Jake Hughes joked that he’s put his McLaren teammates under more pressure to perform on Sunday after taking pole and a podium in the second race of the Shanghai E-Prix doubleheader. As well as Formula E, McLaren is racing in Formula 1’s Monaco Grand …
Jake Hughes joked that he’s put his McLaren teammates under more pressure to perform on Sunday after taking pole and a podium in the second race of the Shanghai E-Prix doubleheader.
As well as Formula E, McLaren is racing in Formula 1’s Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 later today, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris starting second and fourth on the grid in the principality, and Alexander Rossi and Kyle Larson leading the charge from fourth and fifth on the grid at Indy.
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Expectations are high across both of the combustion programs, and Hughes laid down a benchmark by taking a long-awaited first Formula E podium.
“I’ve put the pressure on them a little bit,” he quipped. “I think we’ve got a good chance of seeing one, if not both of them on the podium there (in Monaco), and then the Indy 500, Kyle (Larson) was impressive for sure. We’ll make sure we watch both races later on.”
McLaren is racing in three series across three continents on Sunday, with Formula E in Shanghai kicking things off. Alastair Staley/Motorsport Images
Hughes’ podium came after nearly two years racing in the all-electric category with McLaren, and follows Sam Bird taking the team’s first win at Sao Paulo in March. With a previous best finish of eighth at high-consumption tracks (at the first Misano race), Hughes said he emulated factory Nissan driver Oliver Rowland, who’s had three podiums, including a win, from four starts at the comparable Misano and Berlin tracks earlier this season.
“It’s about time, isn’t it?” he said. “I think I approached the race quite differently today. I think it’s fair to say these pack races haven’t been kind to me, or I haven’t helped the situation as well, and I think I took a leaf a little bit out of Oli’s book today and just wanted to make sure I stayed near the front. That meant being quite aggressive and trying to make some moves and I think it paid off.
“It’s amazing how much easier the race felt, driving like I did today, so hopefully it’s something we can continue.”
As well as the change of approach, plus the weight of McLaren’s big weekend, a return to a previous stomping ground gave Hughes another shot in the arm.
“China’s always been kind to me,” he said. “I raced here twice in Asian Formula 3 and I won each race I did there. And I’ve always gone well in Macau, so racing in this part of the world has always been pretty kind to me.”
Antonio Felix da Costa secured his second win in three races with a commanding drive in the second race of Formula E’s Shanghai E-Prix. The TAG Heuer Porsche driver held off NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes who got his first Formula E podium after …
Antonio Felix da Costa secured his second win in three races with a commanding drive in the second race of Formula E’s Shanghai E-Prix.
The TAG Heuer Porsche driver held off NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes who got his first Formula E podium after starting from pole position, having led for just under half of the 28-lap contest — one lap shorter than Saturday’s race.
Da Costa started third on the grid, and by waiting late to take his two passes through the longer Attack Mode line, he didn’t lose as much ground compared to others around him. He moved into the lead on lap 16, passing Andretti’s Norman Nato in the first corner.
Nato had been the pacesetter for much of the early stages of the race, having taken the lead himself on lap 4 — his fourth lap also being the fastest lap of the race – when front-row starter Stoffel Vandoorne dipped into the Attack Mode loop. Nato eventually finished third after da Costa and Hughes broke away, while Vandoorne wound up sixth.
All three faced a threat from Jaguar TCS Racing’s Nick Cassidy, who once again had an energy advantage due to the Jaguar’s superior efficiency, but his charge faded after he made contact with Hughes on lap 19 which left him with front wing damage. Cassidy led home teammate Mitch Evans with the DS Penskes of Vandoorne and Saturday polesitter Jean-Eric Vergne next up.
Maserati MSG Racing’s Maximilian Guenther wound up eighth, ahead of Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns who completed a stellar charge through the field from 20th on the grid.
