The UIM E1 World Championship was launched in 2020 by Alejandro Agag and Rodi Basso. Agag founded the Formula E and Extreme E racing series before the E1 Series and is considered a pioneer in the electrification of racing on water and on land. Rodi Basso is a former engineer at Ferrari and Red Bull Racing, is the technical director and contributes his expertise from Formula 1 directly to the development of the so-called RaceBirds.
Flight over the water
All teams compete with the identical boat, the RaceBird. The foiler reaches speeds of up to 50 knots and starts planing at around 18 knots. This significantly reduces drag and therefore energy consumption compared to conventional hull shapes. The hydrofoil technology also means that there is hardly any wave impact, which is why the races can be held in the immediate vicinity of city centres and in sheltered waters. This means that locations such as Venice or the harbour in Monaco are also potential venues.
Pilots have to adjust the angle of attack of the foils manually during the race. Depending on the weather conditions, however, the correct use quickly becomes a tightrope act. A mistake or an unfavourable wave often leads to ventilation, i.e. air ingress at the wings. The RaceBirds fall into the water and are no longer held in the air by the foils. Thanks to the safety systems, nothing happens to the pilots, but they lose valuable seconds.
Another focus of the series is the further development of the Racebirds: the data obtained on the efficiency of the foils and thermal battery management should provide valuable data for the development of future boats, including for the leisure sector.
Backgrounds
The World Championship officially operates under the umbrella of the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM), the only umbrella organisation for motorised water sports recognised by the International Olympic Committee. In addition to the E1, it also regulates established classes such as the F1H2O and the offshore categories Class 1 and XCAT.
Most of the teams are backed by celebrity owners who act as team captains, including football legend Tom Brady, tennis pro Rafael Nadal, cricket star Virat Kohli and actor Will Smith. In addition to the world stars, there are also teams such as AlUla or the new Team Monaco, which compete for a specific region.
The E1 is largely financed by the Public Investment Fund from Saudi Arabia. The money from the desert enables the further development of the boats and finances the logistics behind the global competition. At the same time, however, the partnership is also repeatedly the subject of controversy in the context of sportswashing.
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Race format
A Grand Prix in the E1 Series is held in a knockout system. Qualifying is followed by heats (heats), a race-off and a super final. The qualifying heats at the start of the race weekend are held individually and determine the starting grid for the heats. Five boats will compete in each heat on Saturday, with the top two qualifying directly for the final round. The remaining teams will then race again in the race-off for the last two places in the final. Only the two fastest teams in this round will receive a ticket for the final. The final round is the Super Final, in which the six best teams from the heats and the race-off compete in two heats for overall victory.
A run lasts around fifteen minutes, as the capacity of the batteries does not allow for more at maximum load. The division of the track into three different course distances provides additional excitement: short, normal and long. During the race, each driver must take the shortcut (short) and the diversions (long) once. It is up to the drivers to decide when to take a particular route.
An integral part of the series is also the Blue Trophy, a separate classification for environmental protection. Last season, Team Brady won the Blue Trophy because, according to official figures, they removed 100 kilograms of plastic waste from the world's oceans for every race point they won - almost 20 tonnes in total.
Division of tasks according to the parity principle
A truly unique feature of the competition is the prescribed gender parity: each team must have one male and one female driver, who both compete equally and collect points for their team together. To make this possible, the teams first decide which driver will contest qualifying, after which both drivers alternate in the heats through to the final races. As the individual results of both team members are added together at the end of the weekend to form an overall ranking, the success of the entire racing team depends directly on the consistent performance of both drivers.
Novelties
For the 2026 season, the racing calendar will be expanded to eight international venues. The series traditionally starts in Jeddah and continues via Lake Como, Dubrovnik and Monaco to Miami and the Bahamas. The Sierra Racing Club and Team Monaco are taking part for the first time. Both racing teams are starting with the hope of attacking at the top and putting the pressure on at the front. For the concept to be sustainable, the E1 must now prove that the fascination for the sport also exists beyond the shiny façade.
