Porsche Drops Out of the WEC, Joins Formula E

The positive momentum for Formula E on the manufacturer front continues as Porsche joins the series in the coming years. But they will also drop the WEC.

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As the Formula E all-electric championship heads for their fourth season of competition, the manufacturer push is in full swing. The privateer teams are shrinking, with the ABT Schaeffler group becoming an Audi works operation, and Andretti being brought into the BMW fold. Now, another German car manufacturer is making their move into the championship.

Porsche has confirmed that they will compete in Formula E beginning in season six, or the 2019-2020 campaign. They will be joining newcomer Mercedes, who will also begin racing at the end of the current decade. The team will also compete directly against fellow marque Audi, both of which are owned by the Volkswagen Auto Group.

Alejandro Agag, the founder and CEO of Formula E, had this to say about Porsche’s arrival to the series:

"I’m delighted to welcome Porsche to the FIA Formula E Championship. If somebody told me when we started this project five years ago, that we’d be announcing a partnership with a brand like Porsche, I wouldn’t have believed it. To have a name like Porsche in Formula E, with all it represents in terms of racing and heritage – and in terms of sport cars – is an inflexion point in our quest to change the public perception about electric cars. The electric revolution continues, and Formula E remains the championship for that revolution."

While the move will further position Porsche for the future of electric street cars, it will also come at the expense of some of their hybrid technology. In order to accommodate the move to electric racing, Porsche will shut down their World Endurance Championship (WEC) operation at the end of the 2017 season. It is not an insignificant move, as the LMP1 squad has won multiple championships and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in recent years. The change also leaves only Toyota with an LMP1 team in 2018.

It is interesting to note the change in policy that comes with Porsche’s move to Formula E for their parent company. In the wake of the Volkswagen emissions scandal, the auto group was forced to make major budget cuts in order to pay various fines. With that came the closure of the Audi WEC team, primarily because it directly competed against a fellow Volkswagen AG marque. Now, both those manufacturers are back together again, now in the all-electric championship.

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What do you think of Porsche joining Formula E in the next few years? Will you be rooting for the new squad? Who do you think will drive their cars? Stay tuned to Beyond The Flag for all the latest news, rumors, and analysis from the Formula E paddock.