Pit Boost Returns
The first single Attack Mode and Pit Boost race will take place over 31 laps of the Jeddah circuit on Friday evening. The single six-minute extra 50kW AWD deployment is set to see a different scope of strategic thought going in to the race. Porsche’s Nico Mueller told Formula E Notebook that he believed it would “change the dynamic quite a lot” and that he and the Porsche team had “tried to think it through as best as possible and go through all different scenarios and exchange opinions and thoughts to be best prepared for it.”
“I think it will be a very different race on Friday versus Saturday due to that as well,” added the Miami pole winner. “The energy we have available is a little bit more thanks to that boost that we get. Qualifying will take a bigger importance on Friday than on Saturday, again, very different dynamics, so we try to prepare for both scenarios.”
DS Penske Deputy Team Principal, Phil Charles, opined that “in Formula E, there’s always a curveball and you can do on paper what probability or statistically makes the most sense to do and still get unlucky in Formula E, if a safety car comes out at the wrong time or you just happen to get caught in a certain scenario in the race.
“You can’t do exactly what you did last year in terms of strategic approach, so I think it’s a really technical race this year.”
Porsche’s Director of Factory Motorsport for Formula E, Florian Modlinger, told FEN that he thought the reduction to one Attack Mode of six-minutes would be to the benefit of the fans watching.
“What is really important for me from what we saw last year with the two Attack Mode and the Pit Boost that the TV spectators had a hard life to follow what’s happening,” said Modlinger.
“I hope that they get now more clarity with one attack mode and one pit boost that it’s for them easier to follow. From what we saw in the simulations it should be, but these fans in front of the TVs need to judge. But I hope it’s a good step in the right direction to follow the race easier as a spectator.”
Some subtle changes to the Jeddah Formula E track have been made this season with a resurfacing of Turn 18 recently completed. Additionally, updated kerbs have been implemented at Turns 8, 14 and 17.
Season 13 Calendar Forming
The next schedule for Formula E, and the first for the Gen4 era in 2026-27, is materialising with two outlined provisional race date lists believed to be in existence. It is widely expected that the season will begin again in December, potentially on either the 5th or 19th of that month. The 11th or 12th is expected to be the date for the FIA Awards Gala.
Sao Paulo, Mexico City and Jeddah are all in the running to be the venue of choice for the first Gen4 race, although Sao Paulo is presently believed to be considered the favourite.
A possible U.S double-header is likely to be run in January and February with Miami expected to be joined by another venue. FEN understands that COTA is the favourite but other locations are being considered, with The Race recently detailing some of the cities in discussions with FEO.
FEN believes that there is a strong possibility of a European finish to the season, although a British finale is presently unlikely to host it. The London EPrix has been the finale event of the past three seasons but a likely move to an alternative venue for 2027 could see an early summer date as opposed to a July or August slot.
An Asian leg for Formula E could take place in March and April with Shanghai, Sanya and Jakarta possibly forming a triple-header, although the last of these venues is thought to still be a long shot, with a new central venue still being sort for a possible continuation in Indonesia.
Formula E is still in close discussions with Zandvoort for a possible summer 2027 date. FEN reported last September that the Dutch Grand Prix venue was keen to host Formula E.
Speaking to FEN, Nyck de Vries said Zandvoort would be “amazing”, adding that the track “is very suitable and it will be a great experience to come to Zandvoort. I think I’ve only raced once in the Netherlands in my entire career, except karting. I’ll be cheering for it (to happen).”
How Porsche2 was Digested
Porsche motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach told FEN that there was more than an element of surprise from rivals when Porsche announced a second factory team model last November.
“I’m not sure if shock is the right word. I think some of them were surprised,” said Laudenbach.
“I mean, these kinds of opportunities, like bringing new drivers in and stuff like that is positive. You know how we do Formula E; we do it 100% or we don’t do it. I think it took quite some years to bring us somewhere in to the front pack. Hopefully now we can stay in the front pack, but we always try to do it fully committed,” he continued.
“Honestly, it doesn’t change that much because we have now six cars and the only thing that changes is that there are six cars and we have one customer team and we have two teams. Except that we’re handling two cars and two customer teams.”
“So, it’s not a big difference because even now we try to work very closely with our customer teams because from the first moment on we were convinced that working together, and I know it’s not easy because in some way you’re also competitors on a team perspective.”
Several rivals have asked for clarity around a second factory team being granted a licence with Jaguar’s Ian James commenting to FEN that discussions with the FIA for parity clarity were “a work in progress.”
“The manufacturers and the teams just to make sure that however things are structured going into next season, that we protect the fact that it should be a level playing field for all involved,” added James.
“The financial and sporting (regulations) is where we just need to put our focus. The FIA is already working on making sure that we’ve got measures in place to make that equity within the championship.”
Stellantis’ Hit
It was widely reported in the automotive and financial media last week that Stellantis will take a $26 billion charge after pulling back on its electric-vehicle development strategy. The company stated that this was because of “over-estimating the pace of the energy transition” and “poor operational execution”. Stellantis is expected to confirm that Opel will join Citroen in Formula E with an acquired licence from Formula E, for the 2026-27 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship season onwards.
