I don't understand one thing: why do all cars have to be exactly the same? Here's a better idea: just set some specifications on the vehicles, and let the teams do their best to work within those specs. At the end of the season, all cars are open-sourced, so you can see what the others did. Come next season, the teams will have incorporated the best practices from the previous season and improved upon them. Rinse, lather, repeat.
But even NASCAR has teams of engineers trying to find legal (or questionable) tweaks. At this stage, when technical advances are needed, having a more open model might be better.
If I understand it right that'll get going from the second season on.
"From season two, Formula E will operate as an 'open championship', allowing teams and manufacturers the opportunity to showcase their own electrical energy innovations. Working to the technical specifications set out by the FIA, teams will focus their efforts on improving and developing powertrains and battery technology, with the aim of this filtering into the everyday electric vehicle market."
