Inside Formula E – My First E-Prix Experience
A personal behind-the-scenes look at my first official Formula E media accreditation during the Berlin E-Prix — covering motorsport photography, paddock atmosphere, race weekend impressions and the experience of capturing Formula E from the inside for the first time.
SPORTAUTOMOTIVE
Erik Schwiderski
5/15/20263 min read
There are moments that don’t feel real until you’re actually there.
For me, the Berlin E-Prix was one of them.
A few months ago, Formula E still felt very far away. It was something I followed online, saw on social media and watched from the outside like many others. Not necessarily unreachable — but definitely a world that felt difficult to enter without already being part of it.
And honestly, I wasn’t.
No big media outlet.
No agency behind me.
No official assignment.
Just me, my camera and the idea of simply trying anyway.
What started as a random thought slowly became something I genuinely wanted to make happen.
Researching the FIA accreditation process late at night, putting together PDFs, uploading Nürburgring images, writing coverage reports and trying to figure out how all of this actually works behind the scenes.
At some point it stopped being:
“Maybe it would be cool to go there.”
It became personal.
Because deep down I already knew this was exactly the kind of environment I wanted to work in more often.
Then the approval email arrived.
I still remember reading:
“Your request has been approved.”
That was probably the first real moment where it clicked.
A few days later, I was driving towards Berlin early in the morning with coffee, music and an audiobook running in the background like on every longer drive I usually do.
No huge nervousness.
Mostly motivation.
But somewhere on the highway, shortly before arriving in Berlin, the whole thing suddenly felt real.
And holding the accreditation pass in my hand later that morning made it even more surreal.
Like:
“Okay… I’m actually here now.”
What surprised me most throughout the weekend was how different Formula E felt compared to what I expected beforehand.
It felt modern, highly organized and very controlled in many ways — but also like an event that still heavily lives through everything happening around the racing itself.
The atmosphere.
The presentation.
The brands.
The people around it.
And honestly, I also expected something slightly different regarding the media environment.
One thing I immediately noticed was how many smaller photographers and independent magazines were present on-site.
In a strange way, it actually made sense. E-mobility is still somewhat niche in motorsport, and Formula E feels more accessible than many other international racing series.
Photographically, the biggest surprise was probably how much access we actually had around the track.
For an international event, there were a lot of opportunities to capture strong images from different perspectives, which honestly made the entire experience even more exciting for me as a photographer.
At the same time, I noticed how different it felt compared to Nürburgring events or the 24h race atmosphere I was used to before.
At Nürburgring, especially during races and practice sessions, there’s so much emotion happening inside garages and around teams all the time.
Formula E felt more restricted in that sense.
More controlled.
But maybe that’s exactly what made me focus more on the overall atmosphere instead.
And looking back now, I think that’s what I enjoyed most throughout the weekend.
Not only the racing itself.
But everything surrounding it.
Walking through the paddock between sessions, watching people work and seeing photographers from all kinds of different backgrounds was probably one of the most interesting parts for me.
At first it still felt slightly strange walking around the teams and garages with a camera while nothing was happening on track.
Looking back now, I honestly wish I had talked to even more people during those moments.
Probably because I realized pretty quickly that motorsport photography is not only about the images themselves.
It’s also about connections, conversations and simply being part of the environment.
And honestly, hearing positive feedback from other photographers throughout the weekend meant a lot to me too.
Especially at an event where I initially felt like the new guy trying to find his place.
One of the biggest moments after the event actually happened back at home while going through the images.
There was a huge sense of relief.
Relief that the shots turned out the way I hoped they would.
Relief that I actually managed to capture moments I’m genuinely proud of.
Some of those images still make me stop for a second when I look at them now.
And then there was the response from Nissan Formula E after sending over a small image selection.
Nothing huge. No dramatic story.
But hearing that they appreciated the shots and even shared them internally with their social media team honestly meant a lot to me.
Not because it suddenly changes everything.
But because it confirmed that maybe I’m actually moving in the right direction with all of this.
When I got back home Sunday evening, I was completely exhausted.
But at the same time, I already knew one thing for sure:
I want more of this.
More motorsport.
More events.
More stories.
More moments that feel impossible until you suddenly find yourself right in the middle of them.
And for the first time, it didn’t feel like I was trying to get into this world anymore.
It felt like I had finally taken the first real step into it.
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