A five-year agreement has been signed with an option for renewal meaning that, should a race go ahead in 2023, Formula E could have at least four new venues on next year's calendar.

Formula E has already unveiled its round in Cape Town for next season, while the postponed Vancouver is also set to make its first appearance on the calendar next year. The Indian city of Hyderabad also has an agreement to host a race.

Sao Paulo has appeared on provisional Formula E calendars before, and was set to host a race in the 2017-18 season before being dropped for Punta del Este.

Although the official reason given was that city officials had asked to postpone the race, it did not appear in calendar drafts for the following year.

Rio de Janeiro was also due to host a race in Formula E's opening season in 2014-15, but this was also dropped.

“We are delighted that the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will be heading to Brazil for the very first time pending approval at the FIA World Motor Sport Council in June,” said Formula E chief championship officer Alberto Longo.

“The country has a huge, long-standing passion for motorsport, it’s a big market as one of the largest countries in the world, and Sao Paulo itself is a historic race location.

“We can’t wait to welcome the Brazilian fans, they are like no other and there is sure to be a lively, unique atmosphere as the fans enjoy Formula E racing with the leap forward in technology and performance we are going to see with Gen3.”

The deal for Sao Paulo to join the calendar was inked in Monaco, and will be promoted by Sao Paulo Turismo and GL Events.

“Hosting an E-Prix is completely lined up with the city objectives," said Sao Paulo mayor Ricardo Nunes, "to attract events that promote Sao Paulo’s image to the whole world, to move the economy and create jobs with events tourism; furthermore, to foment sustainable development.”

SPTuris says that the race will take place at the Anhembi Sambadrome, which hosted IndyCar's Sao Paulo Indy 300 race from 2010-2013, intending the race to take place on 24-25 March - three weeks after the Sao Paulo Carnival.

Abt, which evolved into the works Audi team during its initial stay in Formula E, withdrew at the end of the 2020-21 season having competed since the first ever season of the championship - winning the inaugural E-Prix in Beijing with Lucas di Grassi.

The German squad had won the 2016-17 drivers' championship with di Grassi during that initial stint, following that up with the teams' title in 2017-18 as the Gen1 era came to a close.

Abt's return to the series all but guarantees 12 teams on the grid, with the departing Mercedes squad set to be purchased in a deal expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

"Formula E has always had a big place in our hearts and we have never made a secret of the fact that we want to be back," said team boss Hans-Juergen Abt.

"After the internal kick-off, we are now talking to our current and potential partners. The goal is to bring a strong team to the championship, both on and off track."

Abt will operate as a customer team for 2022-23, and will name a powertrain supplier in due course out of one of the seven manufacturers producing a Gen3 motor unit.

The team has also stated its intention to sign "quick and clever" drivers, and could potentially hand a racing return to Rene Rast, who partnered di Grassi at the squad before it put its FE operations on hold.

"As far as our two drivers are concerned, we have very clear ideas," said Abt CEO Thomas Biermaier.

"We will probably [run] as underdogs, unlike last time as a factory team. That's why it's all the more important that we have quick and clever drivers in the cockpit, who fit in well with us.

"The first talks are exciting and very positive, so I'm sure we'll have our team together soon."

"I am delighted to welcome Abt back to where they belong in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship," said Formula E co-founder Alberto Longo.

"Abt is a proven success story in Formula E with record-setting points and podium finishes, so their return after a season out to be part of the Gen3 era is positive for fans and the sport."

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Former DTM racer and Williams Formula 1 tester Susie Wolff will step down as CEO of the Venturi Formula E team ahead of its tie-up with Maserati next season.

Wolff joined Venturi in July of 2018 as team principal before becoming CEO in late 2021 as ex-F1 driver Jerome D'Ambrosio took over her original position.

Her initial signing to Venturi was part of a three-year plan to raise the team's profile and competitive standing within the all-electric single-seater championship.

As CEO, she oversaw Venturi's most successful season to date in FE, with the outfit finishing runner-up in the teams' championship and third in the drivers' rankings courtesy of Edoardo Mortara.

Earlier this year, famed Italian car manufacturer Maserati announced a partnership with Venturi to supply powertrains for the 2022-2023 season.

On Tuesday evening following the 2021/2022 FE season finale in South Korea, Wolff took to social media to announce her departure from Venture.

In a series of posts, she wrote: "As the most successful season in Venturi FE's history comes to an end, so does my personal journey with the team and Formula E.

"I leave with immense pride in the solid foundations we have built together, as the team begins a new chapter with Maserati.

"When I joined Venturi FE, my goal was to build a team that was not just successful on track, but stood for a greater purpose.

"A racing family that celebrate diversity and championed inclusivity. While that journey still continues, I'm so proud of the progress we've made.