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It was a difficult day for championship challengers Oliver Rowland and Jake Dennis, who wound up 10th and 11th respectively having been unable to complete their customary climbs up the order as has come to be expected this season. They did fare better than fellow title protagonist Pascal Wehrlein, however, who finished a lowly 20th after pitting with a puncture following contact with McLaren’s Sam Bird.
Bird, who was the race’s only retirement, was also involved in a collision with Mahindra’s Nyck de Vries which resulted in a five-place grid penalty which will be served at the first race in Portland in five weeks time.
After both races in Shanghai, Cassidy remains in the lead of the championship with 167 points, 25 clear of Wehrlein, with Evans a further 10 back in third. Da Costa sits seventh, behind Rowland, Dennis, and Vergne, but could be something of a championship dark horse with his exclusion from the first Misano race still pending review. Should that race win be reinstated, he would be the only three-time winner this season and leapfrog Vergne, moving within a point of Dennis.
Not content with a front row start at the Monaco Grand Prix with Oscar Piastri or a top-five starts at the Indianapolis 500 with Alexander Rossi and Kyle Larson later today, McLaren began its busiest Sunday of the year claiming pole position for the …
Not content with a front row start at the Monaco Grand Prix with Oscar Piastri or a top-five starts at the Indianapolis 500 with Alexander Rossi and Kyle Larson later today, McLaren began its busiest Sunday of the year claiming pole position for the second race of the Shanghai E-Prix.
And Jake Hughes did it in style, beating DS Penske’s Stoffel Vandoorne by 0.001s, making it the closest pole margin in Formula E history.
Vandoorne began his lap strongly, going quicker in the first sector, but Hughes began to reel him in in the second. At the end of the lap, a mystified Hughes exclaimed over the radio “Did we get it? That felt awful!” But it was enough to grab pole for the second time this season.
Ahead of the head-to-head Duels final, Hughes topped the second group in the opening part of qualifying, then beat Andretti’s Norman Nato and TAG Heuer Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa.
Vandoorne, second to Nissan’s Oliver Rowland in Group A, defeated Nick Cassidy in his quarterfinal — Cassidy, like Hughes on Saturday, setting the second-quickest time in the quarterfinals but being beaten in the head-to-head — and Mahindra’s Nyck de Vries in the semis. after de Vries had defeated Rowland in his first head-to-head.
Behind the front row of Hughes and Vandoorne, da Costa will line up third on the gird alongside de Vries in his best starting spot of the season so far. The third row of the grid is a Jaguar TCS Racing lockout with Cassidy in fifth and Saturday winner Mitch Evans – beaten by da Costa in the Duels quarterfinals – sixth.
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Andretti’s Norman Nato and Rowland will occupy seventh and eighth on the grid, with Saturday polesitter Jean-Eric Vergne – eliminated in the first part of qualifying after going fifth fastest in Group B – and Maserati MSG’s Maximilian Guenther rounding out the top-10.
Sam Bird will start 11th in the second NEOM McLaren, ahead of Nissan’s Sacha Fenestraz, and two more big names who fell in the group stage, Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein, and Andretti driver Jake Dennis.
Sergio Sette Camara will be the highest-placed ERT driver on the grid in 15th, ahead of Jehan Daruvala (Maserati), Nico Mueller (Abt Cupra), and teammate Dan Ticktum.
Lucas di Grassi (Abt Cupra), Robin Frijns (Envision Racing), Edoardo Mortara (Mahindra), and Sebastien Buemi (Envision) complete the field.
Jaguar TCS Racing picked up where they left off by topping the timesheets in the third practice session at the Shanghai E-Prix with Nick Cassidy. Cassidy finished third in Saturday’s race at Shanghai International Circuit as teammate Mitch Evans …
Jaguar TCS Racing picked up where they left off by topping the timesheets in the third practice session at the Shanghai E-Prix with Nick Cassidy.
Cassidy finished third in Saturday’s race at Shanghai International Circuit as teammate Mitch Evans won, and set a best time of 1m 13.500 on Sunday morning to claim top spot.
