Audi To Make Abt Formula E Team Full Works Entry In '17-18

Audi will launch its "first factory single-seater programme with a fully-fledged Formula E campaign" in '17-18, according to Scott Mitchell of AUTOSPORT. The German manufacturer has confirmed it will "intensify" its partnership with the Abt team in the electric single-seater series "with financial and technical support for the coming season." Audi will then add the Abt-run Formula E entry to its works motorsport programs from the '17-18 season, "when it will join Abt's existing technical partner Schaeffler in developing the electric powertrain." This is the "first factory single-seater programme for the Audi brand, which has been linked to Formula 1 in recent years and currently competes in the LMP1 division of the World Endurance Championship and the DTM" (AUTOSPORT, 9/1).