"Little did I know four years ago the scale of the challenges we would face as a team.

"It was these tough moments that defined the resilience, faith and trust that we have built in each other: to come from racing at the back to consistently fighting for victories and titles.

"Thank you Gildo Pastor for your vision and belief in the team. Also Alejandro Agag and everyone in Formula E for four great seasons of racing.

"And finally, to my team Venturi FE, it was an honour to have led and represented such a talented and motivated group of people.

The FIA's all-electric open-wheel series seems to be moving from strength to strength these days. This season the series introduced its Gen 3 Evo car updates which saw the addition of all-wheel drive under certain circumstances, big power swings, and more grip for faster racing and better action than ever. On Tuesday the series dropped some hints about what's coming next year for the 2026/27 season, the series' 13th season, when it moves to an all-new Gen 4 platform, and the details are so juicy! I'm already a homer for Formula E, but if the series implements this new car properly, it could have the makings of the best open-wheel series on the planet. The new car hasn't been shown yet, just a few morsels regarding how it will be spec'd. Let's dive in

Back in 2024 Formula E announced that it would be moving to a few new suppliers for Gen 4 with an Italian company Podium AT making the spec battery stack for the cars, the front power train built by Marelli, and a new tire supplier in the form of Bridgestone. The chassis will continue to be built by Spark Racing Technology, Ferrari F1 team boss Frédéric Vasseur's side gig employed by the series since it launched in 2014. Manufacturers will still be allowed full control of manufacturing and deploying their own rear power units, motor controllers, gear reduction boxes, rear suspension, and software, as has been the case for a handful of seasons now.

The next-gen cars are going to be significantly quicker and faster than the ones they replace, with more mechanical and aerodynamic grip. Watch out Formula One, the electric series is coming to eat your lunch.

All-wheel drive
While the current Gen 3 Evo only allows drivers to select all-wheel drive during qualifying, a standing start, or while using the power-boosting Attack Mode, the next generation of car will have permanent all-wheel drive.

A lot more power
The series is upping the horsepower for Gen 4 with an incredible 804 horsepower under the right foot of each driver. The current car is limited to just 402 ponies during a regular race session, though that gets boosted to around 470 when all-wheel drive is deployed. The Gen 3 Evo is already capable of a 1.8-second 0-to-60 time, which is significantly quicker than even Formula One can manage, so imagine what they can do with another 334 horses.

More grip
Simply for marketing purposes, I'm sure Bridgestone coming in to the series wants to show that it builds a better Formula E race tire than current tire supplier Hankook, and will thus lobby for a stickier compound, fewer, larger tread blocks (or perhaps racing slicks?) and more lateral grip. In addition to new tires, Formula E is introducing the option of two new aero kits for Gen 4, one for high-downforce tracks and one for low-downforce tracks. I presume this will make top speeds at a track like Mexico City while increasing cornering speeds at the series' many tight street circuits.

More battery regen
The current regulations allow for Formula E drivers to recover energy under braking with the front and rear motors at a rate of 600 kW. Around half of the energy needed to complete an E-Prix is added to the battery pack during the race with regenerative braking. In fact the current cars barely have a rear brake rotor at all, just for emergency purposes, as almost all of the braking is done in the electric motor. For Season 13 that has been increased to 700 kW. The series is also currently deploying "flash charging" pit stops at certain rounds of the championship to add spice and variety to the racing, also currently at 600 kW. Presumably the series would increase the charging rate in Season 13 as well.

According to reports from Racer, test driver James Rossiter drove an early version of the Gen 4 car in a private series test at Spanish circuit Jarama last month. During that test the British driver ticked up at least 210 miles per hour on the circuit's short main straight."

Porsche will become the first manufacturer to run four factory cars in Formula E by adding a surprise new 'junior' works team for the 2026-27 season.

The Race can reveal details of the sensational plan for Porsche to expand its factory operation, in addition to supplying one customer team at the start of the Gen4 era that begins at the end of 2026.

That news was confirmed by Porsche on Monday, with its vice president of motorsport, Thomas Laudenbach, stating: "Motorsport shapes our brand.

"Our heritage in traditional motorsport is unique and is reflected in every Porsche. In the future, we want to be able to say the same about electric motorsport."

He added that Formula E offers Porsche "a very attractive balance between effort and return".

"Among other things, we want to use this operational shift to find and promote new talent at all levels, not just drivers."

The extraordinary decision comes just a month on from Porsche recalibrating its global motorsport programme by standing down from the World Endurance Championship but extending its commitments to Formula E and the IMSA SportsCar Championship.

The latest revelation that it will effectively double down on its Formula E activity has caught the vast majority of the paddock by surprise.

