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PR Contact: Yannick Bitzer | yannick.bitzer2@porsche.de

After more than 30 years, Porsche made a return to top-flight single-seater racing in the 2019/20 season of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. The German marque squares up against the best in world motorsport in Season 9, with silverware and its first win now in the bag, and all eyes at the outfit on the top prize. For the start of the Gen3 era, Season 6 champion Antonio Felix da Costa joins Pascal Wehrlein.

With a motor racing history stretching back to the 1950s, Porsche's entry into Formula E became the latest step in the German manufacturer's history in 2019/20. After its most recent success in endurance racing, including multiple victories in both LMP1 and GT categories, the marque turned to the all-electric racing series to ready the next generation of electric Porsche road cars.

Calling on a decade of experience in hybrid and electrified racing, after the marque launched its first hybrid racing car, the 911 GT3 R Hybrid in 2010, Porsche headed into Formula E to take on the most competitive line up in motorsport. Following its first hybrid race car, the road-going 918 Spyder hit the road in 2015, which in part formed the basis of the 919 Hybrid race car, in which Neel Jani and Andre Lotterer drove in the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Lotterer flew out of the blocks in Round 1 of the 2019/20 season, clinching the Stuttgart manufacturer's first podium with the 99X Electric. This was followed by three none-scores, but Lotterer was still able to showcase the 99X Electric's promise with a pole in Mexico City.

The German marque concluded their debut season with a commendable eighth in the Teams' standings, following Lotterer's podium and a consistent points-scoring run in the final six rounds of the 2019/20 season in Berlin.

With their rookie campaign completed, expectations kicked up a notch but Season 7 was a one of missed opportunities, with infringements costing the team its first Formula E win, via Pascal Wehrlein, in Puebla for one.

Without the double DSQ, the German marque would have been troubling the sharp end of the standings, as both Wehrlein and teammate Lotterer scored consistently through a strong second half of the season. Silverware for Wehrlein in Rome and second for Lotterer in Valencia were the highlights of a season that resulted in 11th and 17th in the standings, respectively, for the duo.

The team secured a breakthrough first win, and maiden one-two with Wehrlein heading home Lotterer in dominant fashion – the Porsche pair essentially forcing an extra lap upon the rest of the field such was the success of their combination of strategy, pace and energy management. From there, the team couldn’t quite double down in an ultra-competitive campaign, but did improve to 11th and 12th in the Drivers’ running – with all eyes and 18 months of development behind them on Gen3 and a big push for the front in Season 9.

DRIVER LINE-UP

  • Media ID-23145
    13

    António FélixDa Costa

    112
    8
    19

    Date of Birth31 August 1991
    BirthplaceLisbon
    Season 6 champion Antonio Felix da Costa makes the jump to TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team for 2022/23. The passionate Portuguese brings his racing winning prowess to Porsche as the legendary German marque hunts for title success.

    Antonio Felix da Costa is one of the most experienced Formula E drivers on the grid, having been a popular fixture in the series since Season 1.

    Da Costa grew up in family of racers and started karting at the age of nine, competing in a number of domestic series in his native Portugal. In 2007, he progressed into single-seaters, in Formula Renault 2.0, and after catching the eye in both Formula 3 Euro Series and GP3, he would eventually join the Red Bull Junior Team. After making his Formula 1 test debut for Force India in 2010, the Portuguese took his testing skills to Red Bull Racing, where he went on to pilot four of legendary car designer Adrian Newey's title-winning machines.

    Making a move to Formula E in the inaugural season, da Costa started out his all-electric journey at the second round at Putrajaya as a driver for Team Aguri, where he raced for two seasons - securing an early maiden victory in his first three races at Buenos Aires.

    The Lisbon-born driver moved to American outfit Andretti for two seasons, benefiting from the team's technical partnership with BMW in 2017/18. For Season 5 and the new Gen2 era, Andretti's relationship with the German marque blossomed into a full manufacturer effort, with team newly-christened BMW i Andretti Motorsport. The top step of the podium had proved elusive since his first taste of the winner's Moet & Chandon champagne in 2014/15, until his win at the opening round of the 2018/19 season in Saudi Arabia.  

