Formula E to have headquarters at Donington Park

Formula E, the FIA's new electric racing series, Thursday announced that its new headquarters and team facilities will be based within the grounds of the Donington Park Racing Circuit in England.

Construction work began Jan 2 at the premises which when complete will provide state-of-the-art facilities for each of the 10 Formula E teams, together with offices, stores and workshops for promoters' own operational staff -- totalling more than 150 people.

In addition, the teams will use the circuit for their testing and development work on the fully-electric Spark-Renault SRT_01E race car.

Formula E is a new FIA Championship using electric single-seater race cars capable of speeds in excess of 225km/h.

Beginning this September in Beijing, the series will compete in the heart of 10 of the world's leading cities including London, Miami and Rio de Janeiro. Ten teams, each with two drivers, will go head-to-head to create a unique and exciting racing series designed to appeal to a new generation of motorsport fans whilst accelerating the electric vehicle market and promoting sustainability.

Alejandro Agag, CEO of Formula E, said: "We looked at a number of locations around Europe but the British motorsport industry is regarded as the best in the world so it was an easy decision for us to be based in the UK and our new facilities at Donington Park provide the perfect central location for operating the FIA Formula E Championship. Being in the 'Motorsport Valley' also means we can take advantage of the technology and skills all around us, as we have already done through McLaren and Williams."

All works will be complete by the end of April with the first teams moving in on May 1. Formula E's commercial aspects will continue to operate out of its London offices.