Rumours started to circulate last month that such a move was being considered. Then at both the recent Bahrain WEC round and more recently at the Monteblanco Gen4 test last week, the whispers became ever louder.

Speaking to The Race in detail about the decision, Florian Modlinger, Porsche's director of factory motorsport and its team principal in Formula E, said that the changes should be viewed as a "reallocation" and not "an expansion" of the Formula E programme.

"It's clearly not an expansion, because in season 13 [2026-27], you clearly see no more Porsches in the field than what we have actually [at present] and this means a maximum of six," said Modlinger.

"We are reshuffling and reallocating the programme. This means, at the moment [in 2025-26] we have six Porsche 99X Electrics on the grid, and two are operated by customer teams.

"In season 13, we will operate four cars with two teams out of Weissach [Porsche's development centre] and the target for us is to have two [cars] on the customer side."

Modlinger said the strategy of a second entity run from the factory was "regularly discussed in-house several times" and that Porsche had been "carefully monitoring everything in detail and we saw that there could be a chance and an opportunity coming up".

"These thoughts progressed, and then we arrived at a final decision.”

Porsche is believed to be close to confirming Cupra Kiro as its now sole customer team for the 2026-27 campaign, the first of the Gen4 era, and will part from its agreement with Andretti - which is believed to be close to a deal to run Nissan Gen4 cars.

The confirmation of Porsche’s new entry will likely ensure that Formula E has a grid of 24 cars for the start of the Gen4 era. Opel, via its parent company Stellantis, is highly likely to enter a team alongside sister brand Citroen.

Porsche's decision was welcomed by Formula E CEO, Jeff Dodds.

"They are the preeminent racing manufacturer within Formula E," Dodds told The Race.

"The fact that they decided to double down their efforts in our championship, even at a time where they would acknowledge they're going through some pretty challenging periods as a manufacturer, then to make the investment and to double down in our championship is massively gratifying for us.

"I think it is a really strong sign of their confidence in the championship."

Porsche does not want a 'B-team' moniker to be associated with its new initiative. Instead, an emphasis on integrating new young talent is believed to be a key aim of its plans.

This pathway is deemed attractive in part because it's had a strong junior driver programme already over the last decade within its motorsport structure. Other manufacturers such as BMW (in the late 1970s) and Mercedes (1989-91) pioneered a similar initiative to great success with talent such as Marc Surer and Eddie Cheever coming through via BMW, and Michael Schumacher and Heinz-Harald Frentzen with Mercedes.

Porsche is fully aware that a crossover of generational talent in both drivers and engineers will occur during the Gen4 era and it is likely that it will build its new entity with this very much in mind.

Porsche has recently experimented with several young drivers, including recently crowned DTM champion Ayhancan Guven and also 16-year-old Elia Weiss, who became the youngest ever driver to try a Formula E car when he ran in the Berlin rookie test in July.

"The clear statement is that it will be clearly visible to different teams with different possibilities and opportunities for marketing," said Modlinger.

Porsche attended the Monteblanco Gen4 test last week but is not yet believed to have decided upon specific details of branding or commercial partners for its new venture.

"How it will look and how it will be named and branded exactly, it is too early to speak about," added Modlinger.

"But clearly the young driver or talents - not only on the driver side, but also engineers, mechanics - the whole team crew is always what we have in our mind.

"Because when you see how Porsche motorsport in general is built up with all the cup series, the talent scouting, the junior programmes, these we do not have yet in Formula E, and we have not seen drivers arriving there. So, that's also clearly a target and what we always have in mind."

Porsche has already acquired the licence to enter the team, which so far has no formal name or identity, even internally.

The Race has discovered that the precise licence acquired by Porsche is the one that was returned to Formula E by McLaren when it folded in the summer.

With Stellantis having collated a separate licence for the introduction of another brand (believed to be Opel) for the Gen4 era, a full 12-team, 24-car grid has essentially already been formed.

Likely Gen4 entrants

Porsche
Porsche Junior Team
Jaguar Racing
CUPRA Kiro
Mahindra
Penske
Citroen Racing
Opel Motorsport
Envision Racing
Nissan
Andretti
Lola-Yamaha ABT
Dodds said there was "a pathway to having 12 teams on the grid" but that Formula E was not there yet.

"With a second Stellantis team now, and a second Porsche team, and the existing teams that are in the championship, if they all continue, that would mean 12 teams," he said.

"Now, I never like to presume because these are sizeable investments they make, and it's a difficult time out there. So, I never presume that's going to be the case, but it's [24 cars from 12 teams] definitely an option."

The Race has also learned that Porsche recently purchased some operational assets from the former McLaren team, although these are understand to be reasonably minor and amount to specific equipment rather than any specific competitive hardware.

Lists of available equipment were sent to all teams at the Valencia pre-season test last month.