    He mounted a title charge with BMW as the season went on, eventually falling by the wayside, and Da Costa made his move to pastures new for Season 6 as he joined DS TECHEETAH alongside double champion Jean-Eric Vergne. Both drivers were gunning for the crown, but it was Da Costa that made the most headway, eventually storming to a record-equalling three wins on the spin between Round 5 in Marrakesh and Round 7 in Berlin - enough to steer him to the Drivers' Championship in dominant style.

    With competition hotter than ever in Season 7, da Costa was the man with the target on his back. A single podium in Diriyah was the only silverware the Portuguese could accrue in the first half of a hard-fought campaign.

    Three non-scores - including a disqualification for running out of usable energy having led an extraordinary encounter in Valencia - was not what the Portuguese would have hoped for but a statement victory via a last lap overtaking manoeuvre in Monaco provided a season-high.

    Still in the famous black and gold of DS TECHEETAH in 2021/22, da Costa had a slow start to the season but came alive in Marrakesh with a pole and a podium with a return to the top step two races later in New York City. In a neat and fitting bookend to the Gen2 era, da Costa claimed the first and final pole positions on a competitive period of Formula E.

    Shifting across to the factory Porsche outfit for the debut of the high-powered Gen3 in Season 9, da Costa will be looking for more title success at the wheel of the 99X Electric.

  • Media ID-23142
    94

    PascalWehrlein

    64
    4
    7

    Date of Birth18 October 1994
    BirthplaceSigmaringen
    After scoring a popular debut victory for himself and Porsche last season, Pascal Wehrlein gets set for his third campaign with TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team in Season 9.

    Born in Germany in 1994, the German-Mauritian driver started his racing career in karts in 2003. Progressing to the Formula 3 Euro Series in 2012, Wehrlein finished second in the championship that same year to Dani Juncadella.

    The following year, Wehrlein made his debut in the DTM at the age of 18 with Mucke Motorsport before switching to rival team HWA in 2014. Here, he became the youngest driver in the series history to claim pole position and win a race on route to 8th in the championship with 46 points to his name. That same year, it was announced that the German driver would act as a reserve driver for the Mercedes-AMG Formula One squad.

    In 2015, Wehrlein clinched the DTM championship title with five podiums, one fastest lap and two wins, becoming at the time the youngest driver to win the German touring car championship.

    This performance put the German on the radar for Formula 1, where he made his debut with Manor Racing in 2016. Wehrlein scored his and Manor's only point of the season at the Austrian Grand Prix with a tenth-place finish.

    With Manor folding in early 2017, Wehrlein moved to Sauber Formula One team where he scored the team's only points of the season before moving back to the DTM the following year to drive for HWA, where he finished 8th in the championship.

    On the first day of Formula E pre-2018/19 season testing in Valencia, Mahindra Racing announced that Wehrlein would partner with Jerome d'Ambrosio for the Indian team's 2018/19 campaign. Over the course of the season, the German driver racked up one podium finish and came painfully close to clinching his maiden victory in Mexico City. 

    Showing plenty of promise, Wehrlein was signed for another season with the Indian manufacturer, partnering Jerome d'Ambrosio for a second season.

    For 2020/21, Wehrlein made the move to TAG Heuer Porsche. It was a story of missed opportunities, with infringements costing him and the team its first Formula E win in Puebla for one. Without the double DSQ, the Germans would have been troubling the sharp end of the standings. As it was, he settled for 11th in the table.

    Heading into his fourth season in the all-electric championship, all eyes were on Wehrlein to secure his and the legendary German marque's first win in the series.

    Round 3 would be a story of redemption for Wehrlein, arriving in Mexico City where he had been denied victory before. The team-driver pairing dominated the proceedings with a clear drive, toying with the rest of the field as they ran a perfectly judged energy management strategy and leading teammate Andre Lotterer for a commanding first 1-2. 

    This was to be the highlight of their season, technical issues took Wehrlein out of controlling lead around the fabled streets of Monaco. With the German made regular points finishes cracking into the top 10 to end the season in 10th.

    Continuing with Porsche for a third campaign in Season 9, popular German faces a new challenge with the start of the Gen3 era with an all-new car and a brand new teammate in the way of Antonio Felix da Costa as they challenge for the big prize.

TEAMS