Formula E is set to add another two races to their calendar in the next few seasons

Formula E currently boasts a 13-race calendar, with Season Five of the Championship visiting 11 different countries before culminating in a double-header finale in New York, USA. Series founder Alejandro Agag has already announced the return of the British ePrix next year, with a new track around London's Royal Docks and through the ExCeL Centre being revealed in March. And Deputy CEO Longo, who is also the Chief Championship Officer, has now confirmed that the all-electric category will continue to expand their calendar but will not add more than one other race before the introduction of Gen3 regulations. Speaking to Express Sport ahead of the Berlin ePrix in Germany last weekend, Longo said: “We’re going to go up to 15 races in the next two years. We have 13 now in Season Five, we will have 14 hopefully next year and we will go probably up to 15 maximum in the next three or four years.

“When we do Gen3 we might change, but I don’t want to go over 15 in Gen2. “The amount of interest from cities is growing massively and we are not finding any difficulties in racing in city centres.” Longo did not reveal specific locations for the additional race, although talk of a Brazilian ePrix is gathering pace with both Venturi star Felipe Massa and Audi ace Lucas di Grassi calling for an event in their homeland. While based on the concept of competing in city centres, Formula E utilises a permanent racetrack in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh, part of the Mexico Grand Prix track at the Autodromo Hermanes Rodriguez and sets up on the abandoned Tempelhof Airport runways in Berlin.

Formula E co-founder Alberto Longo (centre) has been key in securing race venues such as Hong Kong

The Berlin ePrix was held on the Tempelhof Airport runways

“It’s true, we’re going to hybrid tracks like Berlin which is amazing, and these are the kind of venues we will be looking at more for the future of Formula E,” admitted Longo. “Street racing yes, at flagship events in three, four or five mega cities, but the rest we will be looking into these hybrids which are in the centre of the city but at venues with enough space for us to grow. “The truth is in places like Paris, it is amazing and wonderful but we cannot grow because there is always a sidewalk, a tree etc. It makes it very difficult for us to put more grandstands there. “We get a lot of people in the E-Village, but fans cannot enjoy Formula E as much in Paris because we do not have enough grandstands. If we want to race in the heart of the city, close to the Eiffel Tower, there is no way we can grow attendances.

The venue is not a typical city centre location associated with Formula E

The Paris ePrix is run in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower

“In Berlin, every year we have grown 100 per cent more. The tickets here sold out in two days. The space here makes it much easier for us and commercially more attractive for the championship.” Di Grassi won the packed-out event in Berlin, closing the gap to defending champion Jean-Eric Vergne at the top of the Drivers’ Standings to just six points. The event was held in partnership with 2016 F1 world champion Nico Rosberg’s Greentech festival, while the airport terminal offered space for a sprawling E-Village providing an engaging fan experience. Supporter satisfaction remains a key aspect of Formula E’s mandate, meaning their free-to-air television coverage will continue for the foreseeable future.

Nico Rosberg's Greentech Festival ran alongside the Berlin ePrix

“We will stay free-to-air,” pledged Longo. “It was one of our targets from the beginning. Creating this brand from scratch was very challenging, and we’re only halfway there. “We know we need to do a lot of work but the reality is we base all our strategy on being free-to-air and I think that is the right approach. “We’re in over 200 countries at the moment being broadcasted and 90 per cent of them are free-to-air. We want to keep that strategy for many years.”

Defending champion Jean-Eric Vergne is currently top of the Drivers' Standings

Formula E is gradually winning over critics with Season Five throwing up a radical streak of eight different winners from the first eight races of the campaign. And German manufacturing giants Mercedes and Porsche are joining the championship full-time next season as the motoring industry turns towards electric vehicle technology. “Keeping the manufacturers is absolutely key to keep growing, and keeping our amazing partners is another key factor,” said Longo. “Mercedes and Porsche are two of the biggest motorsport and manufacturing brands in the world. If someone told me five years ago we would have nine major brands in the championship, I would of thought they were crazy.

Mercedes will join the championship full-time next season

“The truth is the world has turned electric today, and electric mobility is what they’re all looking for and testing for. We’re a platform for them to showcase their new vehicles.” And while Formula E is now emerging as a genuine alternative to F1, Longo is keen to keep his series separate and is adamant the two can exist alongside each other – at least for the time being. “We cannot be frustrated about being compared to F1. They are the pinnacle of motorsport today,” he said. “We are a completely different proposition. I think there is room for both championships, but the truth is we are growing much more than any championship in the world. That is a fact.

Formula E is the fastest-growing motorsport championship in the world

"Manufacturers are looking into EVs rather than combustion engines. That is a fact, which nobody can fight. “I don’t think we should merge. We have two different approaches and our targets are completely different. It doesn’t make sense. “What I believe is – I don’t know when but at some point – combustion engines will not be in the market anymore, and then combustion championships will struggle. “Formula E is not the future anymore, Formula E is the present.”

The all-electric series is beginning to emerge as a genuine competitor to F1