Yahoo Autos Formula E Is Headed To NASCAR's Oval Outside Of Miami
Formula E released its schedule for next season on Tuesday. One of the calendar’s biggest changes is that the American round of the all-electric world championship will now take place at Homestead-Miami Speedway on April 12, 2025. Unlike Formula E’s first stint in Miami at Biscayne Bay and Formula 1’s current residency around Hard Rock Stadium, the new event is taking place at a permanent purpose-built racing facility.
The move to Homestead-Miami immediately raises questions about Formula E’s identity. For those unfamiliar with the area, the track is roughly a 45-minute drive from Biscayne Bay. The series has always focused on bringing races to the masses by holding events in city centers. Speaking with Jalopnik, Formula E CEO Jeff Dobbs said:
I think we’ve said over time we want to keep our DNA and our DNA is being a city racing series. On the other hand, in locations where we are really keen to race, but it’s not practical to build a race circuit in the middle of the city. We will look at permanent circuits. It’s about finding the right permanent circuits.
NASCAR owns and operates Homestead-Miami Speedway. The facility currently hosts the Cup Series once per year and previously held the championship finale until it was moved to Phoenix in 2020. It’s difficult to argue that the track isn’t capable of hosting the series on its 2.2-mile road course, especially as its cars are getting faster with every iteration.
The increasing speeds have impacted other parts of the calendar. The long-running street race around Rome’s narrow, undulating roads was dropped for Misano’s permanent circuit. However, the Season 11 schedule features no Italian round. Rome might have been a magnet for high-speed pileups, but the move to Misano wasn’t popular with fans or drivers.
The championship has to strike a balance between having tracks exciting enough to draw a crowd but close enough to big cities to be accessible. Dodds used Shanghai as an example:
I’d love to have a racetrack on the Bund in Shanghai and put on a spectacular race there. But the reality is, you know, 50 minutes away. You’ve got a world-class Grand Prix circuit with world-class facilities, with a willingness to make the track adaptable to fit our needs in the future.
He also mentioned that Formula E is targeting China and the United States for two events per season. While the Portland E-Prix was dropped from the schedule and the rumored Los Angeles round was confirmed as not happening, the electric racing series could be headed to another city in the near future.
