Breaking news
Formula E
Porsche: LMP1 drivers not guaranteed Formula E seats
Porsche's LMP1 drivers are not guaranteed seats for when the German manufacturer enters Formula E for season six in 2019/20, but will be at the front of the queue.
Gary Watkins
Edited: Oct 30, 2017, 4:28 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Andreas Seidl, Porsche's LMP1 team principal, explained that the policy of recruiting from within would be carried over from its FIA World Endurance Championship programme, which finishes at the end of this season.
All six of its LMP1 drivers will remain under contract and be offered race programmes for next season, although Brendon Hartley's situation is complicated by the fact he is likely to be racing in Formula 1 full-time for Toro Rosso in 2018.
"The idea is that we will continue the history that we have built up with these guys in the next programme," explained Seidl.
He stressed that it was "not a given" that two of the six will land its Formula E seats, but he said Porsche would "look in-house first like we did when we entered P1".
Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb were already Porsche drivers when they joined the LMP1 squad on the marque's return to the top flight of sportscar racing in 2014.
Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber then stepped up from Porsche's GT roster to drive the third 919 Hybrid at the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours, before landing full-season WEC drives for 2017.
Seidl suggested that Andre Lotterer and Neel Jani's respective deals to race for Techeetah and Dragon Racing in season four would not necessary mean they jump ahead of the other LMP1 drivers in the queue for seats in season six.
He described their arrangements as "private deals" that were "good for Porsche".
Porsche had a presence at the official Formula E pre-season test at Valencia earlier this month, embedding engineers with the Dragon team.
Seidl would not be drawn on whether this arrangement would continue or whether it would seek a partnership with an existing team as it gears up for its own entry.
"We had guys in that garage [Dragon's] and we were looking around other garages, too," he explained.
"We used Valencia as an opportunity to have a first look and get an idea of what Formula E is, so that once this season is finished we can create a new structure."
On the subject of an alliance with one of the teams not affiliated to a major manufacturer, he said: "We could, but everything is open at the moment."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Vergne: Techeetah taking knife to a gun fight
Next article Techeetah set to become works team in season five
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Gary Watkins
Ford steps up WEC preparations with second test car
WEC
WEC
Ford steps up WEC preparations with second test car
More from
Neel Jani
Estre, Jani praise revisions to "fairer" Le Mans qualifying format
WEC
WEC
24 Hours of Le Mans
Estre, Jani praise revisions to "fairer" Le Mans qualifying format
Jani explains fix for bizarre Porsche door problem while leading WEC Spa race
WEC
WEC
Spa
Jani explains fix for bizarre Porsche door problem while leading WEC Spa race
Daytona 24h: Derani unleashes track record to capture pole for Cadillac
IMSA
IMSA
Daytona 24 Hours
Daytona 24h: Derani unleashes track record to capture pole for Cadillac
More from
Porsche Team
Antonio Felix da Costa defends Jaguar, says Pascal Wehrlein took Jake Dennis out “on purpose”
Formula E
Formula E
London ePrix II
Antonio Felix da Costa defends Jaguar, says Pascal Wehrlein took Jake Dennis out “on purpose”
Pascal Wehrlein: Jaguar wanted to "destroy my race” in controversial London finale
Formula E
Formula E
London ePrix II
Pascal Wehrlein: Jaguar wanted to "destroy my race” in controversial London finale
Pascal Wehrlein responds to Porsche’s team tactics after dominant London win
Formula E
Formula E
London ePrix I
Pascal Wehrlein responds to Porsche’s team tactics after dominant London win
Latest news
Gibbs, Spire and Gabehart argue over contempt and injunction
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
37 min
Gibbs, Spire and Gabehart argue over contempt and injunction
William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
1 h
William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix
Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 1 h
Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring
Daniel Suarez will return to Spire Motorsports for 2027 NASCAR Cup season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
1 h
Daniel Suarez will return to Spire Motorsports for 2027 NASCAR Cup season
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe