Porsche has announced that Pascal Wehrlein, a member of the Porsche works team in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, has won the Driver’s World Championship with the Porsche 99X Electric. Additionally, the Porsche works team has become the most successful team in Formula E history, securing 12 victories out of 74 races.
Pascal Wehrlein clinched his second major title during the season finale E-Prix held in London on the 21st. Following his win with the same vehicle in 2023, British driver Jake Dennis from the Andretti customer team also became champion, marking Porsche’s best performance in a Formula series in 40 years since the records set with the TAG Turbo engines in Formula 1. Notably, Porsche achieved this success as a team, not just an engine partner.
Porsche entered Formula E in 2019 as part of its electrification goals. The team debuted in November 2019 in Saudi Arabia and immediately reached the podium, achieving its first historic victory with a 1-2 finish in Mexico in February 2022. With the introduction of the third generation of Formula E single-seater Gen3 in the 2022/2023 season, the engineers from Flacht showcased the technological advantage of the Porsche 99X Electric, propelling them to the top ranks.
Florian Modlinger, Director of Formula E at Porsche, joined the team in early 2022 and has been managing the team, adapting it to sprint races based on his experience in DTM. He also noted that the skills developed in the endurance program of the 919 Hybrid Le Mans prototype contributed to Porsche’s capability. Modlinger stated, “In Formula E, efficient operation is crucial due to limitations in testing schedules, practice time, costs, and manpower, and Porsche is simultaneously working on racing and development of the current vehicle, testing the Evo version, and developing a new generation of vehicles for Season 13,” adding, “We will challenge for the World Championship title next season.”
From the fifth season of the 2023/2024 Formula E championship, Porsche built on its success by addressing key weaknesses. In the season opener in Mexico, Pascal Wehrlein achieved both pole position and victory, adding a total of six wins over the season, culminating in seven victories in a single season. This surpasses the record set by Renault’s e.dams team in Season 3. Wehrlein captured both the World Champion title and the best qualifying record title, while teammate Antonio Felix da Costa recorded four wins, including a streak of three consecutive victories. Thanks to Andretti driver Dennis, the Porsche 99X Electric racked up a total of eight victories.
Having participated in 74 races and claimed 12 victories, the Porsche works team holds the record for the most wins in Formula E history. This season surpasses the three Formula 1 titles amassed by McLaren (Niki Lauda in 1984, Alain Prost in 1985 and 1986) with the TAG Turbo engine. At that time, Porsche designed the engine while McLaren handled the remaining vehicle components; now, Porsche manages the development of the 99X Electric, including the vehicle structure and layout, electric motors, inverters, gearboxes, differentials, drive shafts, cooling systems, the rear suspension components by Bynak, and software. Notably, the software is pivotal not only for the 99X Electric but also for the development of Porsche’s production vehicles.
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr