Why race in Formula E?

There may be a lull in the Formula E racing season but at Jaguar TCS Racing there is a constant buzz around optimising and honing the team and the technology for the coming season and beyond into the Gen4 era beginning late next year.

Here we have an amazing breadth of capability and being agile and able to react quickly is essential. We have to move fast! This pace of working culture in motor sport informs practices in automotive which is where I and the technical integration team at JLR are active.

We aim to unlock processes, tools and systems that will allow our core engineering teams to maximise their time. The links between JLR and the race team are more integrated than they’ve ever been, and we’re bringing to life examples of where we’re developing the Formula E race car – the Jaguar I-Type 7 – and how we resolve challenges.

Having a bridge between performance and technical achievements on track and our core engineering teams has not only opened up the opportunity for us to nurture new talent, but importantly it allows the technical developments to benefit JLR customers, which is a key part of how we progress. We analyse software systems and data management, mechanical design and optimisation of manufacturing methods that are being developed through the race programme. And we activate key technologies that we need to make a fast race car, and understand how they can help make our road products better for the future. Our Formula E partners also play a critical role as they are not just commercially linked, they are true tech allies.

Using the amazing springboard of Formula E, we can race every two weeks and gather lots of data that helps our partners develop new technology that we can collaboratively bring to life for our future customers. The element that wraps it all together is a great body of knowledge. JLR is multifaceted in terms of the way we manufacture our products with thousands of people involved in that process. We offer insight to a different way of thinking when it comes to engineering with motor sport, exploring the limits of technologies.

Often I have conversations concerning what we mean by ‘technical transfer’? Are we picking up a powertrain from our Jaguar I-Type 7 race car and putting it into a production car, ready to sell to the general public? No – the scales are completely different.

The value of a Formula E powertrain versus what we put in our production vehicles is of a different magnitude. But ultimately we’re solving the same problem. We’ve still got to get power from an energy source – in our case the battery – to the wheels in the most efficient way. Efficiency is a real watchword. What we’re looking at in Formula E is the flow of energy through the Jaguar-designed inverter, motor, gearbox and, crucially, all the software systems and strategies that manage it.

The understanding gained on track is valuable for the engineers that are designing our powertrains at JLR, and we’ve numerous examples of the benefits. As we move into silicon carbide technology, which we have raced with since 2017, we’ve got a lot of understanding on how we maximise efficiency. That has subsequently related directly to the silicon carbide that will be in our future all-electric road cars.

We’ve also developed Castrol’s products especially for our gearbox in Formula E which helps us with the efficiency and sustainability of that system. We’re taking that learning into the development of our future electric platforms. Another example is our link up with Dow and how it has pivoted into specific products for mobility science with the scope for automotive and motor sport applications. Through this collaboration, we’ve linked the teams of experts together, and now Dow are an enterprise partner to JLR.

I often get asked by guests at races, “Surely all the cars are the same because they look the same, so it’s just down to the driver, right?” As a manufacturer, and along with Formula E, we’ve still a job to do to emphasise how under the bodywork converting energy from stored electric to kinetic energy is the focus. That’s the job of an EV. Being able to show how the technology is so relevant to road-going EVs is something we really enjoy doing. Yes, the battery is the same for all teams and everyone has the same amount of energy, but then look behind that battery to the Jaguar-designed powertrain and the software controls and that’s where you see the differentiation.

“The move away from combustion engines is a major part of our future”

Why are Jaguar, Porsche and Nissan, etc, investing in Formula E? It’s because the move away from combustion engines to electrification is going to be a major part of tomorrow.

It’s going to take some time but most OEMs are on that path towards an electrified future. We see it as an investment in innovation and looking at new technology in its earliest form.

Formula E has a relevancy to OEMs that is unique in the world of motor sport. The cars are getting quicker, the world championship is getting bigger and the cross-pollination from a technical perspective is getting closer. It is such a fertile environment to be in right