I had the pleasure of joining Roger Atkins in his video, “The Future Of Motorsport In The Electric Age.”
We sat down to discuss a defining challenge for our industry: how do we reconcile the 70-year romance and heritage of racing with the pressing realities of climate change and technological innovation?
During our conversation, I shared my perspective on where the racing world is heading and how it continues to drive the broader automotive industry forward. Here are a few of my key takeaways from the discussion:
Motorsport as a “Prototyping Competition”
I’ve always believed that motorsport is fundamentally a prototyping competition. When developing consumer road cars, the technology has to reliably stay on the road for 15 years. In racing, our hardware only has to last one year, which gives us the freedom to take greater risks, experiment rapidly, and even make mistakes. This environment makes series like Formula E and Formula One incredible incubators for change. For example, Formula E is saw huge technological leaps, with the Gen3 generation of cars jumping to an astonishing 600 kilowatts of energy regeneration.
The Unique Challenge of Electric Racing
We also discussed how electrification is changing the role of the driver. In Formula E, drivers have to save about 40% of their energy to complete the race distance. Because telemetry isn’t doing the work for them, they are constantly doing complex computations in the cockpit, deciding exactly when to lift off and regenerate energy. F1 drivers will now have to get ready for Managing Electrons, not just tyres, adding more cognitive load and pushing teams and drivers to innovate.
Furthermore, because a Formula E event packs testing, qualifying, and racing into a single day, it heavily favors what I call “explosive talent”—drivers who can show up, make zero mistakes, and deliver under pressure immediately.
A “Horses for Courses” Future
When looking at the future of mobility, I firmly believe that the electric drivetrain will ultimately win out because it is far more controllable. However, I don’t believe the energy carrier will be a one-size-fits-all battery solution. It will be “horses for courses”. For example, in a country like France with abundant nuclear power, direct electrification to battery-electric vehicles makes perfect sense. But in vast countries like my home of Australia, transporting energy over long distances might require turning it into a synthetic liquid fuel, hydrogen, or ammonia. Engineering gives us the tools to come up with diverse, brilliant solutions for the challenges we face.
The transition to sustainable transport isn’t just a binary choice—it’s complex, exciting, and full of opportunities. I highly recommend checking out Roger’s full video to hear more from the other brilliant industry experts featured alongside me!