Andretti team to hook up with BMW in Formula E (Update)
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| Andretti driver Robin Frijns gets together with another car in Long Beach |
U.S. Formula E team Amlin Andretti has recently been linked to a tie-up with BMW, but a full-fledged participation by the German marque "could be many years off," a team official told HJ Mai of Sports Business Global.
Andretti co-Team Principal Roger Griffiths confirmed that the team continues to talk to BMW about a possible partnership, but was cautious about revealing any details.
"I can't talk about what the current status is," Griffiths told SBD Global following Saturday's Long Beach ePrix.
"Yes, to be partnered with a company like BMW would be fantastic. Not just because it's a prestigious brand, but also because of the technology they have and the resources they have." BMW is already linked to the electric racing series as its official vehicle provider. The Munich-based manufacturer provides Formula E's safety car and medical car in the form of its BMWi models i8 and i3, respectively. BMW previously stated that once the series' moves to a single car competition it becomes a more viable proposition.
"The concept of switching cars because the battery doesn't have enough capacity to go the whole race distance really plays against the range anxiety aspect of an electric vehicle," Griffiths said. "They'd like to see that solved perhaps before they have an active participation in the sport."
Formula E recently launched a tender process to find a sole battery supplier for Season 5 onward. The objective is to use a single car for the full race distance. Therefore, BMW is expected to have its sights set on the '18-19 season. However, there is a chance the manufacturer, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary, could sign a partnership deal with Andretti before becoming actively involved.
Fellow German car brands Audi and Volkswagen have struck such deals with the Abt Formula E team.
"Formula E is good value for money basically in terms of the cost to participate," Griffiths said.
"I think it won't be long until we see more European manufacturers involved."
Asked about a deal with Andretti, BMW Motorsport Dir Jens Marquardt said, "It goes without saying that we are in regular contact with the FIA and the organizer within the framework of our existing involvement as ‘Official Safety Car Partner.' In this context, we also have come into contact with the Formula E teams, including the Andretti team."
MORE TO COME: While the potential of a BMW tie-in has garnered the most attention, Andretti is not putting all its eggs in a single basket.
"We continue to talk to other OEMs as well," Griffiths said.
"We also tried to engage Honda. We are an American team, and we'd like to engage an American domestic manufacturer. We have a history with Honda for the IndyCar program. [But] we struggled a little bit to get their interest level up."
French carmakers Renault and DS — a division of PSA Peugeot Citroen — along with India's Mahindra are currently the biggest manufacturer names in the series.
Jaguar has already announced that it will join Formula E in season 3. With all the interest from big-name brands, it is "hard to imagine" that a U.S. manufacturer would not join, Dragon Racing Founder Jay Penske said.
"I think their investments in both IndyCar on the GM side and Ford on the NASCAR side, they are heavily invested," he said.
"But with the leadership from those organizations talking about 30, 40, even 50 percent of their fleets being hybrid or electric in 2020, it seems like this would be the natural path for them." HJ Mai/SBG
03/18/16 The Andretti Formula E team is in talks with BMW about a possible future partnership in the all-electric series according to motorsports.com.
A source at the team confirmed that talks had been "developing between the parties for some months, but no definitive progression of a way forward had yet been realized or confirmed.’"
Informed sources have told Motorsport.com that a potential link-up with the American team could happen, but that any deal is "unlikely to take place, in a full capacity at least," for Formula E's third season.
Motorsport.com can also reveal that BMW will not, as a manufacturer, participate in the forthcoming tender for the supply of chassis or batteries for the 2018/19 season.