Davidson approached for Jaguar Formula E drive

Motorsport.com revealed last month that Davidson was part of a shortlist of drivers under consideration by Jaguar as the British marque prepares to make its return to international racing in Formula E this autumn.

Speaking exclusively to Motorsport.com, the current Toyota FIA WEC driver admitted he is interested in the series, but a potential drive with the Tata-owned manufacturer would require some juggling with his existing WEC commitments and his role with Sky Sports' Formula 1 coverage.

“I’ve spoken to them [Jaguar] once,” said Davidson. “I did have some contact, I live close to Gaydon so yes, I’ve been interested in the series.

“For me, I love technology and I watch the races on TV. A lot of the WEC boys are doing Formula E; it feels like an extended competition from the WEC almost, when their races are on.

"If the opportunity came up I would definitely consider doing it, but it’s something I’m not really actively pushing to do.

"It’s something I feel like I could be good at, because the WEC does teach you good values for Formula E, in terms of energy management within the car.”

Davidson is known to have spoken to other teams right from the very inception of the championship, but elected to so far not to take on a dual programme like fellow WEC drivers Loic Duval, Lucas Di Grassi, Nicolas Prost and Sebastien Buemi.

Motorsport.com understands that Antonio Felix da Costa, Nelson Piquet Jr, Sam Bird, Oliver Turvey and Alex Lynn are all strong options for the Jaguar team as it continues to filter a list of drivers down into prospective incumbents for the two seats for season three.

Indian racer Narain Karthikeyan, who has backing from Jaguar parent company Tata, is believed to have been lined up to conduct the initial shakedown tests of the cars later this spring.

Jaguar, who will race with Williams Advanced Engineering as a significant technical partner, is believed to be on schedule to track test its powertrain in a Spark Formula E test car shortly.

The new team must present its powertrain for homologation checks and sign-off from the end of May.

Interview by Erwin Jaeggi