New boss wants quiet Formula E to make more noise off track

New Formula E boss Jeff Dodds wants the quietest of motor racing world championships to make a lot more noise, off track at least.

If the Briton sounds punchier than his predecessors, particularly towards Formula One, it is because he feels the electric city-based series has plenty to shout about but is not getting the recognition it deserves.

"We're always going to be quiet because it's an electric vehicle," Dodds, who joined Formula E in June from Virgin Media O2, told Reuters ahead of a title-deciding double-header of races at London's ExCeL Centre this weekend.

"But that doesn't mean we can't shout about what we do and be noisy about what we do and the race series and how competitive it is.

"I want to be the noisiest quietest sport in the world."

Breaking an indoor speed record this week with a modified version of the latest Gen3 Formula E race car was part of that focus on showing off the car's performance and blistering acceleration.

A lifelong Formula One fan, who once worked for Honda, Dodds is not afraid to say what he thinks about the state of that series with Red Bull and Max Verstappen on a record streak of wins after years of Mercedes domination.

"I want a healthy Formula One because it attracts people to motorsport," he said.

"And I want us to be showcasing what we're capable of doing, and leveraging all of our power.

"I love it when a sport, Formula One or MotoGP, has great positive stuff to shout about. But let's be really honest, and I can say this as a fan, the racing (in F1) is pretty shocking at the moment.

"The fact that there's been more headlines written about breaking a vase at the weekend then there was actually about the (Hungarian) grand prix tells you kind of where the quality of the racing is."

Versta