Next season's new Formula E car will be a watershed moment for the series, but also offer a paradox: its big technical overhaul contains what appears to be a glaring limitation. The second-generation FE machine will be fitted with a spec battery expected to run from start to finish and eliminate the mid-race car swaps that currently come in for plenty of ridicule.

Eliminating the lack of range in a formula designed to promote electric vehicles is obviously an important step and represents a significant improvement in just four years. But a spec battery in an electric race car doesn't sound very ground-breaking, does it?

The motor, inverter and gearbox make up the 'sexy' sell in terms of what manufacturers can develop in FE. Given it is paraded as a proving ground for the latest technology in the road car world, it's fair to question why it is not aggressively pushing such a crucial component as the battery.