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Electric dreams: The drivers hit the grid for a tilt at the Formula E title
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High-speed thrills alongside cutting-edge electric technology – here’s all you need to know about Formula E, including how to watch the first race of the new season
By Chris Miller, Feature Writer
- Published
- 3 December 2025
We’re getting revved up – even if the cars aren’t – for a thrilling new season of high-velocity, low-emissions motor racing! That’s right, the Formula E World Championship is back for a new season, taking you around some of the planet’s most famous and glamorous racing tracks and street circuits, and you don’t have to miss a moment on Virgin TV.
You can watch all the qualifying sessions and ePrix races live in Apps > ITVX, with races also shown live on ITV4 HD (CH 118). The new season starts this week in São Paulo, Brazil, with 20 drivers powering their way around the streets of the city as they strive to claim the first chequered flash of 2025/26.
What is Formula E?
Formula E is the first all-electric single-seater motor racing championship, and it’s built on innovation and sustainability – but of course, it still has the high-speed wheel-to-wheel theatre of the best motor racing. As well as its groundbreaking reliance on cutting-edge battery technology and energy management, it has brought in innovations such as Attack Mode, which means each driver gets a total of four minutes’ extra power during each ePrix and must decide how and when to use it. That’s right – a real-life on-track power-up, Mario Kart-style. Wahoo!
The high-tech third-generation cars used in Formula E can achieve speeds of up to 200mph, and if you thought those fast-charge points you find in some car parks were rapid, wait till you get a load of the way they do it in the Formula E team pits. The blistering acceleration on these high-tech cars makes for unpredictable, show-stopping racing.
This is only Formula E’s 12th season, and it’s still the baby brother of the longer-established motor racing championships like Formula One. But we feel confident in saying it represents the future of motor racing.
Formula E: the drivers to watch
The Formula E World Championship has been a fertile ground for British success. The current world champion is Oliver Rowland, the Barnsley-born driver who led from the front last season and clinched the 2025 championship in Berlin with races to spare, allowing him to lap up the acclaim in the season’s final race back home in the UK. He was joined in the final top 10 by fellow British drivers Jake Dennis and Taylor Barnard, although his closest rivals were New Zealand’s Nick Cassidy and Pascal Wehrlein of Germany. Other British successes include Dennis’s victory in the 2023 drivers’ championship and team titles for Silverstone-based Envision Racing (2023) and Jaguar (2024).
This season, Rowland returns with the Nissan team to defend his title, while Wehrlein is back in the driving season of his Porsche as he looks to reclaim the trophy he won in 2024. Cassidy moves to the new Citroën team to mount his challenge, while British competitors Barnard, Dennis and Dan Ticktum are all with US teams. Portugal’s António Félix da Costa, who threatened to nab the 2024 title with a thrilling surge in the second half of the season, moves from Porsche to Jaguar.
Formula E races in iconic venues
Get ready to be taken on a world tour with Formula E ePrix races taking place on the streets of iconic and wildly varying cities: São Paulo, Monaco, Jeddah, Tokyo, Berlin and Shanghai, ending with two races around London’s ExCeL Arena. Elsewhere the tracks are just as glamorous and memorable: the Miami ePrix will now take place at the Miami International Autodrome – the same circuit that hosts the F1 Miami Grand Prix – while the season also takes in the Autodromo Hermanoes Rodríguez in Mexico City and the Circuito del Jarama in Madrid.
Some cities host double-header events – two races over a single weekend – while in others, there’s just one ePrix. This format amplifies strategy because teams have to juggle energy, qualifying and race pace more than ever.
Formula E São Paulo ePrix: When is it on TV?
The whole weekend’s racing is available live for V6, Virgin TV 360, and Stream customers. The first practice session begins on Friday 5 December at 7.30pm in Apps > ITVX, which is where you can see the second practice session on Saturday 6 December at 10.30am, followed by grid qualifying at 12.30pm.
Then the race is live on Saturday 6 December at 4pm on ITV4 HD (CH 118) for all Virgin TV customers.
Customers who watch on TiVo® cannot access ITVX via Virgin TV but it’s super-simple to upgrade – click below to find out more.
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TV channels: Channels, content and features available depend on your chosen package. Channel line-ups and content are subject to change at any time and to regional variations.
HD: HD TV set, V HD Box, TiVo box or Virgin TV V6 connected with HDMI cables required for HD channels. Number of inclusive HD channels depends on package.
Catch Up TV: Catch Up TV content available for up to 7 days or up to 30 days after broadcast, depending on content.
On Demand: Content available to view depends on TV package. Time limits apply for viewing chargeable On Demand content – see virginmedia.com. Once purchased, all chargeable On Demand content must be viewed within 48 hours. Premium channels and upgrades must be kept for at least 30 days.
Virgin TV 360 Box: Not available with full fibre. Minimum of M50 Fibre Broadband required for operation. Boxes require a HDMI cable to connect to your TV. Catch Up TV: Catch Up TV content available for seven days after broadcast.
Virgin Stream box: Virgin Media broadband required (min. 50 Mbps). Compatible with Hub 3 and above. Stream box requires an HDMI cable connected to TV. HD TV set and a Stream box connected with HDMI cables required for viewing HD channels. Number of inclusive HD channels depends on package. 4K compatible TV/device required to watch Ultra HD. Stream box and remote remain property of Virgin Media.
Flex: Virgin Media broadband required (min. 50 Mbps). Not available with other Virgin Media TV services. Compatible with Hub 3 and above. Stream box requires an HDMI cable connected to TV. HD TV set and a Stream box connected with HDMI cables required for viewing HD channels. Number of inclusive HD channels depends on package. 4K compatible TV/device required to watch Ultra HD. Stream box and remote remain property of Virgin Media. There is a £5 a month charge for Flex service, and a one-off activation fee of £35 may apply, along with charges & terms for each Flex entertainment subscription chosen. Some Flex subscriptions require 30 days’ notice to cancel. New Virgin Media broadband customers subject to 18 month contract and set up fees may apply. See full details.
