Inside E1: the F1 for Eco-Conscious Speed Boaters Has Arrived in US

It’s like F1 but on water.

Seventy-five years ago, race drivers ripped across the asphalt in Formula 1’s first Grand Prix, marking the beginning of a lavish global competition.

Now, a Rolodex of celebrities and renowned athletes is helping usher in a new version, this time featuring eco-conscious electric speed boats.

It’s called E1.

If you happened to be in Jeddah in January or Lagos last month, you may have seen the brightly colored boats — called RaceBirds — slicing through open water at almost 60 mph.

“When you step in these boats, you feel like you’re in a spaceship,” Dani Clos, a pilot for DJ Steve Aoki’s team and a former F1 test driver, said during a recent press event.

The inaugural season launched in 2024. Now, as the second season nears its end this weekend in Miami, cofounder Rodi Basso said he’s thinking about how the series can expand when its third season kicks off in January.

“First of all, we are a world championship. We need to be on every continent, so at least one race per continent,” Basso told reporters during the press event held at Roc Nation’s headquarters in New York City. “Asia is missing at the moment and South America as well, but we have conversations and are pretty advanced in both areas.”

Basso said he wants to increase the number of teams from 9 to 12 and the number of races from 7 to 15. In October, E1 announced that Team Monaco is set to join the 2026 season.

“Of course, it’s not like a magic fixed number, but this, for me, is the right level,” Basso said.

That’s not all, though. Here’s everything to know about E1.

Saudi Arabia and A-list celebrities have backed the series

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced its partnership with the E1 series in 2021. Three years later, the PIF said it created Electric 360, a multi-year partnership with Formula E, Extreme E, and E1 powerboat racing. Basso’s cofounder, Alejandro Agag, helped create all three championships.

“The new partnership will draw together initiatives that underscore the power of electric motor sports to drive technological innovation, and revolutionize sustainable transport and future mobility — while leading the way in carbon reduction,” the Public Investment Fund said.

The team owners — which Basso refers to as “talent” — span different industries and sports: DJ Steve Aoki, NBA legend LeBron James, cricket world cup champion Virat Kohli, seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady, former Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure, four-time Premier League Winner Didier Drogba, Grammy-award winning singer Marc Anthony, former tennis titan Rafael Nadal, and Academy award winner Will Smith.

Brady’s team won the 2024 season, adding to his list of championships.

“They’re all coming from sport and entertainment because we are trying to find the sweet spot between these two worlds that need to talk to each other in order to build an exciting sport proposition,” Basso said. “They are on board and they’ve invested in this sport because they believe that in this stage of their career and their life, one of the next projects they want to be involved in needs to be impactful.”

Despite its ongoing operations and ambitious plans, Basso said the E1 series isn’t looking for investors due to a lack of funds.

“The good news for us is that we are not looking for investment because we need money, but we want to do it to accelerate even faster than we are doing now,” Basso told Business Insider.

He added it will take time for the E1 series to grow, but “at a certain point, it will be good to have more funds so that we can build another boat, expand through more marketing and more sales force.”

E1 teams have 2 pilots and a race weekend lasts 2 days

For those who’ve never watched an E1 series race, each team has two alternating pilots: one man and one woman. For example, the Aoki Racing Team pilots are Dani Clos of Spain and Mashael Alobaidan of Saudi Arabia.

“He is the person who’s cheering for us, who’s pushing for us, and all that. Of course, we have good communication,” Clos said of Aoki.

Competition weekends happen over two days. Practice and qualifying rounds take place on the first day, while the main races occur on the second day.

Pilots must steer their eco-friendly RaceBirds around a designated water-based track and outmaneuver their opponents to win, but it’s trickier than it sounds.

The RaceBirds are foiling boats, meaning each boat features an underwater fin that lifts the hull into the air at certain speeds.

“They’re impressive because we literally fly above the water,” Clos said, adding that RaceBirds can be “very sensitive.”

“When you drive in the water, it’s never stable. We have currents. We have the waves,” Clos said. “We have the wind and, because we don’t have a track, every corner, every straight line is different all the time.”

And because the races take place in open water, cruise ships and other boats play a role.

“If we see these mega yachts from Miami coming with people watching and cheering, we are saying, ‘Man, a big wave is going to come,'” Clos said. “You need to prepare for that and see how you’re going to calibrate the boat. It makes the racing very interesting because we need to be 100% on that.”

A major component of the E1 series is sustainability

E1 is not just about furthering the motorsport industry or partnering with household names. Sustainability remains a core value of the series. However, unlike landlocked Formula E, the E1 series has focused its sustainability efforts on oceans and waterways.

“I would say that our vision is to protect and celebrate the lifestyle in coastal areas,” Basso said.

Basso said the E1 series presented an opportunity to explore the blue economy, which aims to conserve water areas while utilizing them for economic growth and resource development.

“We want to make sustainability cool. So, you come to our events, you have a lot of fun, and, in the meantime, you see what the water mobility of the future will look like,” Basso said.

Season 2 ends in Miami on November 8

This season’s final race takes place this weekend in Miami’s Biscayne Bay, marking the first time E1 has appeared in the US. The practice and qualifying rounds began Friday, while the actual races will begin on Saturday.

“After six rounds racing across three continents, reigning 2024 Champions Team Brady lead the title charge. But tennis legend Rafa Nadal’s team trails by only three points, with just 20 points separating the top four to set up a dramatic shootout for the coveted ‘Champions of the Water’ trophy,” a press release said. “Adding to the excitement, Team Miami owned by global music icon and Miami star Marc Anthony, will race on home waters.”

Clos, who’s based in Miami, told Business Insider he and his teammate are optimistic ahead of the race. The Aoki Racing team won the first race of the year in Jeddah, and again this June in Croatia.

“The last events have been a little bit tough, and we didn’t have the best of luck,” Clos said. “We didn’t put all the things together, but we’re coming to Miami with an amazing mentality, and I think that this weekend can bring us a lot of joy.”