The German manufacturer has been involved in Formula E since the 2019-20 season, and over the last five seasons has so far taken seven victories across Gen2 and Gen3 eras.
While the factory effort has only achieved a best result of fourth in the teams’ standings during that time, Porsche’s powertrain guided Jake Dennis to the drivers’ title last season for customer outfit Andretti.
Ahead of the Shanghai double-header this weekend, Porsche announced the decision to remain in the championship for what will be another six seasons.
“We are on some kind of journey together, everybody together but of course before you sign you have some talks, you want to clarify some things, you talk about conditions, you talk about everything before you set a signature,” Thomas Laudenbach, vice president of Porsche Motorsport, told Motorsport.com.
“But it doesn’t mean that it was something very difficult [to decide], it was just taking the time to do it in a proper way. For us it was always clear that it’s a long-term engagement.”
He added: “We want to be a core part of this championship. We are not well-known for in and out, we’ve never done that in the past and for us it’s to really grow with the championship.”
Porsche’s commitment a win-win
Porsche becomes the third manufacturer to commit to the Gen4 ruleset after Nissan and Jaguar both pledged to continue racing in Formula E earlier this year.
Porsche’s continued involvement is a huge bonus for Formula E as organisers look to keep existing manufacturers onboard as well as attract new ones for the next rules cycle.
With a history that spans decades across multiple disciplines, the heritage that Porsche brings cannot be underestimated as Formula E seeks to expand after a decade since it was founded.
“What we can’t develop really quickly is a lifetime of heritage and legacy that someone like a Porsche brings with them,” said Formula E CEO, Jeff Dodds.
“So when Porsche commits to a championship like ours it sends a message around the world which is this is a serious motorsport, so for us they’re a foundational partner.”
The next major rule change is set to be introduced for the 2026-27 season, with a Gen3 Evo machine due to be raced by teams over the next two campaigns that is an uprated version of the current car.
For Porsche, being able to push the boundaries with electric technology was a key element of remaining in the championship moving forward.
“It’s about developing technology, it’s about developing the process, it’s about developing functions – it’s all of that,” adds Laudenbach.
“We will see in the next years some solutions in road cars which really come pure from racing. Of course not the same parts but the principle, the technology, and that’s an important thing for us.
“I can guarantee you there is a very strong relation between road cars and racing and there is an intensive exchange. If there would not be any benefit, we would not do it, very clear. There needs to be a benefit on the technical side.”