Jansonnie Officially Starts
New Stellantis Motorsport chief Olivier Jansonnie officially began his new role earlier this month after erstwhile director Jean-Marc Finot retired. Finot was given a paddock send off in the Emotion Club VIP area after the Miami race. Jansonnie, who was the team principal of the Peugeot WEC team from 2022 to 2025 was at the Sao Paulo race in December but will not attend the Jeddah races this week.
Refreshed to Impress
Fortescue Zero the suppliers of the battery and the Pit Boost technology in Formula E have told FEN details of the refreshment and care that the spec battery units had over the off-season last autumn.
“The cells we carry over, year on year,” said FZ’s Doug Campling. “So, the units were designed for a four season life in the first instance. However, there were upgrades, both on software, on the handle, on elements of the cabling, and a number of sort of minor, minor adjustments and inspections.
“No fundamental updates, but just getting really good consistency across the entire fleet, making sure the fleet were all as good as each other.“
New Faces in New Places
Lola has recently employed former Viritech designer Matt Faulks. His role at the Silverstone based manufacturer is as Head Of R&D and IP at Lola Cars where he is working closely with Chief Designer, Peter McCool.
Lola has also recruited a new Team Coordinator in Abbi Fullbrook, who joined from Motorsport UK where she became a Deputy Clerk of the Course for the British Automobile Racing Club.
Former Jaguar engineer Geoffrey Lenfant will join the Citroen Racing team in April after completing gardening leave after exiting the Big Cat last year. Nick Cassidy’s former engineer will join his old charge at the Monaco based team, which looks set to move to Paris fully for next season.
Talking of Lenfant’s arrival, Citroen Racing team principal Cyril Blais said that his appointment was “a good addition” and that “his position is not defined at the minute. You can see that around Nick, his performance engineer and his race engineer, that there’s a real dynamic. The idea is to reinforce that team.
“He needs time to understand how the team works. He will be there to be able to familiarise himself with the team. At the same time, he will be able to get involved really early into Gen4. Then we’ll transition into his position when it’s clearly defined, when we say that the time is right. There’s no real timeline on that.”
Gen4 Launch Event?
Formula E is preparing for a special media launch event for the Gen4 car in late April. Plans for the showcase are expected to be announced next month but will include all teams being present with each of the manufacturer test and development cars set to run. The original Gen4 ‘FIA/Spark test car’ had more mileage put on it at the Alès Cévennes track in France last week with James Rossiter conducting two days of running, including several hours in wet conditions using the new for Gen4 wet weather tyres.
Lola team principal Mark Preston has told FEN that he believes the Gen4 car will attract more rookie Formula E drivers to the all-electric world championship.
“As it becomes more like an F2 car, more aero, more similar to what many drivers are used to because they always find it quite difficult to come into Formula E in such a different car,” reckoned Preston. “But as it gets more aero, different tyres, more grip, more power, it’s starting to become quite a beast actually. It’s a step above many cars out there, so yes it’s a good time to think about rookies for the future.”
Nyck de Vries told FEN that he was slightly frustrated not to have sampled the Gen4 Formula E car yet due to Mahindra’s relatively late confirmation that it will be its own manufacturer in the new rules set.
“I think that’s right (to be frustrated) but equally I don’t really think that we’ve missed that much either,” said de Vries.
“Of course, it would have been nice to have been part of those tests but as I said our focus is still on season 12 and we look forward to what’s coming, but that will come in due course.”
CUPRA Kiro: Beaver Believers!
CUPRA KIRO has joined forces with Disney and Pixar to bring what it calls a ‘custom, one-of-a-kind “Hoppers” livery wrap to the 2026 Jeddah E-Prix.’
Disney and Pixar’s all-new animated comedy adventure “Hoppers” features Mabel, an animal lover who seizes an opportunity to use a new technology to ‘hop’ her consciousness into a life-like robotic beaver and communicate directly with animals. Formula E Notebook understands that the film is not based on real life events.
“Since entering Formula E last season, our ambition at CUPRA KIRO has been to challenge convention by injecting the series into new cultural spaces,” commented Jon Wilde, Commercial Director at CUPRA KIRO.
“Collaborating with Disney and Pixar to promote ’Hoppers’ is a natural evolution of that journey and our wider relationship with Walt Disney Studios, and is yet another example of how we’re redefining what’s commercially possible in this championship. ‘Hoppers’ delivers a powerful message about the critical importance of biodiversity and teamwork in today’s world – values that sit at the core of Formula E, and our own vision for the future as a team. Working with a storytelling brand as iconic as Pixar allows us to connect with new audiences in a bold and meaningful way, and we’re incredibly excited to bring this collaboration to life in Jeddah.”
Pawn or Prawn?
The world of chess is often used as a link to Formula E’s infamous multi-tasking skills for drivers, and The Race recently spoke to chess champion Anna Cramling to see if the analogous comparison rings true. She talked to FEN founder Sam Smith and the extensive interview can be found HERE.
AVL and RFK Link-Up
Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing has announced that AVL RACETECH has joined the RFK TeK Alliance, further strengthening the organisation’s network of advanced technology and performance partners. The partnership builds on a successful technical collaboration already established between the two organizations. Click HERE for more information.