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Dan Ticktum was an impressive second for the unfancied ERT squad, competing in its home event, setting a best time just 0.089s adrift of Cassidy’s benchmark late in the session.
Antonio Felix da Costa was third for TAG Heuer Porsche, ahead of Maserati MSG’s Maximilian Guenther, with Evans ensuring Jaguar bookended the Top-five.
Jake Hughes got McLaren’s mega Sunday off to a strong start, placing sixth for the NEOM-backed outfit. McLaren is the only brand racing in both the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 later on Sunday, in addition to its Formula E exploits in the far east.
The DS Penskes of Jean-Eric Vergne and Stoffel Vandoorne were next, with Robin Frijns splitting the pair in his Envision Racing-entered Jaguar, while Jehan Daruvala made it two Maseratis in the top-10, completing practice in 10th.
Andretti’s Jake Dennis finished on the fringes of the top-10, 0.048s off Daruvala in 11th, with Lucas di Grassi 12 for Abt Cupra, Pascal Wehrlein 13th in the second Porsche, and Oliver Rowland 14th for Nissan. Sebastien Buemi was 15th-quickest for Envision, with Sergio Sette Camara 16th in the second ERT, and Nico Mueller 17th for ABt Cupra.
After scoring his first points of the season on Saturday, Nyck de Vries finished Sunday’s opening session in 18th, ahead of his Mahindra teammate Edorardo Mortara, with Sam bird (McLaren), Sacha Fenestraz (Nissan) and Norman Nato (Andretti) completing the field.
Bird, Fenestraz, and Andretti were the only drivers to not do their fastest laps on 350kW. Seven drivers completed a session high of 20 laps – Frijns, Vandoorne, Daruvala, Wehrlein, Buemi, Sette Camara, and Mueller – while Nato completed the lowest number of laps with just nine.
Mitch Evans got by a hard defending Pascal Wehrlein on the final lap to claim victory in the first race of the Shanghai E-Prix doubleheader weekend. TAG Heuer Porsche driver Wehrlein had been in control for much of the race, but that left him with …
Mitch Evans got by a hard defending Pascal Wehrlein on the final lap to claim victory in the first race of the Shanghai E-Prix doubleheader weekend.
TAG Heuer Porsche driver Wehrlein had been in control for much of the race, but that left him with less energy and susceptible to Evans and his Jaguar TCS Racing teammate Nick Cassidy.
Cracks in Wehrlein’s lead started to show on lap 23 of 29 when he locked up at Turn 6, opening the door for Evans to get by at the next corner. Wehrlein would move back to the fore three laps later, with the pair making contact through Turns 10 and 11 and Wehrlein resorting to taking the to the grass. Evans then tried again at Turn 6 on lap 27, but Wehrlein held firm, as he did the following lap where he resisted Evans through Turns 6 to 10.
But on the final lap, Evans finally made a move stick, powering round the outside of the long sweeping first corner. Cassidy looked to follow, once again at Turn 6, but couldn’t make the move work.
Cassidy, who had a sizeable energy advantage over Evans and Wehrlein, pleaded with his team on multiple occasions to be allowed to pass Evans to challenge Wehrlein for the lead earlier in the race but was made to hold station and play rear gunner to Evans — a move that, given Evans’ win, probably cost the team a one-two finish. Cassidy was also noticeably irked by Wehrlein’s driving through the tight Turn 10-11 complex on the final lap, after the two made contact which resulted in damage to Cassidy’s front wing.
After making a poor start from the front row of the grid, where he was swamped by Wehrlein and Evans, Nissan’s Oliver Rowland rallied back to take fourth — only just missing out on the podium having been unable to capitalize on the contact between Cassidy and Wehrlein ahead of him.
Antonio Felix da Costa and Jake Dennis were fifth and sixth for Porsche and Andretti respectively after being passed by Rowland late in the race, with Dennis also setting the fastest lap. da Costa was later hit with a five-second penalty for forcing Jean-Eric Vergne off the track at Turn 12, demoting him to a final classification of 19th and giving Dennis that final top-five spot.
