Season 9 was TAG Heuer Porsche's best season in Formula E to date as the legendary marque wrapped up four wins and a total of seven podiums, and the factory outfit will keep what's working right down to the livery and the drivers with Pascal Wehrlein and Antonio Felix da Costa continuing behind the wheel of the Porsche 99X Electric.
Wehrlein also rounded out one of his best in Formula E last season, the German was atop of the standings for the first half of the season after a commanding double-header domination in Diriyah at the start of the year. Adding a further victory in Jakarta and ended up fourth overall.
“The test in Valencia marks the start of the new season," said the German ahead of Season 10. "We’ve been busy with preparations for weeks, and we’ve already done stints in the simulator. I’m certain we’ve made further progress. Last season we learned a lot, which we can build on now.
"For Valencia, it’s important to be well prepared to be able to roll out our test programme without any issues and gain further insights. There are some minor changes for the new season. Valencia will certainly help us to fully understand them. Then, we can get stuck in.”
Former champion da Costa joined Porsche ahead of Season 9 and after a somewhat unassuming start with the German outfit, he scored a debut podium in Hyderabad and then followed that up with an absolute overtaking masterclass in Cape Town with a daring move in the dying moments to take his first victory.
The Portuguese driver had a rollercoaster season, ending up ninth overall but is ready to get back to work in the Valencia pre-season test: “I’m looking forward to Valencia. The test is always cool because all of the teams and drivers are there. This gives us a chance to show where we stand against the competition, to see where we’re already strong and where we might need to make some improvements.
"The preparation for Season 10 is going much better for me than last season’s preparation. I was new to the team last year and getting used to the car. This time everything is easier. I used the Formula E break to contest endurance races in the Porsche 963, spend time with my family and friends and prepare myself mentally and physically for the new season."
The Porsche 99X Electric was a strong package last year, but their headline performances came from drives through the field, with their victories coming from outside of the top 10 on the grid.
This is an area that Florian Modlinger, Director Factory Motorsport Formula E, has acknowledged for 2024: “We used the time to take a deep look at last season. We analysed our strengths and weaknesses to gauge the potential that is yet to be tapped in our package. With regards to Season 10, our priority was to work on further developing the software to make our four 99X Electric cars even more competitive.
"Another important aspect we were working on was to improve our qualifying performance. We’ll use the test in Valencia to continue to systematically and meticulously prepare for the upcoming season as manufacturer and team. Our goal for 2024 is to maintain our good race performance and make more improvements in qualifying."
The team will return to the track at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia for the official pre-season test next week, and they'll also be joined by a rookie as part of their testing programme. Porsche have selected ADAC Prototype Cup LMP3 race winner Gabriela Jílkova to put down some laps in the Porsche 99X Electric.
The Czech driver has mainly raced in GT4 championships and has completed simulator work for the factory Porsche squad, and now she is being given the opportunity to show what she can do in the all-electric GEN3 machine.
With the TAG Heuer Porsche drivers now completing the Season 10 jigsaw, see the full grid for the 2023/24 season.