The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team won four races with the Porsche 99X Electric in its most successful season to date. Up to the season's final race in London, the Weissach team was vying for the World Championship crown.
Florian Modlinger, Director Factory Motorsport Formula E, states in an interview that „We've grown stronger as a team.“ „We've advanced significantly from last year and established ourselves as one of the top teams“, said the team. The ninth season of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship was thrilling from beginning to end, with last weekend's Seasonfinale in London deciding the world championship winners. Jake Dennis, who competes for the Porsche customer team Avalanche Andretti, won the World Championship with the Weissach-developed Porsche 99X Electric after a standout campaign.
Florian, you finished the season with vier victories and fought valiantly for the World Championship. How does your season's total look?
It was a fantastic season for Porsche, since we created a winning vehicle with the Porsche 99X Electric, according to Florian Modlinger. In addition, compared to last year, our team is substantially stronger. We've developed into a top group. With four victories, we have definitely cemented our position atop the leaderboard. But in the end, we didn't accomplish what we had aimed for and what would have been doable. In Season 10, we'll carefully consider everything, aim to set a higher standard, and take another step.
How unhappy are you that it wasn't enough to win the World Championship despite the optimistic outlook? What motivated this?
"In the end, the qualifying performance was crucial, particularly on the last two raceweekends in Rome and especially in London," said Modlinger. Our racing prowess was excellent, as demonstrated by António’s spectacular drive from grid position 17 to P2 in the opening London Race. Given that we led the teams' championship for the duration of the season and only briefly slipped back to second place, our fourth-place finish in the drivers' and teams' championships is undoubtedly disappointing. Undoubtedly, we could have accomplished more this season.
What stood out about the season, when you looked back on it?
„The impressive team performance in Hyderabad comes to mind," said Modlinger. We fought for P3 and P4 in the race, despite Pascal's terrible accident during free practice. That was a smashing achievement. Our triumphs, of course, were the highlights. I'm specifically thinking about Cape Town, where António won his first race as a Porsche works driver thanks to a brilliant charge through the field and amazing overtaking maneuvers. Und in Jakarta, where Pascal's enthusiastic and perfect race demonstrated his abilities. Pascal played superbly in the two games he played in Diriyah. It was exciting to me to dominate and win both races on this course.
Which experiences would you prefer to forget?
„The first race at the season finale in London was without a doubt the biggest letdown," said Modlinger. Both drivers appeared to be on track for a podium finish. Then, however, a rival forced Pascal out of the race, and António was disqualified from the podium because of an illogical penalty. After such a good team performance, finishing the day in ninth position was extremely disappointing.
You were able to establish a lead early in the season with the new Porsche 99X Electric, but you were unable to hold onto it. Why is that?
„That superiority wasn't really there, said Modlinger. Performance-wise, Jaguar and Envision Racing were comparable, but they lost a lot of ground in the first several races. We started off without making any blunders and gained points. Das changed, as the season went on. Due to injuries and incidents, we had to travel to circuits where we couldn't convert our strong qualifying effort into a respectable finish. You must recognize that some people were simply stronger than others. However, Jake Dennis from our client team Avalanche Andretti demonstrated by winning the World Championship that our package was competitive throughout the entire season.
Why didn't Pascal win the Championship despite his three victories?
Pascal was the only driver this season with just a zero, yet he finished in the points in every other race, according to Modlinger. He fell short in terms of „big points", though. Although he has drei Race-Wins, he hasn't consistently been at the front in terms of podiums and top-five-Finishes. He frequently placed sixth to tenth, but given the fiercely competitive competition, that wasn't good enough. No one was more frequently in the lead than he was, yet he wasn't always far enough in front. In light of this, we should strive to achieve the „big numbers", or podium finishes and top-five finishes, more frequently in the future. We must begin further up the grid for this to occur.
With Jake Dennis driving the Porsche 99X Electric, your client team Avalanche Andretti won zwei races and the Drivers' World Championship. What do you think about this success?
„Avalanche Andretti and Jake Dennis have made the most of the package we gave them“, said Modlinger. On that, congratulations. We're happy that our Porsche 99X Electric has been so successful for them. They had a terrific start to the season and have sensationally recovered following a slump. The eleven podium finishes and zwei Victories speak for themselves. The group, and Jake in particular, delivered an outstanding performance.
How did your first season of working together go with Avalanche Andretti? What was Porsche’s gain from it?
„The collaboration with Avalanche Andretti was good, said Modlinger. Both Teams contributed equally. From the beginning, all of the configurations and data were shared. We found it useful to analyze the data from not just zwei, but also vier Autos und to draw the necessary conclusions. A client team, on the other hand, can focus entirely on getting the perfect car onto the racetrack, whereas it is our duty as the manufacturer to continuously improve the package and make sure that it complies with the intricate rulebook. The manufacturers' workload is therefore significantly increased. Our crew handled it quite effectively. Please accept my gratitude for that.
With the new Gen 3 vehicles, like your Porsche 99X Electric, how do you envision Formula E evolving this season?
„Formula E had a very successful season with an appealing schedule and thrilling races“, said Modlinger. The racing was magnificent, and it was simple to watch on television for the spectators. We must build on this and increase interest in the sport. The path has been paved for the future from a technological and sports perspective, with additional tournaments like Tokyo, where we will compete for the first time next year. I'm really anticipating the upcoming season.
What plans do you have for the off-season? When do the Season 10 Prepreparations start?
It's at full blast, Modlinger. At the end of this week, the vehicles return to Weissach, where they are disassembled, put back together, and ready for the upcoming season. The manufacturer and I will keep evaluating the package in order to improve it. Additionally, Valencia will host the official Formula E preseason test in October. There is therefore little time to take a deep breath.
Porsche has accelerated its commitment to the Formula E Season of 2025–2026. Für the team, what does this mean?
Modlinger: „This early commitment is a fantastic expression of assurance and adds some stability.“ We may spend our resources wisely, by concentrating them on the future. Ultimately, of course, it's a fantastic source of team motivation.
António Félix da Costa dropped to second place in London after receiving a Stewards' penalty. Diesejudgment has been appealed by Porsche. Why?
According to Modlinger, António's front right tire's pressure dropped below the required minimum due to a slow puncture caused by debris on the circuit. It was not our fault that the Damage happened; It was caused by an external impact. Diese choice ist illogical and unacceptable in our opinion. Fairness and equality in the spirit of the sport are our top priorities.
Formula E with Porsche
The team competed in the first all-electric racing series in the world in 2023 with the Porsche 99X Electric, which was created by Weissach. The manufacturer's most successful year since joining the all-electric racing series in 2019 was 2023, which had four victories owing to Pascal Wehrlein's three and António Félix da Costa's one. With Avalanche Andretti, the team owned by American racing veteran Michael Andretti, Porsche provided backing to a customer team for the first time. Porsche Motorsport has emphasized the significance of Formula E by providing the official safety car once more with the all-electric Taycan Turbo S.