Silly season has started in Formula E and within the backdrop of the Santiago ePrix, the ‘electric’ paddock had some rumours going around that spoke about a possible engine change for next season. Virgin and DS Racing appear set to put an end to their collaboration at the end of the season and the British squad could then switch to Audi engines.
According to the latest rumours around the Formula E paddock, DS Racing will put an end to their time with Virgin. Their collaboration started on the second season of the series, in 2015 and 2016. The reason being the future collaboration of the French manufacturer with Techeetah, the first team in Formula E’s history to achieve a one-two, which happened this weekend with Jean-Éric Vergne winning ahead of André Lotterer.
Virgin has already started to look for options for the upcoming seasons and while it is true they considered using the Mahindra powertrain, Audi seems to have appeared as the most serious contender and providing their engines to the British team. Virgin won the first race of the current season with Sam Bird taking the chequered flag ahead of the rest at the Hong Kong ePrix, at the end of last year.
“We know we have to provide engines to someone who is fighting at the top”, explained Allan McNish, Audi team boss, “we have a good car but whether it is attractive or not for possible customers, you should ask them”, he told e-racing 365. From next season onwards, with the new machine and regulations being introduced to the series, the maximum cost for a customer engine will be 817,300€ per car per season.