In motorsport, money alone is not enough to win races. But despite the cost cap, the famous budget limits imposed by the FIA, some teams have unaccounted for internal resources. In Formula E, the two manufacturers with the most back-up resources are Porsche and Jaguar. They have been able to go further in researching the operation of their electric single-seaters, and have benefited from feedback from their client teams, Andretti Autosport for Porsche, and Envision Racing for Jaguar.
Faced with these armies of engineers and data, the early days of Gen3 posed more of a challenge to the less experienced teams. More than ever, a deep knowledge of the discipline and top-level drivers were needed to form a solid opposition. With Stoffel Vandoorne, 2021-2022 world champion, and Jean-Eric Vergne, champion of the 2017-208 and 2018-2019 seasons, DS Automobiles and its partner Penske Autosport were the only team capable of challenging this domination.
The most successful Formula E team
DS Automobiles is the manufacturer with the best record in Formula E. After 105 starts since the start of the 2015-2016 season, when the French manufacturer first entered the championship, it is the only one to have won four titles (two drivers' championships and two manufacturers' championships), and has amassed a total of 16 victories, 47 podium finishes and 22 pole positions.
For this final season, the results fall a little short of the team's expectations, but Eugenio Franzetti, Director of DS Performance, prefers to remember the good times.
"We have reached the final stage of this intense season 9, which has been full of positive emotions and lessons learned," he said. "I'm delighted to remember that we were thrilled by JEV's victory in India, Stoffel's pole position in Sao Paulo and the podium finishes in Cape Town and Berlin. We've worked hard for this, but now we're already looking ahead to season 10, which will be even stronger and more solid."
Season 10 will kick off in Mexico City on 13 January 2024. Between now and then, the teams will have time to recharge their batteries and fine-tune their 2023-2024 single-seaters. Joint testing is scheduled for October at the Valencia circuit in Spain and Vandoorne and Vergne will be back on the grid in the colours of DS Penske.
Key figures for DS Automobiles in Formula E
-105 races
-4 championship titles
-16 victories
-47 podium finishes
-22 pole positions