Polesitter Vergne subsequently wound up sixth, the DS-badged Stellantis powertrain proving no match for the more efficient Porsches and Jaguars.
Nyck de Vries ended a long wait for his first points of the season, finishing seventh for Mahindra. The former AlphaTauri Formula 1 driver briefly held the lead until relinquishing it to Wehrlein on lap 12 after being told “we don’t want the lead” over the radio by his team, who were aware that the Mahindra’s efficiency deficiency would not allow them to safely remain out in front for long. De Vries’ teammate Edoardo Mortara was the only retiree of the race, his race ending on lap 16 after contact.
Envision Racing’s Sebastien Buemi, DS Penske’s Stoffel Vandoorne, and Abt Cupra’s Lucas di Grassi rounded out the top 10 ahead of Nissan’s Sacha Fenestraz who made up 11 places, and Robin Frijns in the second Envision entry. Frijns had been in the lead conversation early on but faded, then spun late on ending all hopes of a points finish for the Dutchman.
Sergio Sette Camara (ERT), Norman Nato (Andretti), and Nico Mueller (Abt Cupra) were next, with Sam Bird 17th on his return from injury, one spot behind his teammate Jake Hughes in what was a forgettable day for the NEOM McLaren team.
Behind the penalized da Costa, Maserati MSG Racing’s Jehan Daruvala and Maximiian Guenther completed the finishers, the pair being split by ERT’s Dan Ticktum. Guenther was also given a penalty, of 10 seconds, for causing a collision with Mortara at turn 6 – the incident which forced the Mahindra driver to retire.
Jean-Eric Vergne equalled Sebastien Buemi’s record of 16 Formula E pole positions after defeating Oliver Rowland in the final of the Head-to-Head qualifying Duels in Shanghai. The DS Penske driver’s time of 1m13. 323 in the Final was the quickest …
Jean-Eric Vergne equalled Sebastien Buemi’s record of 16 Formula E pole positions after defeating Oliver Rowland in the final of the Head-to-Head qualifying Duels in Shanghai.
The DS Penske driver’s time of 1m13. 323 in the Final was the quickest lap of all of qualifying, and bested Nissan man Rowland by 0.038s. Rowland had been quicker in the second and third sectors, but lost too much time in the first to overhaul Vergne.
Ahead of the final, Vergne defeated TAG Heuer Porsche pair Atonio Felix da Costa and Pascal Wehrlein, while Rowland defeated FP2 pacesetter Norman Nato and Mitch Evans, the latter by just 0.001s.
Both drivers finished second of their respective duels, however, with Verge’s teammate Stoffel Vandoorne in Group A, Andretti driver Nato and Evans also advancing — Evans edging his Jaguar TCS Racing teammate Nick Cassidy by just 0.009s.
Vergne meanwhile finished second to NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes in Group B, by just 0.004s. Hughes was cruelly knocked out in the first stage of the Duels. His time of 1m13.483 was the second-fastest of all eight in the first part of the head-to-head stage, but was 0.034s off Wehrlein who he was drawn up against. da Costa and Wehrlein were the others to advance from Group B.
Vergne’s pole is also his second of the season, and starting behind him and fellow front-row starter Rowland will be Evans and Wehrlein, with Hughes and da Costa on the third row.
Nato will line up seventh, with Vandoorne eighth, and Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns and Cassidy completing the top 10. Jake Dennis will start 11th in his Andretti Porsche, with Buemi 12th for Envision, Mahindra’s Nyck de Vries 13th and Maximilian Guenther 14th for Maserati MSG Racing.
The eight row of the grid is locked out by Abt Cupra’s Nico Mueller and Lucas di Grassi, with the ERTs of Sergio Sette Camara and Dan Ticktum together the row behind. McLaren’s Sam Bird, Maserati’s Jehan Daruvala, Mahindra’s Edorardo Mortara, and Nissan’s Sacha Fenestraz complete the grid.
