Video: Full Formula E Race Practice

In just over a month, the streets of Beijing, China will be taken over by the first-ever Formula E race. This all-electric motorsport will pit some of the world’s top drivers against each other in high-tech, first-of-their-kind electric race cars.

The hype is real, though you don’t have to wait a while month to see these electric racers square off against each other. At the Formula E headquarters at Donington Park in the UK, the teams gathered for their first exhibition competition. While the teams have all participated in test sessions before, this was the first-ever electric race simulation…and it sounds exactly like I thought the future would sound like.

This data-driven event is designed to gather even more information to give the drivers an idea of what to expect when race day comes. The drivers are working out a whole host of factors that effect their on-track performance, and Formula E also revealed a hectic one-day schedule for the inaugural race. That leaves almost no time for even the minimalist pit stops, which can only take at most a single minute for drivers to get in, swap cars, and get out.

This practice session is just a taste of what to expect when the first real race takes off around Beijing’s Bird’s Nest stadium on September 13th.