Never underestimate Envision Racing. Plenty did in 2023 and they went and won the title. Egg on face!
Yet, generally, since Nick Cassidy and Sebastien Buemi combined to take the first ever Gen3 teams title, the pickings have been slim. A few podiums and Buemi’s mighty drive in Monaco last May, but that’s been about it. The returns have been poor, 6th in 2024 and 8th in 2025. For several reasons that 2023 heyday feels more than just two and a bit years ago.
The team is in something of a transition now. Several senior staff have left the team. Mike Lugg, the technical lead went last January. Stalwart team manager Leon Price leaves this weekend in São Paulo to join the Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA FIA WEC squad, while engineers Maxime Menneglier and Ben Scott also go to pastures new.
Then there is Robin Frijns. After six seasons with the team, interspersed by a rotten season at ABT CUPRA, the amiable Dutch ace has been replaced by Joel Eriksson.
That move caught many people by surprise but there was some logic to the switch. The Swede had a glowing reputation at Jaguar, with sporting director Gary Ekerold one of several die-hard fans.
The other issue that was swirling around Envision was having two drivers doing duel programmes. With the team bedding in a new simulator shortly and planning for Gen4, having two drivers constantly on the road was far from ideal. After Buemi’s win at Monaco and, by and large, a stronger season last term, although Frijns was massively unfortunate in a consistent manner, it was the latter who made way.
For Envision boss Sylvain Filippi choosing to replace Frijns was no easy task but the fundamental reasons behind it, he tells Formula E Notebook, were clear.
“It’s a tough decision because you’re replacing someone like Robin, who is super-fast, as we know,” says Filippi.
“We’re excited about Joel. Robin as we know it’s a challenge with WEC. Over time, we need to ween ourselves out of the drivers doing both programmes, not by a desire from me, but just it’s a reality.”
The reality started to dawn a while ago for Filippi as the team has been stung several times, notably in 2017 when Jose-Maria Lopez had to be replaced by Alex Lynn and then in 2024 when Eriksson and Paul Aron were drafted in for a Spa 6 Hours WEC clash for Buemi and Frijns.
“We know FE will add one or two races,” adds Filippi.
“That’s a certainty, which means we will have almost a race every two weeks from December to July. That makes dual programmes just impossible.”
“Once you have a race every two weeks, you’ll have clashes, and even you by some form of miracle, you don’t have clashes, by the time you add sim tests, it becomes unworkable, and the drivers end up on the plane every week for seven months.
“Sadly, I believe it’s a transition, but in the next two, three years, it will become very difficult to have dual programmes. The WEC teams see it the same way as well even though they have fewer races.”
No Big Pressure on Eriksson
Joel Eriksson has by all accounts played himself in to the Envision team very well since he joined in early September.
He would be the perfect darkhorse to surprise the paddock this season. Little in experience but big in talent. Perhaps time makes memories fade but Eriksson has a very strong junior single-seater career.
It was Eriksson who was Lando Norris’ closest rival in the 2017 Formula 3 series, winning seven races to Norris’ nine. He missed out on F2 and went DTM instead, becoming a winner in his first season with BMW.
Since that time his career has suffered a mini-stall but he’s never complained, never seemed bitter. A born grafter, Eriksson has cultivated a new style career for himself via the unglamourous surroundings of British GT, Asian GT and the odd VLN cameo.
One of Eriksson’s biggest crutches for his return to racing will undoubtedly be Buemi. Even if the Swede just observes and soaks-in some of his teammate’s experience.
It is a strategy not lost on Filippi who reckons that it will be “very useful” for his new charge.
“The reason why Seb is here, and we work so well with him, is that he’s extremely experienced, but extremely generous with his time too” said Filippi.
“He’s more than a driver in the team. He does so much more than just being a driver and its very important. So, it will be very useful for Joel.
“We are not putting any unrealistic expectations on Joel. He needs to kind of embed in the team and find his feet. But I’m not worried for him at all. He’s very quick.
“He knows the car (Jaguar) super well, he knows the people already and he has plenty of time to get used to it.”
From a pressure perspective Eriksson isn’t initially under any, in principal that is. In reality each of the 20 drivers on the grid are under pressure every corner of every lap.
“We’ve never done this (apply pressure) in this team in 12 years,” says Filippi.
“We don’t put any kind of hard target on their head to deliver this or that, or you’re out. We’ve never done this, so we are certainly not doing that now.
“He knows that it’s up to him, if he gets a good feeling in the car and does good results, he will have a great career.”
