Founded | 2013 |
---|---|
Team principal(s) | Sylvain Filippi |
Current series | Formula E |
Current drivers | Robin Frijns Sébastien Buemi Alice Powell [N 1] |
Noted drivers | Nick Cassidy Sam Bird Jaime Alguersuari Fabio Leimer Jean-Éric Vergne José María López Alex Lynn |
Teams' Championships | 2022–23 |
Website | https://envision-racing.com/ |
The Envision Racing Formula E Team [1] is a British motor racing team, based at Silverstone Park and majority-owned by Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Envision Energy [2] that competes in Formula E. [3]
Currently, the two drivers are Robin Frijns and Sébastien Buemi.
Virgin was one of the first teams to enter Formula E, its entry was officially confirmed in December 2013. [4] Virgin partnered with Peugeot but rebadged as DS Automobiles from the 2015–16 season [5] to the 2017–18 season, competing as DS Virgin Racing during that time. With DS moving its support to rival team Techeetah from the 2018–19 season onwards, Virgin chose to establish a long-term customer car deal with Audi Sport. [6]
The team signed drivers Jaime Alguersuari and Sam Bird for its inaugural season. [7] Bird scored three podiums (two of which were wins), which was enough for a fifth place in the Drivers' Championship. For the final round in London, which was a double-header event, the team replaced Alguersuari with Fabio Leimer. [8] Virgin would finish fifth in Teams' Championship with 133 points.
For its second season, Virgin confirmed Sam Bird and Jean-Éric Vergne, who moved to the team from Andretti Autosport. [9] It was the first season in partnership with Peugeot but rebadged as DS Performance. The season was fairly successful, as the team recorded four pole positions (three with Bird, one with Vergne). The team finished third in Teams' Championship with 144 points.
For the 2016–17 season, Virgin signed José María López to partner Bird who stayed in the team. [10] López was forced to miss the New York City ePrix due to his commitments in the FIA WEC series. For this event, he was temporarily replaced by Alex Lynn. [11] Lynn retired from both races, but scored a pole position on his debut. Bird, on the other hand, won both of these races. Lynn was later signed to the team for the next season as a full-time driver. [12] López returned to finish the season at the Montreal ePrix and finished his last race with the team on a podium as he finished third.
Virgin improved their points score to 190 points, but it was only enough for a fourth place in Teams' Championship.
Virgin fielded Bird and the returning Alex Lynn for its fourth season. Bird was in contention for the Drivers' Championship as the main rival for Jean-Éric Vergne (who competed for Techeetah at the time), however, he got overtaken by Lucas di Grassi in the final weekend of the season in New York City, thus finished third. Lynn was unable to keep up with Bird for the entire campaign and was not kept for the next season.
Virgin would finish third in Teams' Championship with 160 points. This season would mark the end of the partnership with DS.
For the 2018–19 season, as Peugeot-DS ended their partnership with the team, Virgin opted to become a customer team by switching to Audi powertrains. This move allowed the team to sign Robin Frijns, an Audi factory driver, as Bird's teammate. [13] The team also signed a sponsorship deal with Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Envision Energy, leading to the team rebrand to Envision Virgin Racing.
The Audi e-tron FE05 powertrain proved to be very competitive, giving Virgin a chance at multiple strong results. The team would finish third in Teams' Championship with 191 points, just a point ahead of Nissan e.dams. Both Bird and Frijns would find themselves at the top of the Drivers' Championship at various points during the season, but only finished ninth and fourth respectively.
Bird and Frijns were retained for the 2019–20 season along with the Audi customer deal. [14] Bird won the 2019 Diriyah ePrix and got a podium in Race 1 of the 2020 Berlin ePrix. Frijns had a poor start until the season stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He then scored two podiums at Race 3 and 5 of the Berlin ePrix. Bird and Frijns finished 10th and 12th respectively that season and Envision Virgin finished 4th in the Teams’ Championship.
After six seasons with the outfit, Bird left Virgin to join Jaguar Racing. [15] In July 2020, the team announced reigning Super Formula champion Nick Cassidy would partner Frijns for the 2020–21 season. [16]
Following the 2020–21 season Virgin left the team as a partner and the team re-branded as Envision Racing, and introduced a new green livery for its entry. Cassidy and Frijns were retained as drivers, while Alice Powell became the Simulator and Development Driver for the team.
