Formula E: Porsche happy with preseason test despite being slow

The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team is well prepared for the new season. With the Weissach-developed Porsche 99X Electric Gen3, the squad took part in the official pre-season Formula E tests this week at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia. It was a successful final shakedown before the start of the season on 14 January in Mexico.

António Félix da Costa (Porsche 99X Electric Gen3 #13)

Stuttgart. At the 3.376-kilometre circuit on the southeast coast of Spain, the team put the final touches on the Porsche 99X Electric Gen3 for season 9 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. At the tests spread over four days, Pascal Wehrlein (GER) covered 955 kilometers. His new teammate António Félix da Costa (POR), the 2019/2020 Formula E champion, completed 871 kilometers.

Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche 99X Electric Gen3 #94)

Fielding the new third-generation cars, the opening race in Mexico heralds a turning point for the world’s first electric racing series. All eleven Formula E teams were represented in Valencia with their main drivers and new cars.

Comments after the pre-season test
Florian Modlinger, Director Factory Motorsport Formula E: “Four tough test days are now behind us. We worked through our program as planned. All in all, it was a positive final test and we’re now heading to Mexico feeling well-prepared for the start of the season. After the first qualifying session in Mexico, we’ll know where we ultimately stand compared to our rivals. The team has worked hard and deserves a break after a busy year. We’ll take a breather over the holidays and then be back in full force in Mexico.”

Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche 99X Electric Gen3 #94): “We faced some challenges in Valencia, which is normal when you compete with a completely new car. These tests are there to discover what is working well and what still needs to improve. I was surprised at how reliable the Porsche 99X Electric Gen3 is already, and I’m excited for the start of the season in Mexico. We’re well-prepared.”

António Félix da Costa (Porsche 99X Electric Gen3 #13): “The test days in Valencia were very productive. We have a new car with less weight and more power – you can’t ask for better than that. The Porsche 99X Electric Gen3 is great fun. I like this process of working with a new car and discovering what works in terms of setup and where we might make some tweaks. I’m happy to contribute my experience to this task and support the team.”

Friday AM Results

350KW
Pos	Driver	Nat	Team	Car	Time	Lap	Gap		Kph
1	25 Jean-Éric VERGNE	FRA	DS PENSKE	DS E-TENSE FE23	1:25.248	30	+0.000	+0.000	142.6
2	5 Jake HUGHES	GBR	NEOM McLaren Formula E Team	Nissan E-4ORCE 04	1:25.284	17	+0.036	+0.036	142.5
3	1 Stoffel VANDOORNE	BEL	DS PENSKE	DS E-TENSE FE23	1:25.286	44	+0.038	+0.002	142.5
4	7 Maximilian GÜNTHER	DEU	Maserati MSG Racing	Maserati Tipo Folgore	1:25.341	27	+0.093	+0.055	142.4
5	48 Edoardo MORTARA	CHE	Maserati MSG Racing	Maserati Tipo Folgore	1:25.534	22	+0.286	+0.193	142.1
6	27 Jake DENNIS	GBR	Avalanche Andretti Formula E	Porsche 99X Electric	1:25.922	33	+0.674	+0.388	141.4
7	33 Dan TICKTUM	GBR	NIO 333 Racing Formula E Team	NIO 333 ER9	1:25.966	8	+0.718	+0.044	141.4
8	11 Lucas DI GRASSI	BRA	MAHINDRA RACING	Mahindra M9Electro	1:26.150	14	+0.902	+0.184	141.1
9	13 António Félix DA COSTA	PRT	TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team	Porsche 99X Electric	1:26.376	13	+1.128	+0.226	140.7
10	94 Pascal WEHRLEIN	DEU	TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team	Porsche 99X Electric	1:26.516	41	+1.268	+0.140	140.5
300 kW
1	7 Maximilian GÜNTHER	DEU	Maserati MSG Racing	Maserati Tipo Folgore	1:25.962	11			141.4
2	5 Jake HUGHES	GBR	NEOM McLaren Formula E Team	Nissan E-4ORCE 04	1:26.032	29	+0.070	+0.070	141.3
3	1 Stoffel VANDOORNE	BEL	DS PENSKE	DS E-TENSE FE23	1:26.047	42	+0.085	+0.015	141.2
4	25 Jean-Éric VERGNE	FRA	DS PENSKE	DS E-TENSE FE23	1:26.057	44	+0.095	+0.010	141.2
5	48 Edoardo MORTARA	CHE	Maserati MSG Racing	Maserati Tipo Folgore	1:26.100	23	+0.138	+0.043	141.2
6	27 Jake DENNIS	GBR	Avalanche Andretti Formula E	Porsche 99X Electric	1:26.467	24	+0.505	+0.367	140.6
7	17 Norman NATO	FRA	Nissan Formula E Team	Nissan E-4ORCE 04	1:26.633	29	+0.671	+0.166	140.3
8	58 René RAST	DEU	NEOM McLaren Formula E Team	Nissan E-4ORCE 04	1:26.651	28	+0.689	+0.018	140.3
9	33 Dan TICKTUM	GBR	NIO 333 Racing Formula E Team	NIO 333 ER9	1:26.674	19	+0.712	+0.023	140.2
10	94 Pascal WEHRLEIN	DEU	TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team	Porsche 99X Electric	1:26.713	19	+0.751	+0.039	140.2
11	8 Oliver ROWLAND	GBR	MAHINDRA RACING	Mahindra M9Electro	1:26.762	19	+0.800	+0.049	140.1
12	9 Mitch EVANS	NZL	Jaguar TCS Racing	Jaguar I-TYPE 6	1:26.830	6	+0.868	+0.068	140.0
13	4 Robin FRIJNS	NLD	ABT CUPRA Formula E Team	Mahindra M9Electro	1:26.852	4	+0.890	+0.022	139.9
14	51 Nico MÜLLER	CHE	ABT CUPRA Formula E Team	Mahindra M9 Electro	1:27.049	18	+1.087	+0.197	139.6
15	13 António Félix DA COSTA	PRT	TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team	Porsche 99X Electric	1:27.085	11	+1.123	+0.036	139.6
16	11 Lucas DI GRASSI	BRA	MAHINDRA RACING	Mahindra M9Electro	1:27.097	5	+1.135	+0.012	139.5
17	36 André LOTTERER	DEU	Avalanche Andretti Formula E	Porsche 99X Electric	1:27.163	27	+1.201	+0.066	139.4
18	23 Sacha FENESTRAZ	FRA	Nissan Formula E Team	Nissan E-4ORCE 04	1:27.166	23	+1.204	+0.003	139.4
19	10 Sam BIRD	GBR	Jaguar TCS Racing	Jaguar I-TYPE 6	1:28.282	12	+2.320	+1.116	137.7
20	16 Sébastien BUEMI	CHE	Envision Racing	Jaguar I-TYPE 6	1:29.554	6	+3.592	+1.272	135.7
110 kW
21	27 Jake Dennis	GBR	Avalanche Andretti Formula E	Porsche 99X Electric

