Formula E boss Alejandro Agag believes today if a driver wants to be counted amongst motorsport’s greats, he has to have won both the Formula 1 and the Formula E championships.

Agag, Formula E’s founding CEO, has long talked up the electric racing series as a competitor to Formula 1 that could in time replace it as the pinnacle of motor racing.

“I think Formula E is going to get really, really big,” he told ESPN back in 2018. “I believe that in 20, 30, 40 years, we will be the only motorsport out there.

“There may be others but we will be probably the main motorsport because the world will be electric. If the world is not electric in 20 or 30 years, we are in trouble.

“So, even if that happens, then Formula E will be the championship of the cars.”

With the championship having been granted FIA World Championship status ahead of its seventh season, the Spaniard reckons it’s no longer enough for a driver to win a F1 World title to be called a great, they also need a Formula E crown.

He told talkSPORT’s On Track: “I think we’ve put it in a place where if you really want to call yourself the best driver in the world, you really need to win Formula 1 and Formula E.”

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As such he’s tried to persuade four-time F1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel to sign up for Formula E.

The bee-keeping environmentalist retired from Formula 1 at the end of last year’s championship with Agag revealing he has held informal talks with the German.

“I’ve tried to convince Sebastian to come to Formula E,” Agag said.

“He’s busy, I think he’s got a future job lined up, I’ve heard.

“He’s very committed to sustainability, he’s very committed to many of the values we share. We were not in the right place at the right time!”

To date five of FE’s seven champions have been former Formula 1 drivers; Nelson Piquet Jr, Sebastien Buemi, Lucas di Grassi, Jean-Eric Vergne and Stoffel Vandoorne. None of them ever won a F1 grand prix.

Formula 1 has only signed one Formula E driver with 2020–21 World Champion Nyck de Vries signing with AlphaTauri for this year’s championship.

The Dutchman is finding the move over to Formula 1 more difficult than expected with De Vries yet to get off the mark, while struggling to match team-mate Yuki Tsunoda in the sister car.

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