8 March

Watching the first Formula 1 race for the year. This year the cars are very different, they’re 50% combustion, 50% electric. They were hybrids before this too, but not with this much electric. Many purists want just pure combustion, but they’re much slower. When the drivers hit the boost button, the electric motor really kicks in, and the cars take off like a rocket ship. You’d think that would show the combustion hangers-on how much better electric motors are, but don’t hold your breath. The year promises to be fascinating, because unlike combustion, a car can add charge to a battery while driving, through regenerative braking, or using the combustion engine as a generator, and a few other methods. The car will be faster by dialling down the combustion engine down the straight for example, going slower, and using it to generate for the battery, to let the car be much faster elsewhere in a lap with its electric motor. It will need smart strategy from drivers to maximise their speed over an entire lap. Even if you’re not into car racing, it’s like a real-time demonstration of one of the great battles in our world today, between rival technologies.