Friday PM Results

Pos	No.	Driver	Car	Time	Gap
1	7	M. Günther	Maserati Tipo Folgore	1:25.127	0.000
2	1	S. Vandoorne	Ds E-Tense Fe23	1:25.236	0.109
3	8	O. Rowland	Mahindra M9electro	1:25.317	0.190
4	5	J. Hughes	Nissan E-4orce 04	1:25.334	0.207
5	10	S. Bird	Jaguar I-Type 6	1:25.388	0.261
6	17	N. Nato	Nissan E-4orce 04	1:25.417	0.290
7	25	J. Vergne	Ds E-Tense Fe23	1:25.466	0.339
8	58	R. Rast	Nissan E-4orce 04	1:25.470	0.343
9	4	R. Frijns	Mahindra M9electro	1:25.597	0.470
10	48	E. Mortara	Maserati Tipo Folgore	1:25.717	0.590
11	37	N. Cassidy	Jaguar I-Type 6	1:25.878	0.751
12	94	P. Wehrlein	Porsche 99x Electric	1:25.893	0.766
13	11	L. Di Grassi	Mahindra M9electro	1:25.978	0.851
14	36	A. Lotterer	Porsche 99x Electric	1:26.050	0.923
15	9	M. Evans	Jaguar I-Type 6	1:26.074	0.947
16	51	N. Müller	Mahindra M9 Electro	1:26.170	1.043
17	33	D. Ticktum	Nio 333 Er9	1:26.188	1.061
18	27	J. Dennis	Porsche 99x Electric	1:26.368	1.241
19	13	A. Da Costa	Porsche 99x Electric	1:26.858	1.731
20	23	S. Fenestraz	Nissan E-4orce 04	1:27.361	2.234
21	3	S. Sette Câmara	Nio 333 Er9
22	16	S. Buemi	Jaguar I-Type 6

The 2023 races

The Formula E calendar for season 9 is complete. A total of 16 races on eleven circuits will be contested. New on the calendar are Hyderabad, Cape Town, Sao Paulo and Portland.

14 January	Race 1	Mexico City (Mexico)
27/28 January	Race 2/3	Diriyah (Saudi Arabia)
11 February	Race 4	Hyderabad (India)
25 February	Race 5	Cape Town (South Africa)
25 March	Race 6	Sao Paulo (Brazil)
22/23 April	Race 7/8	Berlin (Germany)
6 May	Race 9	Monaco (Monaco)
3/4 June	Race 10/11	Jakarta (Indonesia)
24 June	Race 12	Portland (USA)
15/16 July	Race 13/14	Rome (Italy)
29/30 July	Race 15/16	London (Great Britain)