Year | Chassis | Powertrain | Tyres | No. | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Points | T.C. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Virgin Racing | |||||||||||||||||||||||
2014–15 | Spark SRT01-e | SRT01-e 1 | M | BEI | PUT | PDE | BUE | MIA | LBH | MCO | BER | MSC | LDN | 133 | 5th | ||||||||
2 | Sam Bird | 3 | 1 | Ret | 7 | 8 | Ret | 4 | 8 | Ret | 6 | 1 | |||||||||||
3 | Jaime Alguersuari | 11 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 8 | Ret | 12 | 13 | |||||||||||||
Fabio Leimer | 14 | Ret | |||||||||||||||||||||
DS Virgin Racing | |||||||||||||||||||||||
2015–16 | Spark SRT01-e | Virgin Racing Engineering 2 DSV-01 | M | BEI | PUT | PDE | BUE | MEX | LBH | PAR | BER | LDN | 144 | 3rd | |||||||||
2 | Sam Bird | 7 | 2 | Ret | 1 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 7 | Ret | ||||||||||||
25 | Jean-Éric Vergne | 12 | Ret | 7 | 11 | 16 | 13† | 2 | 5 | 3 | 8 | ||||||||||||
2016–17 | Spark SRT01-e | DS Virgin DSV-02 | M | HKG | MRK | BUE | MEX | MCO | PAR | BER | NYC | MTL | 190 | 4th | |||||||||
2 | Sam Bird | 13 | 2 | Ret | 3 | Ret | 16 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | ||||||||||
37 | José María López | Ret | 10 | 10 | 6 | Ret | 2 | 4 | 5 | Ret | 3 | ||||||||||||
Alex Lynn | Ret | Ret | |||||||||||||||||||||
2017–18 | Spark SRT01-e | DS Virgin DSV-03 | M | HKG | MRK | SCL | MEX | PDE | RME | PAR | BER | ZUR | NYC | 160 | 3rd | ||||||||
2 | Sam Bird | 1 | 5 | 3 | 5 | Ret | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 10 | ||||||||||
36 | Alex Lynn | 8 | 9 | 10 | Ret | 10 | 6 | Ret | 14 | 16 | 16 | Ret | 14 | ||||||||||
Envision Virgin Racing | |||||||||||||||||||||||
2018–19 | Spark SRT05e | Audi e-tron FE05 | M | ADR | MRK | SCL | MEX | HKG | SYX | RME | PAR | MCO | BER | BRN | NYC | 191 | 3rd | ||||||
2 | Sam Bird | 11 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 6 | Ret | 11 | 11 | 16† | 9 | 4 | 8 | 4 | |||||||||
4 | Robin Frijns | 12 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 3 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 17† | 13 | Ret | Ret | 1 | |||||||||
2019–20 | Spark SRT05e | Audi e-tron FE06 | M | DIR | SCL | MEX | MRK | BER | BER | BER | 121 | 4th | |||||||||||
2 | Sam Bird | 1G | Ret | 10 | Ret | 10 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 11 | 20 | 5 | |||||||||||
4 | Robin Frijns | 5 | Ret | 15 | DSQ | 12 | Ret | 4 | 2 | DNS | 2 | Ret | |||||||||||
2020–21 | Spark SRT05e | Audi e-tron FE07 | M | DIR | RME | VLC | MCO | PUE | NYC | LDN | BER | BER | 165 | 5th | |||||||||
4 | Robin Frijns | 17 | 2G | 4 | 18 | 6 | 19 | 2G | 16 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 4 | 15 | 12 | |||||||
37 | Nick Cassidy | 19 | 14 | 15 | Ret | 4 | 13 | 8 | Ret | 2 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 7 | 14 | 17 | |||||||
Envision Racing | |||||||||||||||||||||||
2021–22 | Spark SRT05e | Audi e-tron FE07 | M | DRH | MEX | RME | MCO | BER | JAK | MRK | NYC | LDN | SEO | 194 | 5th | ||||||||
4 | Robin Frijns | 16 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 18 | 3 | 6 | 16 | 7 | 8 | 4 | ||||||
37 | Nick Cassidy | 7 | 16 | 13 | 9 | Ret | 7 | Ret | 21 | 16 | 13 | 1 | 15 | 3 | Ret | 10 | 8 | ||||||
2022–23 | Formula E Gen3 | Jaguar I-Type 6 | H | MEX | DRH | HYD | CAP | SAP | BER | MCO | JAK | POR | RME | LDN | 304 | 1st | |||||||
16 | Sébastien Buemi | 6 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 20 | 8 | 20 | 10 | 5 | Ret | 5 | 3 | 6 | ||||||
37 | Nick Cassidy | 9 | 6 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 18 | 1 | 2 | 14 | Ret | 1 | ||||||
2023–24 | Formula E Gen3 | Jaguar I-Type 6 | H | MEX | DIR | SAP | TOK | MIS | MCO | BER | SHA | POR | LDN | 41* | 8th* | ||||||||
4 | Robin Frijns | Ret | 10 | 2 | 18 | 9 | |||||||||||||||||
