Formula E is in its final year for the current technical regulations, with a new single-seater EV set to be introduced at the start of next season, which begins in December in Saudi Arabia. The new car, known as GEN4, is a big upgrade—at times more powerful than a Formula 1 car, although heavier and with much less downforce. As speeds rise with the GEN4 car, we knew the sport would become too fast for some of its current venues.
With the release of the season 12 calendar for 2026–2027, that limitation has become clear: a 21-race lineup across 13 cities that now includes several traditional race tracks.
The Saudi double-header is scheduled for December 18 and 19, and is the only season 12 round this year. Then the series starts 2027 off with a string of Formula 1 venues in North America: Mexico on January 16, the Circuit of the Americas in Texas on February 7, and the Miami International Autodrome on February 20. The addition of COTA to Formula E’s calendar makes it the seventh US location for the sport since 2015, including the American Airlines Arena in actual Miami; Long Beach, California; Brooklyn, New York; Portland, Oregon; Homestead-Miami, and the Hard Rock Stadium on the outskirts of Miami.
The race at COTA will use the shorter version of that circuit, as used by NASCAR for its visits, rather than the full F1 configuration. This spares the inevitable lap-time comparisons between the two series, but the new calendar marks a clear departure from one of the series’ original selling points: racing in city centers where no other series could come visit.
Some traditional Formula E tracks remain. Berlin-Templehof takes place in May, as does the Monaco e-Prix. But the indoor-outdoor ExCel Arena in London has been outgrown; instead, Formula E will race at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent, just outside London, in late May. It is believed that rather than use either the Indy or GP configurations of this historic circuit, the sport will use a unique layout, similar to the way Formula E’s Monaco is ever so slightly changed from the F1 layout used a couple of weeks later.
Zandvoort in the Netherlands—another F1 venue—takes place in mid-June, followed by Jarama in Spain at the end of that month, then Shanghai at another F1 track in early July, and the season finale in Japan in late July.
“We are incredibly proud to unveil our biggest and most ambitious calendar to date. Expanding to 21 races across 13 iconic cities is a huge milestone, and welcoming world-renowned tracks like COTA in Austin, Zandvoort, and Brands Hatch provides the ultimate stage to showcase our new GEN4 era,” Alberto Longo, Formula E cofounder and chief championship officer, said in a statement.
“Every stop on this calendar has been chosen to deliver maximum sporting drama. Launching the season with our first-ever opener under the lights in Jeddah to demonstrate the speed of these GEN4 cars sets a spectacular tone, while grouping our races into distinct continental clusters ensures we do so as sustainably as possible. The tracks are faster, the competition is fiercer, and we cannot wait to get this historic season underway,” Longo said.
There’s also a new format for weekends with double-header events, which is most of them. On the first day, the cars will race for 30 minutes with high downforce bodywork. This is a true sprint race, where the aim is just to go flat-out. The second day will feature a more traditional 45-minute e-prix, where the drivers will need to stay on top of energy management, as they do currently.
