The brand new team, HWA Racelab unveiled its car for the 2018/19 FIA Formula E Championship along with naming Gary Paffet as its first driver.
The German team will make its all-electric series debut in Season 5 using the Venturi powertrain. Not only it revealed its Gen2 VFE-05 car along with one of its drivers, the team will be named as ‘HWA Racelab’.
It is a straightforward livery with a dominant black coating having spots of blue. Paffet becomes the latest driver to join the series as he remains with the HWA AG family, having raced with them in the DTM championship.
The 37-year-old thus makes his high-profiled single-seater racing debut late in his career after he was overlooked for a Formula 1 seat several times during his prime. “I’m really excited about driving for HWA in the fifth season of Formula E.
“This is basically the first time for 15 years that I will have switched series and cars. It’ll be a major challenge – for me, and for the team. Most of them – like me – are moving over from the DTM. As such, we have a lot to learn.
“It’ll certainly not be easy at first, but we’re ready and are all looking forward to it. Formula E is a very promising series with great prospects. It’s great to be a part of it. I watched the race in Marrakesh at the start of the year and was impressed by the atmosphere.
“It was totally different to the DTM and anything else I’ve seen before. We must adapt to this new format and adjust our approach to the race weekends accordingly. The standard of the drivers and teams is definitely very high.”
Team principal Ulrich Fritz said: “The team name HWA Racelab bundles the DNA of HWA AG. Since the company was founded in 1998, our core area of expertise has been developing, researching and running cars in motor racing.
“In order to compete successfully in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, the focus on, and confidence in, these areas of expertise will be particularly important. We’re looking forward to the new challenges that come with Formula E.
“Over the past weeks and months, we’ve worked very hard to lay a solid foundation, upon which to enter this fiercely-competitive series. In doing so, we’ve benefitted greatly from the experience gained in cooperation with the Venturi team, whom we supported last season as technical partner.
“We’re now well positioned with our own team to compete under our own flag. We’re approaching this challenge with a healthy mixture of confidence and respect. The season ahead will be a learning year for HWA Racelab, but I’m confident that we’ll very quickly establish ourselves and be competitive in the series.”
The British driver’s teammate is yet to be confirmed with several of the Mercedes’ DTM drivers in the frame along with many youngsters and ex-F1 racers. One of the big name linked so far is McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne.
Formula E 2018/19 line-up till now:
Venturi: Felipe Massa & Edoardo Mortara
Jaguar Racing: Nelson Piquet Jr & Mitch Evans
Audi: Lucas di Grassi & Daniel Abt
BMW Andretti: Antonio Felix da Costa & Alexander Sims
Nissan: Sebastien Buemi & Alexander Albon
DS Techeetah: Jean-Eric Vergne & Andre Lotterer
Envision Virgin Racing: Sam Bird & Robin Frijns
HWA Racelab: Gary Paffet