Gómez-Pompa, CFO of Formula E Holdings spoke recently at the Sports Events Forum ED16 about the difficulty that he and Alejandro Agag faced during the formative months (and debut season) of the Formula E Championship and how – if not encouraged by the FIA – the series may not have been what it is today.
"It seems incredible that we are in the third season championship” said Pompa. “It could have started from something less ambitious, but it was not, we wanted a championship as we now enjoy. It is growing.”
“The fundamental role of Alejandro Agag, who took good note of that, an idea of the FIA and its president, Jean Todt. The main thing though was to have a partner who would risk their money. Alejandro Enrique Bañuelos was associated with the project and started walking. Various challenges, which were to secure three or four pillars were raised.”
Those three pillars for success – according to Pompa – were the attraction of urban racing circuits, high calibre drivers and the implementation of high-powered management and simulation software. It’s no coincidence given Pompa’s throwaway comment, that many of Formula E’s middling teams such as Dragon Racing, Techeetah and Venturi GP have teamed with influential and exponentially mobile electronics and computer software companies.
“The approval of the FIA is had” he continued. “Then you had to have the circuits. One of the peculiarities is that the races are held in the center of cities. Riding a race in the center of Paris, London or New York is anything but easy. The host cities was magnificent”.
“Then we had to involve computers, where success was also enormous. He had also attract riders very high level, because that is what really gives the show. And all this has come true and allows us to grow as we are doing ".