BMW has formally agreed to a partnership with American Formula E team Andretti. Tuesday's announcement confirmed a widely circulated rumor that BMW was looking to join the electric racing series through a link-up with a team. The partnership with Andretti is an opportunity for the German car manufacturer to familiarize itself with the series and explore the possibility of a future works involvement. "The commitment in Formula E sees us forge new paths and demonstrate our expertise in the field of electric mobility," BMW Motorsport Dir Jens Marquardt said. The tie-up also confirms Formula E's position in the technological developments of electric vehicles. BMW's initial two-year cooperation with Andretti will center on sharing resources and engineering expertise. A BMW works team could join the series for its '18-19 season. "A works involvement is then conceivable as of the series’ fifth season," Marquardt said. "The premise for all these steps is the further positive development of the series, which includes increasing the capacity of the batteries, for example." BMW previously said Formula E's current setup of each driver having to use two cars per race is not conducive to the issue of range anxiety regarding EVs. The series is pushing to change its format and use only a single car per driver for the complete race distance. BMW joins Audi, Citroën DS, Jaguar, Renault and Mahindra as OEMs involved in the series.
BEHIND THE WHEEL: BMW Motorsport will also provide works driver Antonio Felix da Costa to Andretti. The Portuguese, who currently competes in the German Touring Car Championship (DTM) for BMW Team Schnitzer, will contest the entire '16-17 season in Formula E and already participated in the preseason tests at Donington Park. The 25-year-old won the inaugural Buenos Aires ePrix during the '14-15 season, when he appeared in eight races for Amlin Aguri. Andretti's driver lineup for the '16-17 season consists of Da Costa and Dutchman Robin Frijns. BMW's electric vehicle division, BWM i, will remain the official vehicle partner of the series, with the i8 and i3 continuing as safety and medical car, respectively. BMW i also signed on as the title sponsor of last season's Berlin ePrix, but it is not yet known if the company will continue to support the race. BMW joins MS Amlin and TE Connectivity as official partners of the Andretti Formula E team.
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BMW rejoined the DTM in '12.
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MORE RACING: The Munich-based carmaker's move into Formula E comes as part of a realignment of its motorsports activities. BMW, which decided to leave F1 seven years ago at the end of the '09 season, will continue its commitments in the DTM, IMSA Sports Car Championship and Dakar Rally. BMW's management board also decided to return to the 24-hour race in LeMans by joining the World Endurance Championship in '18. The German brand claimed the overall victory in '99 with the BMW V12 LMR prototype. "The new motor racing strategy is particularly characterized by a strong 'brand fit,'" BMW Brand SVP Hildegard Wortmann said. "BMW and motorsport -- they belong together. This combination has always shaped the brand."