16 | Sébastien Buemi | 2 | 12 | WD | 10 | 13 |
Robin Christiaan Maria Frijns is a Dutch motor racing driver. He is the 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 Series champion, and the first driver to have won the series in his debut season since Robert Kubica in 2005. Frijns is currently competing in Formula E driving for Envision Racing and in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Team WRT. Frijns achieved his first Formula E podium finish in his second outing in the category, and claimed his maiden victory at the 2019 Paris E-Prix. In 2021 Frijns won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 class driving for Team WRT, alongside Ferdinand von Habsburg and Charles Milesi.
Jean-Éric Serge Raymond Vergne, also known as JEV, is a French racing driver who competes in the FIA Formula E Championship with DS Penske. He became the 2017–18 ABB Formula E Champion, after clinching fifth in the New York ePrix in 2018, and he became the first Formula E driver to win two consecutive championships after his repeat success in the 2018–19 season. He competed in Formula One for Scuderia Toro Rosso from 2012 to 2014, and was a Ferrari test and development driver from 2015 to 2016. He won the British Formula 3 Championship in 2010 and then finished runner up to teammate Robert Wickens in the 2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season.
The 2015–16 FIA Formula E Championship was the second season of the FIA Formula E championship, held from 24 October 2015 to 3 July 2016. The season saw seven new manufacturers, who were allowed to develop new power trains, specifically the e-motor, the inverter, the gearbox and the cooling system. Nelson Piquet Jr. was the defending Drivers' Champion and Renault e.dams the defending teams' champion. After ten rounds, Sébastien Buemi won the championship by just two points over Lucas di Grassi after setting the fastest lap in the final race, where neither driver finished following an opening lap crash and several attempts to set the fastest lap in their second cars. Renault e.dams retained the teams' championship.
The 2016 Paris ePrix was a Formula E electric car race held on 23 April 2016 at the Circuit des Invalides in the Les Invalides building complex. A total of 20,000 people attended the race. It was the seventh round of the 2015–16 Formula E Championship and the first Paris ePrix. The 45-lap race was won by Audi Sport ABT driver Lucas di Grassi starting from second position. Jean-Éric Vergne finished second for Virgin and e.Dams-Renault's Sébastien Buemi took third. It was di Grassi's second consecutive victory after the Long Beach ePrix, his third of the season and the fourth of his career.
The 2017–18 FIA Formula E Championship was the fourth season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Formula E motor racing. It featured the 2017–18 ABB FIA Formula E Championship, a motor racing championship for open-wheel electric racing cars, recognised by FIA, the sport's governing body, as the highest class of competition for electrically powered vehicles. Twenty drivers representing ten teams contested twelve ePrix, which started in Hong Kong on 2 December 2017 and ended on 15 July 2018 in New York City as they competed for the Drivers' and Teams' Championships.
DS Techeetah was a Sino-French motor racing team under ownership of SECA - China Media Capital that competed in the electric racing series, Formula E.
The 2018–19 FIA Formula E Championship was the fifth season of the FIA Formula E championship, a motor racing championship for electrically-powered vehicles recognised by motorsport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for electric open-wheel racing cars.
