U.S.-based Formula E team Dragon Racing agreed to a long-term alliance with Faraday Future. The California-based mobility company, which got its first taste of Formula E as the title sponsor of the
Long Beach ePrix earlier this year, will become the core technical partner and title sponsor of the team. The new team name will be Faraday Future Dragon Racing, and the partnership will officially kick off at the Hong Kong ePrix on Oct. 9.
Former Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Marco Matiacci, who joined Faraday Future as its global chief brand and commercial officer earlier this year, will oversee the company’s involvement with Formula E and the partnership with Dragon Racing. The technical cooperation will be led by Faraday Future's Senior VP of Global R&D and Engineering Nick Sampson. Dragon Racing, which used a Venturi power train this season, will become one of nine manufacturers in season 3. Team Owner & Founder Jay Penske told
SBD Global at the Mexico City ePrix that the team has created a separate company to build a power train for season 3. Former Venturi Formula E Team Principal Nicolas Mauduit joined Dragon Racing in November to lead the process as its engineering director. The new partnership with Faraday Future is expected to accelerate the team's development as the company will provide software solutions to maximize performance capabilities within the vehicles’ powertrains. Faraday Future’s R&D team will also look for opportunities within the Dragon Racing platform to improve overall drivetrain performance. Starting with season 4, Faraday Future and Dragon Racing will work together to implement various Faraday powertrain components such as software, firmware, and other hardware as the team sees fit. Dragon Racing finished fourth in the Formula E team standings this season with 143 points. Belgium driver Jérôme d'Ambrosio also recorded his second Formula E victory for the team. D'Ambrosio, the winner of the 2015 Berlin ePrix, won the inaugural Mexico City ePrix this year following the disqualification of Abt driver Lucas di Grassi, who initially won the race.
