Venturi Formula E team enters partnership with ZF

The deal will see ZF lead the powertrain for the season five Venturi entry in 2018/19. ZF opened a specialist electrical division last January called the Electro-Mobility by ZF. It employs 5,000 employees and focuses on intelligent electrical drive solutions.

“We want to look to the future of motorsports and that is why we have joined with Venturi,” said General Manager of ZF Race Engineering, Norbert Odendahl.

“Developing a complete new drivetrain for the Venturi will take some time so we are looking at supplying in the first season [season three] a high-complex suspension system for Venturi.

"We will optimise in season four the existing drivetrain and start testing the developed drivetrain for the following season [season five].”

The news comes after Venturi has been engaged with several OEMs about a technology partnership. Motorsport.com understands that those discussions are still ongoing.

The Monegasque electrical engineering specialist Venturi is owned by Gildo Pallanca Pastor, with Hollywood star Leonardo Di Caprio as a co-founder in the Formula E team which was founded in 2013.

“ZF are the third largest supplier of automotive parts in the world and today’s announcement puts Venturi in the ‘Premier League’,” said Venturi Commercial Director, Jim Wright.

“It will lift us to the top of engineering excellence and also augment everything that we have back in Monaco.”

All teams now working with manufacturers

The partnership between Venturi and ZF means that all of the teams in Formula E now have some involvement or other with a major OEM or global technology company.

Motorsport understands that the VW Group, which had several executives in attendance at the Berlin ePrix in May, is evaluating when and in what capacity it can enter one of its brands in the near future. ZF has and does work closely with brands within the VW Group.

The 100 percent manufacturer involvement with the teams, even if by proxy - such as the new Techeetah team, means that Alejandro Agag’s vision of major OEM and global engineering manufacturers embracing Formula E has become reality.

“I am very happy that the new season can start with an announcement like this,” Formula E boss Alejandro Agag told Motorsport.com.

“In addition to ZF joining us there is a lot of other big names in the background. There are more big names coming I am sure of it and this is only the beginning.”

Whether it be well known automotive manufacturers such as Renault (e.dams), BMW (Andretti), the new Jaguar team or nascent electric engineering start-ups such as Faraday Future or NextEV, the shared interest and sporting vision of every company has now come to a new destination in global motorsport – the FIA Formula E Championship.

As it matures toward its targeted season five single-car target, those that have believed, backed and pioneered the need to change motorsport for future generations should take a well-earned bow.