Comment: "We need full-wet tyres for Formula E again - as soon as possible!

"It never rains in Formula E" - this much-quoted law was true for many years in the electric series. This season, that has changed - in the very year in which supplier Hankook launched a softer tyre compound that works even worse in wet conditions than before. After two badly affected race weekends, Formula E and Hankook have to react. A commentary.

Formula E has been pursuing a sustainable approach to tyres since its inception. All-weather tyres are used, which should work in both dry and wet conditions in order to (among other things) save weight during transport and thus CO2. For many years - apart from the New York City E-Prix three years ago - this plan has mostly worked, although racing fans have always criticised the fact that the profiled tyres massively limit the potential speeds of Formula E.

Hankook responded to the criticism of the lack of pace and introduced a softer tyre compound for the Gen3 Evo era. The lap times became faster, but the driving behaviour on a wet track became worse. And now, of all times, it is raining on all three race weekends in May. While the schedule at the Monaco E-Prix was not yet affected by this, qualifying in Tokyo had to be cancelled completely and the race Sunday in Shanghai was also in jeopardy. Significant delays caused frustration for everyone involved.

When you consider everything that is involved in such a postponement of the schedule, there is only one logical conclusion: We need a solution to the rain problem as soon as possible. Because this could affect not only the three remaining E-Prix this season, but also the entire next season. Only then, at the start of the Gen4 era, will Formula E - this has fortunately already been decided - introduce special rain tyres in addition to an all-weather configuration.

What options do we have?

A further adaptation of the current (complex) tyre compound for one single season seems unrealistic. It would probably also take too long to develop a completely new tyre that would work well in all conditions. But what if Hankook provided a classic full-wet tyre for next season that is not too complex to develop? Admittedly: We are not tyre experts, but these thoughts are based on various interviews in previous seasons.

In the early years of Formula E, there were already so-called typhoon tyres for extreme rainfall. However, they were never used because "it never rains in Formula E". Unfortunately, no such option is currently available. This fact should change before next season at the latest! The CO2 footprint is not a valid argument for me. With all the material that a world championship category like Formula E transports around the world, just under 100 additional typhoon tyres don't make a huge difference.

Formula E should be more concerned about sponsors, TV partners and not least all those confused fans dropping out if sessions continue to be regularly cancelled or impaired. Of course, it would be a bet on a lot of rain in the coming months, which doesn't necessarily have to materialise. But as a FIA World Championship, you should be prepared for a change in the weather and not have to shut down the entire operation.