Panasonic Jaguar Racing team boss James Barclay is optimistic that the British marque will be able to "fight for podiums at every race" of the 2018/19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship.
Heading into its third full season in Formula E, Jaguar Racing saw large gains in performance in Season Four, jumping from the back of the grid at the end of the 2016/17 campaign to secure sixth place in the Teams' Championship.
In Season Four, through the services of Mitch Evans and inaugural Formula E champion Nelson Piquet Jr, Jaguar secured a number of landmark results including its first Super Pole appearance, maiden pole position and maiden podium finish.
With more than 800 new parts compared to Jaguar's 2017/18 I-TYPE 2, the Gen2 I-TYPE 3 has improved efficiency while the Season Five powertrain is 25% more powerful than last season's, producing up to 250kW.
“We can’t wait to get back to racing and kick off our third season in the ABB FIA Formula E championship," said Barclay.
"We have combined the learnings from our first two seasons to make sure our powertrain is as competitive as possible, hopefully putting us in a great place heading into the opening E-Prix.
"We had our most successful season to date in 2017-18, and with Nelson and Mitch both returning, I’m optimistic we have the right team and the right cars to secure points and fight for podiums at every race.”
Emerging Formula E star Mitch Evans echoed Barclay's comments, confident that the team's changes in preparation for Season Five will propel the squad to the all-electric single seater series' front-running pack:
“The competition in the Formula E Championship continues to grow each season, but the work that the team have put in and the advancements to the car will put us in a good position to be a front-running team this season," said Evans.
“I had my first podium in Hong Kong last year and I want to repeat that consistently.
"With the new car I believe that is possible and I will be racing to win – that’s what gets me up in the morning," he added.
“I’m determined to build on the team’s progress last season and really challenge for points and podiums at each race," continued Piquet, who joined Jaguar for Season Four, jumping ship from NIO.
"Mitch and I have been working hard in the off-season to get up to speed with the Jaguar I-TYPE 3. We are both ready to race and can’t wait to get the season underway."
Formula E's fifth season of competition commences on December 15 with the inaugural Ad Diriyah E-Prix.
Discussion about this post