Agag, who was introduced on Tuesday as Strategic Advisor to the Chairman of the board of Motorsport Community, mother or father firm of Motorsport.com, based Formulation E in 2011 on the behest of the FIA and scaled it into an FIA World Championship, attracting a swath of producers over the previous 15 years.
Branching out into electrical off-road racing with Excessive E, Agag has pivoted the collection in direction of hydrogen, which is ready to debut within the close to future.
The pivot comes towards the backdrop of main race collection considering their future propulsion know-how and the position hybrid inside combustion engines may play. From 2026 F1 is shifting to a extra important share of electrical energy and sustainable fuels.
Alejandro Agag, Chairman, Formulation E, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President, FIA
Photograph by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Photos
Chatting with Motorsport.com, Agag feels the game at giant ought to keep open minded on the way it approaches combustion know-how.
“I believe motorsport must be versatile,” mentioned Agag. “Motorsport is in place. Formulation 1 is in a tremendous place, positively. Formulation E is in a tremendous place. However relating to future applied sciences, we now have to maintain our thoughts open as to which applied sciences would be the winners.
“In my opinion electrical will certainly be an enormous a part of the way forward for racing. Sustainable fuels could also be a really, essential a part of the longer term. Hydrogen might also play an enormous position, particularly if we crack the combustion of hydrogen, and we will use it for racing.
“So, the longer term is nice, however we have to maintain a really open thoughts to see what applied sciences we use and the way we mix the totally different races.”
“We’ll be taught rather a lot with Excessive H. And that is what motorsport is about.”
“Excessive H goes to be the primary hydrogen championship on this planet,” mentioned Agag. “We’ll announce very quickly the primary race, however it’s coming very fast. After which we may have the primary hydrogen racing on this planet.”
Alejandro Agag, Formulation E Founder and Chairman
Photograph by: Uncredited
The Spaniard acknowledges the collection will face an enormous studying curve as the primary of its form, however he feels being on the forefront of technological progress is why motorsport exists within the first place.
“It was the following frontier, and motorsport must be at all times breaking new frontiers,” he insisted. “Hydrogen is a tremendous know-how that can play a job within the mixture of applied sciences for mobility sooner or later.
“It is an ideal take a look at mattress; not just for the hydrogen automobiles, but additionally for the charging methods, for refuelling, storing, and transporting the hydrogen. We’ll be taught rather a lot. And that is what motorsport is about.”
On the brand new Formulation E – FIA deal: “It is advisable have a look at electrical with a long-term imaginative and prescient”
Agag was centrally concerned in agreeing the ten 12 months extension of the Formulation E contract with rights holder the FIA introduced final week, taking it to 2048. With the recent FIA mandate and funding from Liberty World, the bulk shareholder since final 12 months, Agag feels the collection is ready up for long-term success.
“We have now had actually good conversations with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem concerning the future, and I believe it is nice that we now have a tremendous shareholder in Liberty World that has determined to speculate and to increase the contract much more,” Agag mentioned.
“It is advisable have a look at electrical with a long-term imaginative and prescient, and now we now have it. I believe that is precisely the appropriate method to do it.
Alejandro Agag, Chairman, Formulation E, on the rostrum
Photograph by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Photos
From Politician to motorsports entrepreneur
Agag is uncommon amongst his peer group of motorsports entrepreneurs, having began out in politics. He was elected a Member of the European Parliament on the age of 28. After a number of years within the position, he moved into enterprise and particularly media rights. This led him to motorsport the place in 2005 he turned a shareholder within the Campos workforce working within the GP2 collection (now referred to as F2). He acquired the workforce in 2008 and renamed it Addax.
Throughout his tenure the workforce introduced by a number of drivers who reached F1 together with Sergio Perez and Romain Grosjean. It was from this springboard that he moved into electrical racing when the FIA referred to as for a promoter for a brand new electrical single seater collection.
An everyday at F1 races, Agag is an influential determine behind the scenes in worldwide motorsports and amongst FIA circles.
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