Automakers have been flocking to the FIA Formula E Championship, embracing the opportunity to showcase their leadership in electric propulsion. And, as unlikely as it may seem, the latest to entertain the prospect is none other than Ferrari.
According to Autosport, the Italian automaker would consider an entry into Formula E, presumably alongside its central Formula One program, but only under certain conditions and only a few years down the road.
“I have agonized over with this with my colleagues here in Ferrari for quite a while,” said Sergio Marchionne during a quarterly earnings conference call. “If it were to happen it would happen a few years from now. But it’s possible.”
The Ferrari chairman and CEO identified two sticking points as coming down to the mid-race car swaps and chassis development. But both of those conditions could be met, to some degree, in the coming years.
An ePrix (as the series’ races are termed) currently involves swapping cars in the middle of the race because the batteries aren’t powerful enough to last the entire distance. This could, however, change when the next generation of battery packs (currently being developed by Ferrari’s arch-rival McLaren) is implemented for the 2018/19 season.
Those battery packs are nonetheless installed into spec chassis. Developed and manufactured by Dallara and Spark Racing Technology, the chassis themselves are not open for modification, as series organizers encourage teams to focus on a broadening range of powertrain components.
That doesn’t seem to suit Ferrari, which has a wealth of expertise to be brought to bear on developing its own chassis. At the end, though, the increasing level of flexibility in powertrain development could eventually prove enough for Maranello to get on board. If it did, it would be the first exotic automaker to enter the series, alongside premium brands like Audi and Jaguar, volume manufacturers like Renault and Mahindra and specialty EV firms like Faraday Future and Venturi.
Photo Gallery