The 2017 New York City ePrix were a pair of Formula E electric car races held on 15 and 16 July 2017 at Brooklyn Street Circuit in Red Hook, Brooklyn before a two-day crowd of 20,000 people. They were the ninth and tenth races of the 2016–17 Formula E Championship and the first New York City ePrix. The first race, contested over 43 laps on 15 July, was won by Virgin driver Sam Bird after starting from fourth place. The Techeetah duo of Jean-Éric Vergne and Stéphane Sarrazin took second and third. The longer 49-lap race held the next day was won by Bird from pole position. Mahindra teammates Felix Rosenqvist and Nick Heidfeld finished second and third.
The 2019–20 FIA Formula E Championship was the sixth season of the FIA Formula E championship, a motor racing championship for electrically powered vehicles recognised by motorsport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for electric open-wheel racing cars.
The 2019 Marrakesh ePrix was a Formula E electric car race held at the Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan in the Agdal district of Marrakesh, Morocco on 12 January 2019. It was the second round of the 2018–19 Formula E Championship and the third Marrakesh ePrix. Jérôme d'Ambrosio of Mahindra won the 31-lap race after starting from tenth place. Second place went to Virgin's Robin Frijns and his teammate Sam Bird was third.
The 2019 Santiago ePrix was a Formula E electric car race held at the Parque O'Higgins Circuit in the Parque O'Higgins of Santiago, Chile on 27 January 2019. It was the third round of the 2018–19 Formula E season and the second annual edition of the event. Sam Bird won the 36 lap race, with Pascal Wehrlein finishing second, in what was his 2nd race in the championship, while Daniel Abt came home in third place. Following the race, Bird led the championship, edging out Jerome d'Ambrosio by 2 points.
The 2019 Hong Kong ePrix was a Formula E electric motor race held at the Hong Kong Central Harbourfront Circuit in Hong Kong on 10 March 2019. It was the fifth race of the 2018–19 Formula E season, and the 50th Formula E ePrix running overall.
The 2019 Paris ePrix was a Formula E electric car race held at the Circuit des Invalides in the Les Invalides building complex on 27 April 2019. It was the eighth race of the 2018–19 Formula E season and the fourth edition of the event.
The 2019 Monaco ePrix was a Formula E electric car race held at the Circuit de Monaco on 11 May 2019. It was the ninth race of the 2018–19 Formula E season and the third edition of the event.
The 2019 Berlin ePrix was a Formula E electric car race held at the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit at Tempelhof Airport in the outskirts of Berlin on 25 May 2019. It was the tenth round of the 2018–19 Formula E season and the fifth edition of the event as part of the championship. The 37-lap race was won by Audi driver Lucas di Grassi after starting from third. Sébastien Buemi finished second in the Nissan e.dams, after starting from pole position. Jean-Éric Vergne, the championship leader going into Berlin, took third for Techeetah.
The 2019 Swiss ePrix was a Formula E electric car race on the streets of Bern, Switzerland, on 22 June 2019. It was the eleventh round of the 2018–19 Formula E Championship, and was the first and only running of the Swiss ePrix, which was the second Formula E race held in Switzerland, after the Zürich ePrix in 2018. The race was won by Techeetah driver Jean-Éric Vergne after starting from pole position and leading all 31-laps. Jaguar driver Mitch Evans finished a close second, ahead of Swiss driver Sébastien Buemi who finished third for the Nissan e.Dams team.
The 2020–21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship was the seventh season of the FIA Formula E championship, a motor racing championship for battery-electric cars recognised by motorsport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for electric open-wheel racing cars.
The 2021–22 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship was the eighth season of the FIA Formula E championship, a motor racing championship for electrically powered vehicles recognised by motorsport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for electric open-wheel racing cars.
The 2022–23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship was the ninth season of the FIA Formula E championship, a motor racing championship for electrically powered vehicles recognised by motorsport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for electric open-wheel racing cars. It saw the debut of the third generation of championship regulations.
The 2023–24 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is the tenth season of the FIA Formula E championship, a motor racing championship for electrically powered vehicles recognised by motorsport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for electric open-wheel racing cars. Although the championship season is designated as 2023–2024, all races are held in 2024.