Ferrari will enter Formula E, said Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne, although the brand has detailed changes which need to happen in the all-electric motorsport for it to consider competing.
Motorsport publication Autosport reported that in answer to a question asking whether Ferrari would consider joining Formula E, Marchionne said: “The answer is yes. I have agonised over this with my colleagues here in Ferrari for quite a while."
Read about Ferrari's hybrid announcement here
Marchionne then detailed the two issues it has with the way the race series is currently run; the first being the race’s allowance for the swapping of cars when battery range runs dry. “That is not something that Ferrari would naturally gravitate to,” Marchionne said.
The second issue Ferrari has with Formula E is the level of standardisation which the series incorporates; a standardised chassis is a requirement.
“The standardisation associated with the electric car is something which runs against the grain of Ferrari because otherwise, it will prevent [Ferrari] from playing whatever it is that it does technically on a vehicle," he continued.
Chassis standardisation is likely to be the point at which Ferrari’s willingness to participate expires; Formula E’s CEO, Alejandro Agag, previously told Autosport that the series was unlikely to ever welcome another arrangement for chassis setups, to focus upon furthering electric powertrain tech, rather than other elements.
Read about the mainstream car manufacturers in Formula E here
This is not set in stone, though, because the race series might be swayed as more and more mainstream manufacturers – especially larger names such as Ferrari and Mercedes – show interest and consider entry, potentially bringing a much larger audience to the series.
A Ferrari spokesman was unavailable for comment at the time of writing.
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This is the end...
Not long to wait
So, Ferrari want to join
The current series is fantastic, it's a level playing field so no one gets an unfair advantage - by having Ferrari come in and say "we will compete, but only if you change the rules to give us an advantage) is ridiculous.
Keep the present format, otherwise we will be back to the same situation we had when a certain German was driving for them a few years ago.....
inside_man wrote:
Would you please stop being a drama queen and take off your dress? Replacing cars when the batteries go is kind of stupid really - and this indicates a technology shortcoming. And if FE wants to bring in the big money with the big boys then they should be flexible about the format.
I and many others would welcome different works' chassis and powertrains. This after all about clean and efficient racing and works should be allowed to show their wares - and hopefully pass the tech onto road cars.
Ferrari modifying the rules?
It hasn't worked for them in F1 recently