Formula E is coming to Brands Hatch, and this could be rather good
The London E-Prix is moving to Kent in May 2027, bringing Formula E’s fastest cars to one of Britain’s best racetracks. Presale registration is open now.
There are racetracks which look impressive on television but become slightly disappointing once you’re standing beside a large fence, half a mile from the action and wondering why you paid £14 for a burger. Brands Hatch isn’t one of them. It’s compact, dramatic and built into the landscape, so you can watch cars plunge out of sight at Paddock Hill Bend before climbing towards Druids looking as though somebody has turned the laws of physics up too high. Formula E will arrive there for the first time on 29 and 30 May 2027, when the London E-Prix moves from ExCeL to the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit for a two-race weekend. It’ll also be the British debut of the new GEN4 car, which is exactly the sort of machinery Brands Hatch deserves in its second century. Formula E has confirmed the dates , and you can already register your interest for presale information . That registration isn’t a ticket and doesn’t guarantee a particular seat. It puts you in line for priority ticket updates, while creating a Formula E account currently promises access to priority booking and early-bird pricing. If you’re seriously considering going, I’d register now rather than relying on yourself to notice the general sale during an unusually busy Tuesday next spring. A proper circuit for a much faster Formula E Formula E has spent much of its life racing on temporary city circuits. That has produced some excellent events and some layouts which look as though they were designed by spilling a box of barriers onto a car park. Brands Hatch is different: it’s a proper old-fashioned racing circuit, with elevation, camber, fast corners and very little room for a driver to have a private mistake. The full Grand Prix layout is 2.433 miles long, with 11 corners and a woodland section extending beyond the more familiar Indy circuit. It grew out of a former mushroom field first used for sporting events in 1926, became a tarmac circuit in 1950 and later hosted 14 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix. Jim Clark, Niki Lauda and Nigel Mansell won there, and Brands Hatch’s history contains enough famous names and improbable machinery to fill several museums. Photo: Stuart Bartlett on Unsplash Its best feature, though, is that it remains unusually good for spectators. The natural amphitheatre around the Indy section lets you see far more of a lap than you can at many larger circuits, while the Grand Prix loop gives the cars somewhere to stretch their legs properly. Paddock Hill Bend is the obvious landmark, but the climb towards Druids and the run back through Graham Hill Bend are every bit as useful when several drivers disagree about who owns the same piece of road. GEN4 should make that disagreement happen considerably faster. The new Formula E car will produce 450kW in normal racing and as much as 600kW in Attack Mode, with permanent active all-wheel drive and acceleration from 0–100km/h in roughly 1.8 seconds. Formula E says it’ll be capable of more than 335km/h, although the interesting part at Brands Hatch won’t simply be the top speed; it’ll be watching all that acceleration and grip deal with a circuit which is rarely flat, physically or emotionally. What the racing will look like The 2027 weekend is scheduled as a double-header, but the two races won’t be identical. Formula E’s new format combines a 30-minute E-PrixUnleashed sprint using the car’s high-downforce setup with a 45-minute E-Prix, where energy management, Attack Mode and a mandatory Pit Boost stop become more important. Both award full championship points, so Saturday shouldn’t feel like a lengthy rehearsal for Sunday. If you haven’t watched Formula E before, don’t expect electric Formula One. The cars sound different, the races are shorter and energy use is part of the competition rather than an inconvenient technical footnote. Drivers sometimes sacrifice position early to save energy, Attack Mode temporarily changes the tactical picture, and the order can remain unsettled much later than you expect. Photo: Rico Reynaldi on Unsplash The cars are quieter than traditional racing machinery, but they’re not silent. You’ll hear tyres, impacts with kerbs, mechanical noise and the distinctive electric drivetrain, which also means it’s easier to follow the commentary without having your ears reorganised by a V8. Whether that counts as an advantage may depend on how emotionally attached you are to spending Sunday evening shouting at your family. How to make the most of Brands Hatch If tickets allow it, I’d choose the full weekend. One day gives you the event; two days give you time to understand the racing, explore the circuit and watch from more than one position. Grandstand arrangements and prices haven’t yet been published, but Paddock Hill and Hailwoods are strong choices for the first-corner drama, while the Pit Straight puts you close to the grid and pit lane. General admission at Brands can also be excellent, so don’t assume the most expensive available seat will automatically provide the best day. Arrive early and wear shoes suitable for hills, grass and a fair amount of walking. Bring layers, waterproof clothing and sun cream, because late-May weather in Kent is perfectly capable of requiring all three before lunch. Current circuit rules allow spectators to bring their own food and drink, but Formula E’s event-specific restrictions may differ, so check the final spectator information before packing a cool box capable of sustaining a small expedition. Brands Hatch sits on the A20 near West Kingsdown, around three miles from junction 3 of the M25. Drivers should use DA3 8PE for the spectator parking areas rather than blindly following the venue’s postal address. Trains run from London Victoria to Swanley, and the circuit operates shuttle buses for selected major events, but don’t assume the Formula E service until the final transport arrangements are published. Most importantly, allow time to get in and out. A major international race weekend will attract a much bigger crowd than an ordinary club meeting, and even an electric championship hasn’t yet found a renewable alternative to traffic. Formula E at Brands Hatch is an unusually good combination: a championship entering its fastest era and a circuit which has never needed gimmicks to be exciting. If this belongs on your list, add Watch a Formula E Race , register for the presale information now, decide whether you want one day or the full weekend, and keep an eye on the official ticket announcement. Then prepare to discover just how quiet 800 horsepower isn’t.