Envision Racing team boss Sylvain Filippi says Formula E is clear on its technological direction, amid the “head-scratching” in Formula 1 with the abandonment of the mooted V10 engine return.
F1 has announced that plans to reintroduce V10 engines have been shelved until 2029 at the earliest, calming the fears of many of the OEMs, including Audi’s forthcoming project.
Such an idea caused significant kickback from the German marque and many of the other powertrain developers, and at a meeting in Bahrain ahead of this weekend’s Grand Prix, it was concluded that the upcoming V6 hybrids, which sees a more equal split between combustion and electric usage, will go ahead as planned.
Ahead of Saturday’s Miami E-Prix, Filippi told media including Motorsport Week that he is happy that the all-electric championship is pulling in one direction, compared to F1’s recent contentious debate.
“The one thing we don’t have a problem with is the roadmap,” he said. “They’re really clear where we’re going and what we’re doing and so on. For F1, it’s a bit of head scratching on which technology to use but I’m excited to also have a lot of cross-pollination across motorsports, right?
“So they’ll be learning from some of the stuff we developed for them for their new 350 kilowatts and on the flipside they also have resources that we don’t have and we can also learn from it, so that’s the beauty of motorsports as a very small world where everyone developing new things is good.”
Andretti and DS Penske chiefs in agreement on unclear F1 powertrain vision
DS Penske’s Deputy Team Principal Phil Charles, who worked with Toro Rosso as Chief Race Engineer before his long career in FE, was keen to stress the championship’s innovative nature.
“I lived in F1 for a long time and I could have been in my ears ringing with engine noise and that’s the effect of the excitement at times, but it’s definitely not a technology that we’re pushing on.”
Charles added that he is “really keen” that FE continues to push its technological advances, stating: “I think we’ve got a good thing going and so they [F1] can make their choices but we should keep pushing on and on.”
Andretti boss Roger Griffiths was equally non-plussed about F1’s news,
“Like Phil, I’ve spent a few years in Formula 1 and certainly remember sitting on the podium with my ears ringing in pain from the V10s as they came past,” he said. “I think we all move on and the V10 is very much an emotional experience.
“But [it’s] maybe not that well known to this room but there’s a limit to how far Formula 1 can go with electrification and we’re the only single season championship in the world that can be 100% electric so that’s something we stay true to, it’s at the core of our DNA and like Phil said, the technology that we see today in the Formula E cars rivals everything out there that’s also racing so we’re very happy with where we are.
“I think being independent of what Formula 1 does is great for us so we’ll stay true to our path and let them decide what they want to do.”
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