FIA WECFormula E

Porsche latest to join Formula E as they announce plans to leave LMP1

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Oliver Blume (L) and Michael Steiner (R) of Porsche with Alejandro Agag. Credit: Formula E

Porsche have become the latest manufacturer to announce that they will be joining Formula E, with the German marque launching their own team for the 2019/20 season.

As a result of the move Porsche also announced that they would be ending their involvement in the LMP1 category of the WEC from the end of this season.

It comes after Mercedes announced earlier this week that they would be stopping their DTM involvement in order to concentrate efforts on entering a team in the all-electric series.

Speaking about the decision to switch to Formula E, Porsche’s research and development board member Michael Steiner said that the environmental aspects of the series were key.

“Entering Formula E and achieving success in this category are the logical outcomes of our Mission E road car programme,” Steiner said.

“The growing freedom for in-house technology developments makes Formula E attractive to us.

“For us, Formula E is the ultimate competitive environment for driving forward the development of high performance vehicles in areas such as environmental friendliness, efficiency and sustainability.”

By entering for the 2019/20 season, Porsche will be able to develop their own powertrain, and will be entering the series after it has made the switch from using two cars per race to just one.

Their decision to enter is another boost for the Formula E series, who can now boast car giants such as Jaguar, Audi, Renault, BMW, DS and Mercedes as being among their ranks.

The founder and CEO of the series, Alejandro Agag, said he could barely believe that the series had attracted a brand of Porsche’s stature.

“I’m delighted to welcome Porsche to the FIA Formula E Championship,” Agag said. “If somebody told me when we started this project five years ago, that we’d be announcing a partnership with a brand like Porsche, I wouldn’t have believed it. “

“To have a name like Porsche in Formula E, with all it represents in terms of racing and heritage – and in terms of sport cars – is an inflexion point in our quest to change the public perception about electric cars.

“The electric revolution continues, and Formula E remains the championship for that revolution.”

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