people get disappointed,” she laughs. “Everyone was waving their candles; it was a really fun vibe. It was great to help raise money for some really good causes.”

The next day was race day in Monaco for Formula E. The singer spent all day at the track and was quickly bitten by the electric racing bug.

“I’m not really a petrolhead and racing isn’t really my thing – I have sensitive ears,” she says. “But I didn’t have to wear earplugs! I wandered around all day. It was great fun. I’m now all about Formula E!”

When Imbruglia says racing isn’t her thing, she isn’t kidding. Back in 1999, the performer was invited to participate in a celeb race run as a support event for the Melbourne F1. In practice, Imbruglia struggled to tame her inner speed demon. The result was a written-off BMW Z3 racing car.

“We had to do training to get our race license so I got addicted to the speed,” she explains. “I kept going faster and faster. But I hit the grass and went sliding towards the wall. I hit it hard enough that my helmet hit the window. I was on a TV show the next day and they kept playing the footage of the crash in slow-mo, so when it came to the race, I drove like a grandma.”

The experience didn’t stop her clambering into the Dragon Racing Formula E car at the first opportunity however, where she was dumbstruck by the lack of visibility. “I can’t believe the driver’s position in the car,” says Imbruglia. “It’s like you’re lying down. How do the drivers see where they’re going?”

Unlike some of the other big name celebrities who’ve turned up to Formula E races and spent their time cocooned in the VIP eMotion club, Imbruglia jumped at the chance to get onto the grid and watch the race from the garages.

“I loved it: I couldn’t believe we were allowed on the grid before the race started,” she says, with the kind of wonder that would befit any racing fan. “That’s like someone coming into my dressing room before a gig. It was like being in a sacred space! I got to speak to quite a few of the drivers, even though they were in work mode, then I settled in Jay Penske’s garage to watch the race. There was that massive crash on the first lap and then a Dragon car came speeding in; everyone was screaming and shouting. That was really good fun.”

So can we expect to see Imbruglia back at the track, perhaps for the Formula E season finale at Battersea Park? In short, yes.

“I have a gig that weekend,” she says (the details of which are top secret at the moment). “But I’m hoping to be able to make it back for the second half of Sunday, to see the race.”

This year is a busy one, with Imbruglia jumping back into music feet first. Her new album, Male, is an eclectic collection of cover songs, from Daft Punk to Damien Rice.

“There’s a lot of promotion and gigging to do for this new album, and I’m also writing songs for an album of original material which will probably be out next year,” Imbruglia reveals. “I’m enjoying singing again. It’s fun!”

(“Thanks for plugging the album,” Imbruglia says, deadpan, at the end of our chat. “I know, I know – as subtle as a brick through a glass window.”)

Imbruglia’s experience of Formula E is confirmation that the new series has got its format pretty much spot on: fast paced, instantly entertaining and with just the right amount of glitz. It’s a model that is winning adherents who wouldn’t have classified themselves as motor racing fans, and which is wooing women and young people in a way that other motor racing simply fails to do.

“It’s exciting how fast it is: the intensity of the team working together, the adrenaline rush,” says Imbruglia. “It’s incredibly addictive. One tiny mistake can cause someone to lose a position and lose the race. I think it will do really well. There’s something sexy about Formula E. It’s fresh and fun and not smelly. I can’t recommend it highly enough.”

All images courtesy of Natalie Imbruglia.