Max Verstappen has given Formula E‘s new Gen4 car the seal of approval, telling the all-electric championship’s Antonio Felix da Costa that it is “cool”.
The series will officially begin its new era next season, with the car’s launch event – Gen4 Unleashed – taking place at Circuit Paul Ricard this week.
On Tuesday, the car’s official test driver – former F1 test driver and FE Team Principal James Rossiter – put the car through its paces with a demonstration run before the media, including Motorsport Week.
It will replaced the Gen3 machine, which has polarised opinion since its launch in Season 9, with many drivers conistently giving it negative reviews.
Despite the car having been officially launched to the world via imagery and footage late last year, the event symbolised a big moment for the series.
With a bigger, sturdier and faster car that boasts speeds of up to 200 mph – and is projected to lap some circuits faster than Formula 2 machinery – the Gen4 car feels like a watershed moment for the sport.
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And da Costa, speaking exclusively to Motorsport Week at Le Castellet, believes the technology and aesthetics of the car will deliver, and explained that a text from Verstappen has added to the momentum.
“Yeah, it felt like we are reintroducing ourselves to the world for two reasons,” the Jaguar driver said. “Firstly, because it’s a new car. For me, it’s well introduced into the motorsport world by now, but it’s probably our biggest step yet.
“[The] Look and feel, technology, speed, performance. I think it’s not a big secret that the Gen3 wasn’t a very, very popular car when it came out and I think now with this car we’ve really doubled down on it in a good way and it’s a really good first impression.
“I have a cool story which is when the Gen3 was revealed, one of the first messages I got was from Max Verstappen and he was like, ‘I’m not sure about this one’ and yesterday, when it went out, one of the first messages I got was from Max Verstappen saying, ‘this is cool’!.
“So yeah, if the F1 guys are validating it, that’s a cool thing as well and I think it’s just great for the series.”
Gen4’s launch seems to be the genuine article, compared to other generations, which no doubt has enabled growth of Formula E, but this newest challenger might just silence the naysayers.
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