Celebrities living life in the fast lane at the Formula E, from Emily Ratajkowski to Kylie Minogue

While most travel to Mexico in search of Cancún or Cabo San Lucas, my trip was a little different than most. The mission? 48 hours in the country for the Formula E, and what a 48 hours it was.

For a long time, Formula 1 has dominated the tracks as a top tier sport that many know, but The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is hot on its heels, with a fresh look at motorsports using electric cars. The eighth season of the high-energy ABB FIA Formula E World Championship saw me visit Mexico City, in a bid to get a taste of this futuristic sport.

The races all take place on city centre tracks, allowing drivers and fans to sample world travel, in places such as Jakarta, Vancouver, Rome, New York, and other beautiful locations around the globe.

And while racing is at the forefront, underpinning the highly-competitive sport is a desire to counteract climate change, and those behind Formula E have implemented this mission in some incredible ways.

Getting me up to speed with the motorsport that has a popularity ricocheting across the globe was CEO Jamie Reigle.

Catching up trackside, with the smell of the impending race day in the air, Jamie told me: "There's been a lot of debate, are we climate change crusaders? Are we a sport? Are we a platform to advance electric ability? I think ultimately our view is that we have to make sure that the sport is credible and people love entertainment but they also want to see the best talent going up against each other.

"If we combine that with a partnership with Channel 4 in the UK for example we can tell the stories of our drivers and teams. We believe it's an entertaining race, but there's no time constraint on making this a tier one sport. We'll know once we've arrived. People want to watch this sport, whether you're a celebrity or a member of society.

"As we see with other big sporting events, it's who is sitting court side that captures attention too."

The Formula E is becoming recognised across the globe, not just by track aficionados but in the world of showbiz too.

Britain's very own Vernon Kay presents the series alongside pit lane reporter Nicki Shields. And the famous names don't stop there, with Idris Elba, Kylie Minogue, Sienna Miller and Orlando Bloom amongst others to have rubbed shoulders with drivers on the grid.

Supermodel Emily Ratajkowski pulled attention towards the sport in 2018 as she jumped into a racing suit and joined a number of females to get behind the wheel of the all-electric car.

In Mexico, double-platinum selling pop group Matisse were on hand to pump up the volume in the immersive Allianz E-Village post-race, as well as Colombian sister duo, Las Villa. The beauty of Formula E's nomadic ways means you can sample championed musicians from each city, immersing yourself further into the culture of the location.



In keeping with the forward-thinking, ecological theme, the exhilarating E-Village at each Formula E allows you to discover more about a greener future. From crowds carrying plants they'd been given, to seeing the Formula E Gen 2 cars of the future and delighting in carefully presented and responsibly sourced food, there's so much to get stuck into as you wait for the main event.

"We constantly work with brands based on the sustainability angle," Julia Pallé, Sustainability Director for Formula E and Extreme E tells me.

Brands partnering with Formula E include the likes of Heineken and Hugo Boss. Big names who've got a similar vision of creating more sustainable lifestyles.

Julia continued: "We're trying to help other brands achieve their objective and deepen the sustainability credentials of the championship. We work with Allianz, and when they came to us they were very interested in the plastic pollution topic so we worked on a hydration station that gives free water to the public accompanied by reusable cups and water pouches.

"They decided to back this initiative because it was aligning with their own objectives and helped us to deepen our suitability credential.


"We take this approach with every partnership now to enable people to showcase how their technology or productive and service is innovative and will enable us on a global scale to achieve this sustainable lifestyles. I hope we've influenced other sports."

There are so many commendable initiatives behind the Formula E, including FIA Girls On Track that encourages those aged 8-18 from all backgrounds and with no motorsport experience required to get involved. The brilliant initiative, founded in 2016 by Susie Wolff, also girls willing to not only hone driving skills in e-karting, but to watch their favourite drivers compete too.

And who would want to miss to race day?


The atmosphere is electric, and in Mexico City a crowd of nearly 40,000 people roared with excitement at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. With drinks in hand we did a grid walk and eyed up the cars before the race. I spent the race itself up in the Emotion Club, which showers you in fine dining and live entertainment, with cuisine that matches the culture of whichever city you're in.

And that's not all. The clubs, found at each Formula E, boast limited edition Hugo Boss gifts and exclusive behind-the-scenes garage tours, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the Formula E world.

And while we were abuzz with the atmosphere while sipping Champagne in the EMOTION Club, there's no doubt the drivers felt the nerves, with 11 teams, 22 cars but only winner, set to take to the track. Talking to me ahead of the race, British Racing Driver Sam Bird, who joined Jaguar TCS Racing ahead of season seven, shared: "We're going to push on and try and win a World Championship soon. You do lose more than you win in this game, but with Jaguar we've got a great car and engineers here and I feel like we should be strong here.

"There are so many perks to the job, but I'd say the downsides are waiting in airport terminals, but that is about it! Jet lag too isn't great but beside that I have my dream job and nothing seems to be a chore. I get to do what I love in life. It's the best job in the world."

In the past I'd only ever caught glimpses of the Formula 1, and always viewed it as a sporting event that oozed glamour. Formula E follows suit in so many ways, but it's also a different world when you wander into the garages set off the track and get a real feel for the action.

Such was the case in the Jaguar garage, which I was guided though by Jaguar Managing Director, James Barclay. From feeling the weight of the drivers' helmets, which they each personalise, to watching how all the systems work and the process of removing the tyres, it was a foreign world which I had a strong desire to learn more about.

While I was rooting for Sam, it was Porsche who executed the perfect race this time around, with Pascal Wehrlein crowned champ, and Andre Lotterer just behind him.

Weighing in on his bond with the drivers, and his enjoyment for the role as presenter, Vernon Kay shared with me: "We see different cultures and different ways of life, so you get to see how the world rotates I guess, and how people perceive life, which is amazing. The Formula E community is like one big family, with lots of familiar and friendly faces and a great atmosphere too."

The next Formula E race takes place on April 9 in Rome.

Channel 4 will be broadcasting all 16 rounds of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship on terrestrial television, whether live or on highlights programme.

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