When Roger Griffiths got an opportunity to work for Michael Andretti, one of the most influential figures in one of the most influential families in motorsports, the decision was easy. It was the spring 2014, and Griffiths, who’d spent the better part of his past two decades around racing and was the Indycar technical director for Honda at the time, was ready for a change.
But Andretti didn’t want his new hire to keep toiling away in Indycar, a United States–centric racing series without much international reach. He told Griffiths that his organization, Andretti Racing, had decided to get involved in Formula E, an electric racing championship starting later that year in September. Andretti was still unsure of exactly what shape the new series would take and wanted Griffiths to take a look at the potential.
