How a small team is beating Formula E's giants

Formula E is welcoming many of motorsport's major manufacturers, but the team currently is a much smaller, independent outfit. Here's how Techeetah made it to the top of the electric championship. By Andrew Van de Burgt.

May 3, 2018, 11:46 AM

Upd: May 3, 2018, 12:15 PM

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The Formula E narrative over the past 12 months has been driven by the influx of manufacturers into the all-electric racing series. And with Mercedes, Porsche, BMW and Nissan signing up to take on Audi, DS, Jaguar, NIO and Mahindra (Renault is leaving at the end of this season) that can come as no surprise. But on-track the story is very different. Despite the resources - both financially and technically - of the manufacturer teams, it's an independent squad sitting at the top of the points table: Techeetah.

The story of how the Chinese-owned and backed customer team has been able to take on and beat the best of the rest is a classic David-and-Goliath tale. It's also testimony to how the rules the FIA and Formula E have put in place have found a perfect balance between allowing technological development while at the same time keeping a handle on costs, which in turn creates the sort of unpredictable results and races the fans crave.