After winding up second in Friday’s first practice session, Norman Nato moved to the top of the times in FP2 for the Shanghai E-Prix, setting an identical time to Jean-Eric Vergne. The Andretti driver’s time of 1m13.430 was matched by the DS Penske …
After winding up second in Friday’s first practice session, Norman Nato moved to the top of the times in FP2 for the Shanghai E-Prix, setting an identical time to Jean-Eric Vergne.
The Andretti driver’s time of 1m13.430 was matched by the DS Penske man, who ended up second only by setting his time later in the session – that time being a couple of tenths off Friday’s fastest by virtue of the cooler conditions. The top three itself was covered by just 0.0013s, with TAG Heuer Porsche driver Pascal Wehrlein P3.
Stoffel Vandoorne in the second DS Pesnke was fourth, just over a tenth of a second of the fastest time, with Nyck de Vries going fifth quickest in his Mahindra after having an interrupted first practice as one of several drivers affected by battery software issues.
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Sacha Fenestraz was the highest-placed Nissan runner in sixth, ahead of Berlin E-Prix race two winner Antonio Felix da Costa (Porsche), with Robin Frijns (Envision Racing), Nick Cassidy (Jaguar TCS Racing), and Maximilian Guenther (Maserati MSG) rounding out the top 10.
FP1 pacesetter Mitch Evans was a quarter of a second off the session best in 12th for Jaguar, behind Abt Cupra’s Nico Mueller, but ahead of reigning champion, Andretti’s Jake Dennis, with veterans Sebastien Buemi (Envision) and Lucas di Grassi (Abt Cupra) next up.
Rowland was 16th quickest for Nissan, ahead of the ERT pairing of Dan Ticktum and Sergio Sette Camara, with Edorardo Mortara (Mahindra), Jehan Daruvala (Maserati), and the NEOM McLarens of Sam Bird and Jake Hughes completing the field.
As with Friday’s FP1 session, all runners completed their best times using the full allocation of 350 kW. In addition to going quickest, Nato also completed the most laps with 21, along with Daruvala, while both Cassidy and Guenther completed the fewest, doing just 16 laps during the 30 minute session. The whole field was covered by just 0.572s.
Mitch Evans was quickest in an incredibly tight opening practice session for the Shanghai E-Prix, which had the entire field separated by just over half a second, but also featured a lengthy stoppage. The Jaguar TCS Racing driver’s best time of …
Mitch Evans was quickest in an incredibly tight opening practice session for the Shanghai E-Prix, which had the entire field separated by just over half a second, but also featured a lengthy stoppage.
The Jaguar TCS Racing driver’s best time of 1m13.215s was a mere 0.025s quicker than Andretti’s Norman Nato, with DS Penske driver Jean-Eric Vergne just 0.024s further back.
Jake Hughes made it four manufacturers in the top four in his Nissan-powered NEOM McLaren entry, with works Nissan driver Oliver Rowland completing the top five. Berlin E-Prix race 2 winner Antonio Felix da Costa was sixth, ahead of Dan Ticktum and Robin Frijns, with Pascal Wehrlein and Lucas di Grassi rounding out the top 10.
The session had only been running for five minutes when it was halted after five cars — both Porsches of da Costa and Wehrlein, the ERTs of Ticktum and Sergio Sette Camara, and Nyck de Vries’ Mahindra — all came to a stop on track. The reason was a suspected battery issue caused by a software update from supplier WAE (formerly Williams Advanced Engineering) between the Berlin E-Prix two weeks ago and this event, although the exact cause is still being investigated.
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Running resumed after nearly an hour’s pause, with all 22 cars receiving another software update in that time, and all able to complete the session. The cars that stopped were able to complete sizeable lap counts, too, with da Costa running 20 laps, Wehrelin and Sette Camara 19, Ticktum 18, and de Vries 17. Nato and Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns’ lap counts of 21 were session highs, while de Vries 17 was the lowest.
