How Formula E’s Evo Sessions for influencers will work in Jeddah

Formula E will bring together 10 influencers and content creators in Jeddah on Sunday, as the Evo Sessions return after a successful trial run in 2025.

The concept of inviting high-profile online personalities to drive Formula E machinery was originally conceived to plug a massive gap in the 2024/25 calendar. As part of that initiative, several familiar names, including YouTuber Mr Beast, sampled Gen3 cars at the Miami International Autodrome in March 2025.

For the 2025/26 season, the Evo Sessions are integrated more seamlessly into the calendar, taking place immediately after the Jeddah E-Prix double-header on 15 February.

This time, FE has also introduced a competitive element, with the 10 drivers set to duke it out on track in a qualifying-style duals format.

More importantly, all the action will be broadcast live on YouTube from 3:30pm GMT, marking a major departure from the largely closed-door format of the Miami event.

“The minute we saw how successful year one was in Miami, we said, ‘okay, this cannot stop here. It has to be a [part of our] long-term strategy, which we put in place, and the actual operational work [started in] November,” Formula E co-founder and chief championship officer Alberto Longo explained to Motorsport.com.

“When we decided that the race was going to be here, we called the Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia], and they said, ‘definitely, guys, this is the place to do it. Bring as many influencers and content creators as possible’. We love that. 

“So on Sunday, we’re going to be launching the second Evo Sessions, hopefully with the same success.

“Our target is to have 350 million views in an event of six-seven hours, so it’s quite aggressive, but I’m sure we will get there.”

Who is taking part in Evo Sessions?

Each of Formula E’s 10 teams will run one influencer. The field will be split into two groups of five – ‘Senor Frogs’ and ‘Quickstar’ – each led by a team principal who is also an influencer. In total, 12 influencers will be involved.

Format and schedule

A three-stage knockout format has been devised, with four drivers progressing from duels into the semi-finals. The fastest driver from each contest will then battle for the overall win in the final contest. 

The broadcast for the evo sessions will begin at 3:30pm GMT / 6:30pm local time on Formula E’s official YouTube channel.

The future of Evo Sessions

Following this year’s event, the next logical step for Formula E would be to hold a full race with all influencers sharing the track at the same time. 

However, there are several obstacles that need to be overcome, not least the introduction of more powerful Gen4 cars, which won’t be suitable for ‘gentleman drivers’. There are also concerns about potential damage, given that teams currently allocate the same cars used during race weekends.

To stage a standalone race, Formula E will most certainly have to take over the running of the cars themselves. This, in theory, should be possible as Formula E already operates an extensive test team, which is currently working on developing the Gen4 car for 2026/27.

“It will depend pretty much on which car [we use],” Longo said when asked if it would be possible to stage a proper race with celebrities.

“Talking about next year, for example, Gen 4 is a car that a non-professional driver could not drive. You can tweak the Gen3 a little bit. It’s okay for them to drive it after they have done a lot of simulation on it and a lot of training on it. 

“By Gen 4, it’s not going to be possible. So, at the end, if we scale it down, the car that they use, we’ll scale it down, and [the Evo Sessions are] not linked directly to the teams.

“The problem here [with the current format] is we have a car that was used the day before by a professional driver, and in two weeks’ time, it’s going to be used again. So, imagine if there is a massive crash and it takes five days for them to rebuild the car, and they are still here [fixing the car].

“So, in terms of budget and managing resources, it’s complicated for teams. So, it depends on how linked to the teams we are [in hosting evo sessions].

“If the Evo Sessions of the future are not going to be linked to the teams, why not? We could do a race. No problem at all.”

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– The Motorsport.com Team

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: motorsport.com