As is customary when the final race of the season arrives,Formula E talk turns to drivers and teams—but this time,the situation is truly complex.
Electric Motor News’s “Orecchio Lungo” has beenbusy covering the paddock and behind-the-scenes areas at the London E-Prix, bringing backinteresting newsthat—naturally—no one wants to talk about.
The domino effect
As often happens in the world of motorsport,the driver market appears to be stalled, waiting for atop driver to decide his next move.
The “Orecchio Lungo” reports thatOliver Rowland wants to leave Nissan.The reasons reportedly stem fromvarious issues the team has faced—struggling to perform as well as they did last year. If you listen to theextensive interview we conducted with Team Principal Tommaso Volpe, he doesn’t deny this, acknowledging that severalattempted solutions simply didn’t work.
The team has lost key personnel, putting a strain on the entire operation; naturally, when the machinery falters, results suffer.
It all hinges on the reigning champion – who, according to “The Orecchio Lungo”has spoken with multiple Formula E teams—deciding his future.Once that decision is made, achain reactionof moves should follow, though our findings suggest not *everything* will necessarily fall into place immediately.Rowland’s potential destinations include Envision or Penske… thoughthe American team remains a difficult variable to decipherwith the information currently available.
“The Orecchio Lungo” also bringsnews of drivers set to switch teams, even if nothing has been officially announced yet.
This includesMaximilian Günther, who is reportedly heading to Envision Racing; meanwhile – as we previously predicted –Mitch Evans is set to race for Opel, andStoffel Vandoorne is expected to become a full-time driver for Jaguar TCSalongside Da Costa. According to *Electric Motor News*’s “Orecchio Lungo” (insider source),two teams are reportedly facing financial crises:Lola, which is said to be without contracted personnel, and Penske Autosport. Penske is dealing with thedeparture of powertrain supplier DS Automobiles, lacks a confirmed powertrain for the future, and is grappling with personal issues affecting Jay that are inevitably impacting the team.
Taylor Barnard is reportedly very concerned about this situation; he has received no confirmation that he will continue with Penske, yet –being under contract – he has not actively sought a seat with another team.
The “Orecchio Lungo” also reports asurplus of drivers eyeing the Envision team. Beyond the previously mentioned situations involving Rowland and Günther,the insider has heard Zak O’Sullivan’s name– he performed very well with the team during the Rookie Test.Even Ticktum has been linked to the seat; he remainswithout a contract at Cupra Kiro and is being associated with both Envision and Penske.
Josep Martì is expected to remain with Cupra Kiro, according to the report, while there has been no further talk of the “Porsche 2” team announced some time ago.One might wonder if that team is actually the current Cupra Kiro squad – and while it is said that “thinking ill is a sin”… one can’t help but speculate…
What *has* been confirmed by the insider is thatthe current driver lineups for Porsche, Andretti, and Mahindra are set to remain unchanged.
Finally, there has been long-standingtalk of interest from Chinese manufacturers in entering Formula E.The “Orecchio Lungo” identifiesBYD and Geely as the interested parties; both haveinvestigated aspects of Formula E, though BYD has also looked into Formula 1, while Geely has explored the WEC. The days – or even the hours – following the second London race will be intense with announcements, becauseNovember is just around the corner and there is a Gen4 car to understand and develop.
#MarceloPadin #theEMNteam
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