BMW and the America-based Andretti Autosport announced a partnership for the FIA Formula E Championship. BMW will only collaborate closely with the partner Andretti at first, to familiarise itself with processes and increasing their knowledge in this new electric racing series, with a possibility of a factory work involvement in the future.
BMW joins manufacturers like Jaguar which is making its debut this year, Renault, Audi, Citroen DS and India’s Mahindra. BMW i still is the ‘Official Vehicle Partner’ of the FIA Formula E Championship since the first season of the series in 2014-15. The BMW i8 Safety Car in Formula E is a Safety Car whereas the fully-electric BMW i3 is the Medical Car.
The Andretti team’s cooperation with BMW is initially set to run for the next two seasons and integrates cooperation at the engineer level and the mutual use of resources. Depending on the general development of the racing series, a factory works involvement is anticipated as of the series’ fifth season in 2018-2019.
BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt also sees the automobile racing activities as an extremely positive development and said: “It is fantastic that the BMW Group will be even more broadly positioned and represented in all relevant areas in the future. The commitment in Formula E sees us forge new paths and demonstrate our expertise in the field of electric mobility. Over the coming years, the cooperation with Andretti Formula E will primarily focus on familiarising ourselves with the procedures and processes, and on intensifying our knowledge. A works involvement is then conceivable as of the series’ fifth season. The premise for all these steps is the further positive development of the series, which includes increasing the capacity of the batteries, for example.”
“I'm really excited to announce this partnership with BMW," said Andretti Formula E Team Owner Michael Andretti. "BMW's commitment to Formula E and their leadership position in electric mobility is going to have a significant impact on the success of our team and the MS Amlin Andretti race program. We are looking forward to building upon this collaboration and alignment with BMW in support of their objectives and new motorsport strategy."
The third season of Formula E Championship will commence from October 9 in Hong Kong.
