Formula E needs to embrace young talent to avoid being labelled F1 dumping ground

By Steven Oldham

Formula E, the forthcoming electronic racing car series, have so far announced 16 members of a Driver's Club who will be given the opportunity to test the new series' car.

The first season of the 10-race competition begins in Beijing in September and 10 teams have signed up for the series.

Over half of the Driver's Club members are ex-Formula 1 drivers including Bruno Senna, Sebastian Buemi and Takuma Sato.

No decisions have yet been made on who, if any, of these drivers will take to the grid in September but I hope the entry list gets some young, unknown talents added too.

With respect to the other ex-F1 drivers, (Christijan Albers, Sebastian Bourdais, Lucas di Grassi, Narain Karthikeyan, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Karun Chandhok and Franck Montagny), it's fair to say these drivers will only be remembered by the sport's more diehard fans. 

Between them, in 334 race starts, only one podium finish was achieved (by Sato).  This is not necessarily an indication of their true skill - at best, these drivers drove in midfield teams.  But as front men for probably the most important new race series in a generation? These names alone will struggle to capture racing fans or the general public's imagination.

I'm not advocating Lewis Hamilton or Sebastian Vettel to join, but more that teams look for stars of the future when picking their drives.  The other names on the Driver's Club list include young talent from series including GP2, GP3 and IndyCar. 

These drivers may be better investments in the long run for the series if it wants to be considered a serious competition, rather than a retirement home for Formula 1 drivers who never quite reached the top.  I might be wrong - maybe Liuzzi and co will use any success here to springboard back to the top table of motorsport.

This new series has the potential to be huge if done right.  It ticks the environmentally friendly box as well as providing affordable entries to independent constructors with a spending cap in place before the season begins.  Only time will tell who will take to the grid and how successful they can make this exciting new prospect of a championship.

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