Dragon Racing joins forces with Faraday Future for third season

Founded in 2007 by Jay Penske and Stephen J. Luczo, Dragon Racing is an American team based in Los Angeles. Initially known for its participation in the IndyCar Series, which took place between 2007 and 2014, the team then turned towards the fascinating world of Formula E.

Furthermore, let’s note that Dragon Racing also has a supplementary factory in Great Britain, at the Donington Park circuit. For this third season, the structure is partnering with Faraday Future, a company specializing in autonomous and electric vehicles. Faraday Future has brought along none other than Marco Mattiacci, the former team principal of Scuderia Ferrari in 2014. The Italian businessman has simply been appointed as the global brand director and chief commercial officer of Faraday Future!

On the historical side, the team’s first season turned out to be a good vintage with five podiums, one in Berlin and one in London in race 1, along with a double podium, also in London, in the final race. Among these podiums, Jérôme d’Ambrosio’s victory in Berlin should be noted, achieved after Lucas di Grassi’s disqualification. In the end, the team finished in a very respectable second place in the constructors’ standings with 171 points.

The second season was just as decent, with three podium finishes: the first in Punta del Este, the second in London (race two), as well as a victory in Mexico for d’Ambrosio, once again after the disqualification of Lucas di Grassi! Nevertheless, the team ended its season further back, dropping to fourth place in the team standings with 143 points. Despite everything, the team could be satisfied with finishing behind three teams all supported by manufacturers! This season, the team will need to continue obtaining at least similar results to live up to its new status. For this, Dragon Racing can rely on a powertrain supplied by Venturi (the Monaco-based electric manufacturer, also owner of a full-fledged team on the grid). Williams Advanced Engineering, meanwhile, provides the battery, which will produce the required 200 kilowatts at maximum output.

In any case, the challenge seems achievable for this very solid structure.

Loïc Duval:

The 34-year-old Frenchman continues his journey in the championship after starting his first season with Dragon at the Miami ePrix in March 2015. He stepped onto the podium twice, in Berlin and London, during race 2. He finished with 42 points and a ninth place in the drivers’ standings. Retained for the second season with Dragon, the results were less favorable as he did not secure a podium: his best result was a fourth place. He ended up in the 8th place in the drivers’ standings with 60 points. Furthermore, Duval continues his progress in the WEC with Audi, which began in 2012. Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2013, he was crowned WEC champion the same year. As for Formula E, the native of Chartres needs to improve. After a promising first half of the season, his second season without any podium finish and a lost duel against his teammate puts immediate pressure on him to raise his game for this third season.

Jérôme d’Ambrosio:

The 30-year-old Belgian will once again be on the grid in Hong Kong for his third personal season. In his first season, he was chosen by the Dragon team to start the new program. His first season was crowned with two podiums in the last two races in London, as well as a victory in Berlin, achieved through the disqualification of the real winner, Lucas di Grassi. The result: he climbed to fourth place in the drivers’ championship with 113 points. For his second season, he continued the adventure with Dragon, securing two more podiums, this time in Punta del Este and in the second race in London. Let’s not forget his victory in Mexico, achieved notably after an intense duel with Sébastien Buemi!

Watch the amazing tussle between @thereal_JDA and Sébastien Buemi in the #MexicoePrix https://t.co/iQfysijAhr

— FIA Formula E (@FIAformulaE) 25 septembre 2016

In the end, d’Ambrosio finished fifth in the drivers’ standings, with 83 points. Notably, he competed in a full F1 season with Virgin Marussia in 2011 and had a one-off race in 2012 at the Italian Grand Prix, driving the Lotus-Renault, replacing Romain Grosjean, who was suspended for that race after the Spa crash. Prior to that, he raced in GP2 for DAMS and honed his skills in various Formula Renault series.

For this new season, d’Ambrosio will focus solely on Formula E. He thus remains on two successful debut seasons, maintaining consistent performance and consistently surpassing his teammate. He can have high hopes of maintaining a strong position if his Dragon team continues to be strong and close to the top of the standings.

Update as of October 6:

The final livery of the Faraday Future Dragon Racing has been officially unveiled on the sidelines of the Hong Kong ePrix. After the metallic red of season two, the new design predominantly features black and white, using the Faraday Future brand to add a rather stunning style effect. It remains to be seen if this style will appeal to Formula E followers…

We just unveiled our new Faraday Future Dragon Racing at the #HKePrix! Learn more about it here: https://t.co/DdWCWejzgz. pic.twitter.com/giGN2LAd8Y

— FF Dragon Racing (@DragonRacing) 6 octobre 2016