Evans’ best time came in the closing minutes of the session, which Sette Camara, one of the runners affected by the stoppage, finished in 22nd, albeit just 0.591s adrift of Evans.
All drivers competed their fastest times using the full complement of 350kW.
Amid all the recent talk of “peloton-style” races in Formula E, the championship’s CEO Jeff Dodds offered an explanation of why those races happen, why flat-out sprints are unlikely to happen any time soon, and why he thinks that’s a good thing. In …
Amid all the recent talk of “peloton-style” races in Formula E, the championship’s CEO Jeff Dodds offered an explanation of why those races happen, why flat-out sprints are unlikely to happen any time soon, and why he thinks that’s a good thing.
In Formula E, drivers start with less than half the energy required to make it through the race, leading to an abundance of energy saving, which leads to an abundance of overtaking as drivers lift, coast, and brake early to recuperate energy. It’s something that’s drawn mixed reactions, with Jean-Eric Vergne, Formula E’s only two-time champion, slamming the races as “horrible” at the Berlin E-Prix. Dodds, though says feedback from fans has been more positive, praising the increased number of passes that such tactics produce compared to other categories.
“I know we get some driver feedback that they find it more challenging to drive in that style,” Dodds told RACER. “A lot of them have grown up in an environment where they can literally qualify up front and that’s it — then they’re out front, everyone chasing them around — which is, for me, not a particularly interesting spectacle for bringing new fans to the sport.
“We get a load of feedback that, at the moment, the fans find this really compelling — we’re 30 percent growth in media year-on-year because people are tuning in to see this kind of racing.”
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Dodds also pointed out that Formula E — which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this season — has never been about flat-out racing, and that the strategy and saving element has always been a part of the championship’s make-up.
“Formula E is not just about the racing element, it’s also about demonstrating the technology of the car,” he said. “Quite simply, our cars start the race with roughly half of the energy they need to finish the race; the rest is delivered by regeneration in the race. So do the math: if we didn’t do that, it would be a 20-minute race, something like that. Probably over 15-ish laps.
“45 minutes feels like a good payoff for a new motorsports audience. 20 minutes doesn’t. Saying that, this corrects itself over time, because by the time we get into GEN4, with the battery capacity building, within two and a half years we’ll have the ability to do flat-out, 30- to 35-minute races, and a full hour, an hour-and-five, hour-and-10 minute race with recharge capability.”
When asked about potential for an additional sprint race being added to a Formula E race weekend, a la Formula 1, Dodds said, “I’m not writing it off as an idea,” but again suggested that a potential Formula E sprint would still be too short. He feels the series’ Duels qualifying format does enough to satisfy those wanting to see drivers go flat out.
“In Formula 1, even the sprint race is 40-odd minutes, 50 minutes, so it’s roughly half the time of their full race,” he said. “My honest view is, I think 20 minutes will be too short.
“And the qualifying process, you do get that through the quarters, through the semis and in the finals, so you get a big chunk of watching quality, where all is person versus person, 300 or 350 kilowatts, and it’s flat out, go for your life.”
Porsche has become the latest manufacturer to commit to Formula E’s GEN4 ruleset, which will be introduced in the 2026-27 season. It joins Nissan and Jaguar is signing up for the all-electric series’ next generation, having first joined the series …
Porsche has become the latest manufacturer to commit to Formula E’s GEN4 ruleset, which will be introduced in the 2026-27 season. It joins Nissan and Jaguar is signing up for the all-electric series’ next generation, having first joined the series in 2019 during its GEN2 era.
“The very important statement from our side is that it was always a long-term engagement,” vice president of Porsche Motorsport Thomas Laudenbach told select media including RACER at the recent Berlin E-Prix. “When we enter a series, it’s not like in and out. So for us it was always clear that we want to do it long-term, we want to be a big part of this championship and we want to give our contribution to build it up.”
