As promised last month, here is my tips for the London ePrix. Hopefully, you guys will find this useful, and enjoy the races if you are going. If you aren't in London specifically this year, some of these can be applicable to all ePrix events, so enjoy :)
1. Check the entrance on your ticket.
The ExCel has two entrances; the East entrance and the West entrance. The west entrance is the more frequently assigned, as this is where most of the indoor seats are, and its closer. To get to this stop on the DLR, you would need the Tower Gateway to Beckton service, alighting at Custom House for ExCel West. For the east entrance, its one stop further to Prince Regent for ExCel East and ICC London. On the Elizabeth line, for the west entrance, you’d need to alight at Custom House. If you are on a bank to Lewisham service, change at Westferry, or on a bank to Woolwich Arsenal service, change at Canning Town. This is what I had to do in 2022, as I was staying at a hotel near Bank and Cannon Street tube stations, however if you want a quicker route and you are near an Elizabeth Line station, I’d suggest following tip number 2. I was planning on using the Elizabeth Line in 2022 from Canary Wharf, but the drivers were on strike...
2. If you are staying near an Elizabeth line station, GET THE ELIZABETH LINE!!! ITS QUICKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Trust me on this one. Staying in Woolwich last year, it was super convenient for me, as it was only 3 minutes from Woolwich to Custom house. It takes on average 20 minutes for me to get to Woolwich from Central London on the Elizabeth line, and normally, it’d be about an hour on the DLR and the underground. Oh! And the entire Elizabeth line is step free too 😊. perfect for heavy cases for long trips and pushchairs. I normally come into London via EMR (East Midlands Railway) into St Pancras, so I have to get the Victoria line, then the central line, then the Elizabeth line, however when I am in Woolwich, it literally is a 5 minute walk to the Elizabeth Line station and 3 minutes to the ExCel. Also it's only 1 stop eastbound if you need to get to Prince Regent (for ExCel East and ICC London)
3. Explore the eVillage as much as you can. There are so many cool activities to participate in
I love the e village!! There are so many cool things to do during a formula e event. They have live streams of the actions, and live music all day between sessions. It is also a cool place to meet up with your friends and have a catch up. The e village has lots of cool activations from partners, and teams. Last year there were stands from Saudia, Allianz and Kew gardens, and Envision Racing had their Recover E car on display. There is also lots of lovely food, and reusable cups available to purchase for soft drinks and alcoholic beverages if you choose to do so. In the ExCel boulevard, there are food outlets such as Subway, Costa and other Micropubs and food outlets. So, explore as much as you can. You’ll thank me later 😊
4. Check travel before you travel, especially if there are planned strike days on the tube or train.
This caught a lot of my friends out last year, as they needed to make alternative arrangements. Luckily for me, the tube strikes were called off, and I travelled before the strikes were due to take place, however, as with all travel advice, check before you leave the house, as there may be train cancellations, or short notice alterations due to weather or planned engineering works. Don’t get caught out!!! Network rail have a X account where they tweet (if that’s what we still call them) all the disruption (@nationalrailenq if you have any queries or issues and @nationalrail for the disruption tweets.), and I would also suggest downloading the TfL go app from the App Store or Google Play store, so you have real time tube information in the palm of your hand.
5. Don’t be surprised if you see a few famous faces around, especially in the boulevard
This I was incredibly surprised at. Just to name a few faces I have met at a formula e event that aren’t the drivers themselves:
Zak Brown. Yes, the CEO of McLaren Racing!!
Andre Lotterer’s ex Race Engineer Fab Rousell both in 2022 and 2023.
Jenn and Leon from Envision who are very nice to chat to.
Lou and Shiv who photograph for Spacesuit Media
Suzie Wolff ex Maserati (then venturi) team principal
Radzi on my way to take my seat for FP3 last year
Catie Munnings in the Andretti Garage
Kyle Wilson Clarke, Stoffels race engineer, but he previously engineered Pascal Wehrlein at Porsche
And finally,
Mr Eyes Forward himself, Stephen "Laney" Lane
6. Don’t forget to bring a powerbank or two if your phone needs charging throughout the day
This caught me out last year… I wouldn’t recommend not having one after that. Then you can get those fun selfies and videos to remember your amazing weekend by. I recommend the Juice ones, as they have 2-3 charges in them depending on which ones you purchase. Not having my phone fully charged was an absolute nightmare for me, and in all honesty, I’m gonna bring 2-3 power banks this year fully charged. One for each day and a spare for any sightseeing I’m planning to do on the Monday
And my last tip is have fun!!
Formula e events from experience have always been amazingly fun for me.
So, I hope these are useful tips for your visit to the ExCel, or any other ePrix this year 😊
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