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 lineup 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 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.
Porsche wasted no time getting up to speed for the start of the GEN 3 Era. The German outfit were consistent podium finishers in the opening five races of the season, with Wehrlein commencing proceedings with second in Mexico City. He followed this up with back-to-back wins in the Diriyah double-header, before handing the reins to his teammate Da Costa. The Portuguese driver took third in Hyderabad before claiming his maiden for Porsche at the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix in Round 5.
However, the Stuttgart-based manufacturer was unable to maintain this momentum heading into the latter part of the season. Both drivers only appeared on the podium once after the initial flurry, with Wehrlein claiming a victory in Jakarta (Round 10), and Da Costa a third place in Portland (Round 12). This was enough to keep them away from the midfield, but not sufficient to secure a top-three finish, as a late push by Andretti and Jaguar meant all Porsche had to show for their efforts was fourth in the Teams’ Championship.
For Season 10, Porsche stuck with Wehrlein and Da Costa, and the two have strung together a more consistent run this campaign. Both have a pair of victories to their names, and Wehrlein has added three Julius Baer Pole Positions and a second place to his collection. Whether it’ll be enough for Porsche to pip Jaguar to the title, or for Wehrlein to trump Cassidy remains to be seen. But, whatever happens, Season 10 has marked clear progress for the future and will be a strong foundation heading into the GEN 3 Evo era.