The new Formula E records mark the high point for Porsche in Formula racing for now – 40 years after the Porsche-designed TAG Turbo engine became the benchmark in Formula 1. Unlike then, Porsche won last season not just as an engine partner, but as a team – and developed much more than just movement.
“For Porsche, the first title came last year,” says Florian Modlinger, Director of Factory Motorsport Formula E at Porsche. “This was our fourth season in a row and the first in which the competition did not have a development lead. When Porsche completed the first tests in 2019, the second generation of Formula E cars had already been racing for a year and a half. With the introduction of the third generation, all teams were once again faced with new technical rules – and we made the decisive leap in performance.”
From endurance racing to electric formula racing
Porsche entered Formula E in 2019. The commitment was intended to highlight the ambitions of the electric sports car manufacturer. More room for internal developments also made the innovative electric racing series technically attractive. At the debut of the race in Saudi Arabia in November 2019, the team of workers from Weissach immediately reached the podium. This was followed by the first win in Mexico in February 2022 – a historic 1-2 victory. However, it was only with the third generation of Formula E cars, the so-called Gen3 introduced for the 2022/2023 season, that Porsche established itself at the top. The engineers at Flacht used the new scope for internal developments and gave the Porsche 99X Electric a slight technical lead over most of the field. The Andretti customer team carried that lead to the finish line, while the works team narrowly missed out on their first title.
“We first have to learn how to do sprint races,” explains Florian Modlinger in his role as team leader. Modlinger moved to Porsche at the start of 2022 after four years in Formula E with rival Audi racing team Abt. As the head of the project, he then took over the management of the working group. While already familiar with sprint racing from the DTM, the Porsche team was shaped by extensive experience from the successful endurance program with the 919 Hybrid Le Mans prototype. “In Formula E, you have to get everything extremely to the point. There are only a few test days and minimal training time on race weekends – with limited spending and limited staff. The pace is fast and the scope is huge. For some time now we have been running three programs simultaneously: the race and development program with the current car and the test program with the Evo version. And we are already working on the completely new generation of cars for season 13. All this requires maximizing in all areas with many hours of work in the simulator.”
A season full of records
By the 2023/2024 season, the fifth for Porsche, the key weaknesses had been eliminated – and success came more consistently: pole position and a dominant win for Pascal Wehrlein at the season opener in Mexico. Six more wins followed for the works team at Misano, Berlin, Shanghai, Portland and London – a new record. With seven wins in a season, the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E team broke the record of the Renault e.dams team (season 3). Wehrlein not only became World Champion, but also claimed the title of best qualifier. Teammate Antonio Félix da Costa equaled his record from 2020 with three wins in a row, taking more than anyone else this season with four wins and even crossing the finish line first five times. Thanks to Andretti driver Dennis, the highly efficient Porsche 99X Electric took eight wins in the end.
12 wins in 74 starts – no team in Formula E wins more often than the Porsche works team. In some respects, last season in the electric world championship even surpasses the three Formula 1 titles of the TAG Turbo engine used by McLaren (Nikki Lauda 1984, Alain Prost 1985 and 1986). While Porsche designed the engine back then and McLaren was responsible for the rest of the car, Porsche not only does the development work for the 99X Electric, but also builds and develops the cars. The development project itself also includes much more than the electric motor: the converter, gearbox, differential, drive shafts, cooling systems and other components such as the rear suspension components are sourced from Weissach, as is the entire software of the car. The latter is hugely important – in the 99X Electric, but also in Porsche road cars.
Expertise in formula racing
In the late 1980s, Porsche learned in the US that world-class formula racing presented different challenges to endurance racing. Since 1988, the racing department wanted to win the prestigious Indianapolis 500 not only with its own engine, as in Formula 1, but also with its own chassis. However, the framework fell short of expectations. The only win among many podium finishes followed in 1989, when the British specialists from March provided the framework and came to the more European-influenced Mid-Ohio circuit for all-terrain sports cars. After a total of three years, Porsche refocused its resources on other projects.
With its best season to date in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, Porsche is now also proving its prowess in formula racing and thus in the motorsport industry that the record winner of Le Mans has historically known less about. Florian Modlinger: “Formula E has its own requirements in terms of technology, driving and operations. The entire team has mastered these challenges incredibly well. We can all be very proud of that. After all, we are also a foreground for the company’s potential. However, we remain hungry: next season we also want to win the World Team Championship.”
Porsche in Formula E
Porsche contested its fifth season in Formula E in 2023/2024. In addition to the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team running in works, American customer outfit Andretti Formula E competed in the Porsche 99X Electric. The concept of the innovative electric racing car was developed at net CO2-neutral facility Weissach. With its commitment to the world championship, Porsche underlines its commitment to take a leading role among traditional car manufacturers in the fields of electrification, sustainability and technology. In Formula E, the brand gains valuable insights into its series production electric sports cars.