Alberto Longo, co-founder & Chief Championship Officer of Formula E, Andreas Haffner, Member of the Executive Board, Human Resources and Social Affairs, Michael Steiner, Member of the Executive Board, Research and Development, Jeff Dodds, CEO of Formula E, Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport, Pablo Martino, Head of Formula E Championship, FIA.
The commitment shoots down any rumors of an impending departure from Formula E for Porsche, once thought of as a distinct possibility amid the brand’s Formula 1 links — something that Laudenbach wouldn’t be drawn on, insisting “these have nothing to do with each other.”
“We’re on some kind of journey together, everybody together, but of course before you sign in you have some talks, you want to clarify some things, you talk about conditions, you talk about everything before you sign,” he said of the renewal of the Formula E deal. “But that doesn’t mean that it was something very difficult or something that … it was just taking the time to do it in a proper way. For us it was always clear that it’s a long-term engagement that we have.”
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News of Porsche’s commitment to Formula E’s GEN4 formula comes a year after it signed on for the final two seasons of GEN3. Those two seasons will be contested with the new GEN3 Evo car, meaning Porsche has been simultaneously developing its GEN4 platform alongside its GEN3 Evo. But Laudenbach points out that the balancing act of developing both side-by-side has been natural, and the GEN3 Evo having the basis of the current car means it’s not so much a drain on resources.
“You’ve got to balance it and you’ve got to look at how much effort you put into each generation, because resources are not endless,” he said. “But I think that’s a challenge in motorsport in general. I think in any racing series you have this every year.
“I think we have a very good GEN3 car — it looks like we’re competitive no matter if it’s our own team or a customer team. For sure we’ll make a step for the Evo — you don’t have to throw away what you have to make an Evo, like the name suggests.”
Porsche has incorporated Formula E’s Attack Mode power boost into its road-going Taycan EV.
While there was no public talk of GEN4 at the time of last year’s announcement, behind closed doors, those conversations were already happening.
“(Porsche is) a really simple partner to work with,” said Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds. “Porsche says, ‘Motorsport is important to us, this is what we’ll bring, this is what we need from you,’ and what they need from us is a commitment to develop the next generation technology that allows them to learn — and the new Taycan has an Attack Mode button which is something that they’ve taken and developed out of Formula E.”
“But also they say, ‘We want you to grow this motorsport, grow the audience, grow the fan base, keep delivering really competitive motorsport, and if you do that, why would we want to be anywhere else?’ and I think that’s a lovely relationship. It’s a very simple transaction.”
“They’re foundational for us,” he added. “We’re a challenger brand — we’re 10 years old in a market where some of our competitors are 75, even 100 years old, and we’re in the infancy of developing a series.
“The reality is we’re growing ridiculously quickly, (but) what we can’t develop really quickly is a lifetime of heritage and legacy that someone like Porsche brings with them. So when Porsche commits to a championship like ours, it sends a message around the world, which is ‘this is a serious motorsport.’”
The benefits go both ways though, with Porsche taking lessons learned with its Formula E program and applying them directly to its consumer products.
“We are the ones that still do motorsport right in the middle of the R&D center,” explained Laudenbach. “There are engineers sitting side-by-side working on a road car and on a race car, and this is how the contribution happens. It’s not like you develop a component in a race car, you take it and put it into a road car. You never do that. It’s about developing technology, developing the processes, it’s about developing functions, so it’s all of that and we will see in the next (few) years some solutions in road cars which really come purely from racing.
“If there would not be any benefit, we wouldn’t do it. It’s very clear. There needs to be a benefit on the technical side,” he insisted.
“If you look into the future, we have a very clear commitment to the electrification of our fleet. But it’s not that we deny our history — we still have a lot of combustion engines on the road and we will have for the future; nothing happens overnight. But if you really think about long-term technology, electrification, it’s obvious (why) we’re racing full electric vehicles here.”
