New Jaguar TCS Racing driver Stoffel Vandoorne, who was conformed at the team today, believes that Jaguar’s expansion to a six car attack, via the addition of the new Fortescue Zero operation. Will have inherent challenges well as key positives.
Vandoorne has raced for manufacturers – Mercedes and Stellantis – before that have had customer teams, but only Porsche has previously had six cars on a Formula E grid.
The parity that Jaguar now has on its bitterest rival though will have an impact on how the GEN4 project develops in a racing environment for the first season in 2027 at least.
“I think there are two parts of it,” said Vandoorne. “I think there is there is the kind of the short term extra stress, I would say, on the organisation because it is ultimately creating a little bit of pressure on the system to first of all produce all the parts but also to integrate all the new the new people.
“But long term, I absolutely feel like it’s the right thing to do because ultimately, if you look at the likes of Stellantis, the likes of Porsche, they’re fighting with those numbers of cars as well.”
On balance Vandoorne believes that Jaguar has employed the right tactic to expand its squad, a move that because it includes the service provider of the Jaguar TCS Racing team – Fortescue Zero – will mean a heightened level of intensity and scrutiny will be on it in 2027.
“I think in the long term, it is absolutely the right thing to do. We’ll have more data available. We’ll be you know working quite closely together with all with all the customers, so it will be a benefit,” opined Vandoorne.
“It’s just in the short term, it’s yeah, it’s not a straightforward integration, and that will require a little bit of time. But it’s absolutely the right thing.”
How Da Costa/Vandoorne combination will function
Stoffel Vandoorne and Antonio Felix da Costa have never been teammates through their own expansive careers across the last 15 years or so.
The pair have had enjoyed tough on-track battles and have left no quarter in their intensity on track despite their close friendship and frequent socialising. Could that be threatened as they push for supremacy in GEN4?
The answer, in all reality, is that it could be. But so could any teammate relationship at this level. Vandoorne and da Costa have been around the block long enough to know that on -track and off-track are very different worlds. The understanding between them feels as though, like with da Costa and Mitch Evans last season, that mutual respect and sensible tactics will trump anything that may trigger hostility or unease in the team.
“I’ve known Antonio for a very long time,” Vandoorne told FEN.
“He’s been obviously a champion as well in the past. Same as me. And I think it depends a lot on how both personalities kind of embrace that and and how the team handles it as well.
“So, I think it’s a bit of a combination of both how that relationship ends up working.. We’ve been very hard competitors actually for most of our junior careers, and then then into Formula E as well. So obviously there is always this part of competitiveness between us.”
Da Costa and Evans had some tense exchanges in 2026, especially at Jarama when a quicker Evans believed he should have had a crack at da Costa in the closing laps. It took team principal, Ian James, to issue a cease and desist order on the pumped up Kiwi to manage the situation. Vandoorne believes that Jaguar is solid enough to manage similar situations effectively.
“Ultimately, we’re racing for one of the biggest teams in Formula as well and we’ve got to respect the team as well, and we’re always going to be professional in that that way as well.
“I think especially in this initial phase of GEN4, where it’s all a little bit of an unknown, and we don’t really know how you know competitive we’re going to be, we’re working extremely closely together.
“We’re really pushing the team as much as we can. There’s not really any games being played, any hiding, whatever. It’s really let’s make our car and team as competitive as we can, and then hopefully we’re strong enough so we can fight it out on track between us.”
