Does a successful Formula E race signal change in motorsports?

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On tap this week:

• Will Formula E change racing?
• The Max Verstappen rule?
• Champions crowned on the weekend
• Road car side helps Mercedes win grands prix
• Quote of the Week: Franchitti on Formula E crash
• Coded messages coming in Formula One

The first ever all-electric single seater ePrix in Beijing featured several great battles, tight racing, and a controversial finish. Even the car swap needed at the halfway point because of lack of battery life wasn't as bad as many predicted.

So, does the early success of the Formula E Series signal huge changes coming in the racing world?

"There's no doubt in my mind that every championship has to try to stay relevant technology-wise for manufacturers because they want to be able to say that they won the race because they have the best technology," said IndyCar driver Oriol Servia, who finished seventh in Beijing for Dragon Racing.

"I don't know when, but IndyCar is looking at it and I am sure they will make steps at some point. There's no going back, you have to start going that route."

Although the battery life isn't there yet for Formula E, the future may see magnetic power strips on the tracks that recharge the cars as they race. A similar technology has been used in South Korea for trams and buses since 2010.

While IndyCar's only true green initiative is using methanol fuel, Formula One moved to a "power unit" in 2014 that has a 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 engine and energy recovery system combination.

"The world changes and you just have to keep up with it," said McLaren driver Jenson Button, which will have Honda joining as its engine supplier in 2015.

"I don't think any manufacturers would come into the sport with a V8 or V10 engine because there aren't many road cars with them."

The inaugural Formula E race was won by Lucas di Grassi. The next ePrix is Nov. 22 in Putrajaya, Malaysia.

By the Numbers: If Formula One's governing Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) changes the rules surrounding the superlicence required to race in that series, it might as well be called the "Max Verstappen Rule."

Buried at the end of the FIA World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) press release last week that unveiled the 20-race 2014 F1 schedule as well as the calendars for several other series was a short statement concerning the way the licences are awarded.

"A mandate has been given to the FIA Administration to review the qualification and conditions for the issuing of a super licence, in consultation with all parties concerned. A proposal will be put forward for WMSC approval in December for implementation in 2016."

Verstappen qualified for a superlicence after a test with Toro Rosso last week in Italy where he completed the required 300 kilometres in an F1 car. The 16-year-old Dutch driver, who has already been confirmed as a driver for Toro Rosso for 2015, races in the European Formula 3 Championship, which is easily four or five steps down the ladder from F1. With six races to go, he is second overall in the F3 point standings with eight wins in 27 starts.

Although he will be 17 by the time the 2015 season comes around, Verstappen will break the existing record for the youngest F1 starter by two years. This has many in the paddock questioning the wisdom of system that allows a kid with little experience in cars to qualify to race at the pinnacle of motorsport.

The last driver to enter F1 with limited experience in cars was 2007 world champion Kimi Räikkönen, who won 13 of 23 starts and two titles in British Formula Renault before signing with Sauber for 2001.

Random Thoughts: There were a couple of Canadian championships handed out on the weekend, with Tristan DeGrand taking the Toyo Tires F1600 overall title in style by winning the season finale at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Sunday.

The penultimate F1600 round on Saturday saw Ottawa's Zach Robichon make a dramatic last corner pass on DeGrand to take the win by a scant 0.001 seconds and postpone the title celebration by 24 hours.

The F1600 B Series crown for drivers in cars built before 1994 went to Connor Wagland on Saturday after his main challenger for the title, Amy Castell, crashed in the first corner. His fifth place result was enough to take the title.

Castell's bad luck continued in Sunday's race where mechanical troubles ruined her second consecutive day and saw her slip from second to third overall in the final B standings behind Mike Lee.

Across the Atlantic in Germany, BMW driver Marco Wittmann's sixth place finish in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters race at the Lausitzring was enough to seal the 2014 championship with two rounds to go. It was BMW's second title in the three years since returning to DTM competition in 2012.

Canadian Robert Wickens saw a podium finish slip through his fingers when he was given a drive thru penalty for ignoring a yellow flag, but he fought back to finish fifth. He started 12th on the grid in his Mercedes. The other Canadian in the field, Bruno Spengler, had a day to forget after a first lap incident with another car delivered a penalty and also caused his car to lack speed. He ended the day 15th.

Technically Speaking: There's been lots of talk this year in Formula One about the sport developing technology and innovation that's more relevant to road cars.

While it's important for manufacturers to ensure that the millions of dollars that goes into F1 research and development connects to the automobiles it puts on the street, sometimes the road car division plays a key role on the grand prix side of the garage.

A case in point is the cooling system used on the all-conquering Mercedes grand prix racer this year, which proved to be a huge headache for the F1 engineers until they spoke to the road car guys.

"We didn't understand the problem, and we got the guys back in Stuttgart involved in the R&D centre in Sindelfingen and they had an instant solution," said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.

"They knew the problem from the road car side and the exchange was quite interesting to see because they solved our problem, but equally they also found our cooling technology so interesting that they want to implement it in the next generation S-Class."

The F1 operation also had some reliability problems with the turbocharger that was solved by a quick e-mail exchange with the engineers at the Mercedes factory at Stuttgart.

Quote of the Week: "I mean that's just silly ... he just drove at him – not good. Sometimes you are being passed and you've got to accept it. You do your best not to be passed but what can you do? I was worried about Heidfeld there."

– Three-time IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti's view after Formula E driver Nicholas Prost veered into Nick Heidfeld who had pulled alongside for a last lap pass in the final corner of the race in Beijing on Saturday. Heidfeld's car went sideways and then got airborne after hitting a curb. He flew into a barrier and rolled once before his car came to rest upside down, but walked away unhurt.

The Last Word: Formula One's ban on all radio communication designed to help drivers during races goes into effect in Singapore this weekend, and it should be interesting.

The sport decided last week that it would only allow messages related to pitstop strategy and safety issues in an effort to lessen the feeling among fans that the drivers are getting too much help from their engineers and not making decisions based on their own skills.

It will be interesting to see how it all plays out considering that the FIA left the door open to interpretation through allowing some messages and not others.

Teams are already devising coded messages to relay information to drivers on items outside the permitted parameters and give them what they need to know without actually telling them outright.

F1 outfits used team orders when they were banned in much the same way. That's one of the problems with having some of the world's smartest people in the pitlane: They always figure out a way to do what they need to do.

If all else fails, maybe the teams will break out the old standby pit boards, which were not banned by the FIA.

If you have questions about driving or car maintenance, please contact our experts at globedrive@globeandmail.com.

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