Venturi Racing

Venturi Racing[2] (formerly Venturi Formula E Team[3]) is a Monegasque motor racing team founded by Venturi Automobiles owner Gildo Pallanca Pastor and American actor Leonardo DiCaprio to compete in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.[4] The team competes with the single-make chassis built by Spark and initially built its own powertrains, before switching to Mercedes powertrains for the 2019-20 season.

For the team that competed as Venturi in the 1992 Formula One World Championship, see Larrousse.

ROKiT Venturi Racing
Founded2013
Founder(s)Gildo Pallanca Pastor
Leonardo DiCaprio
Team principal(s)Susie Wolff
Jérôme d'Ambrosio (deputy team principal)[1]
Current seriesFormula E
Current drivers Edoardo Mortara
Norman Nato
Websitewww.venturiracing.com

History

2014–15 season

Venturi became one of Formula E's founding teams by committing to the championship in December 2013. For the series' inaugural season, it was announced that the team had signed Nick Heidfeld and Stéphane Sarrazin as its drivers, with Franck Baldet as team coordinator.[5]

In Formula E's debut race at the Beijing ePrix, Heidfeld was running in second place and attempted to overtake Nicolas Prost for the lead on the final lap. In the last corner, the pair collided and both failed to finish, with the accident causing Heidfeld's car to alarmingly fly through the air and land on the roll hoop. This handed the win to Lucas di Grassi.[6] Prost was given a 10-place grid penalty for the next round in Putrajaya.

At the Buenos Aires ePrix, Venturi was again in contention for victory with Heidfeld. With three laps to go, Heidfeld received a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane. This handed António Félix da Costa his maiden Formula E victory.[7]

Venturi took its largest points haul of the season at the Berlin ePrix. Heidfeld took the team's only podium finish of the season at the Moscow ePrix, taking third behind eventual champion Nelson Piquet, Jr and di Grassi.[8]

Sarrazin won the final race of the season from pole position but was penalised for exceeding the maximum energy usage, dropping him to 15th.[9] Heidfeld ended the season in 12th position in the Drivers' Championship with 31 points while Sarrazin was 14th on 22 points, leaving the team ninth in the standings. Heidfeld left the team at the end of the season to join Mahindra.

2015–16 season

For the 2015-16 season, supplied powertrains to customer team Dragon Racing[10] and signed 1997 Formula One World Champion Jacques Villeneuve as a teammate to Sarrazin.[11] After the Punta del Este ePrix, however, the Canadian left after 'disagreeing on the direction of the team'. He was replaced by Mike Conway.[12]

Sarrazin outperformed both drivers over the season, scoring points at every race and finishing second behind di Grassi in Long Beach, which was also the scene of Conway's first points finish of the season in 10th place.[13]

Venturi finished in sixth position in the Teams’ Championship with 77 points. Sarrazin claimed 70 of these to also rank sixth in the Drivers’ Standings while Conway claimed the remaining seven points to rank 16th. Villeneuve ranked 20th with zero points.

With a run of 10 points-scoring races, Sarrazin became the first driver in Formula E to record points at every round in one season.

2016–17 season

Sarrazin was retained for a third consecutive season by Venturi and was partnered by FIA GT World Cup driver Maro Engel who replaced Conway at the team.[14]

Venturi commenced the campaign with a double points finish at the 2016 Hong Kong ePrix, however, an uncompetitive car resulted in a difficult season. The team's best result came in Monaco, where Engel recorded fifth position.

For the 2017 Paris ePrix, Formula V8 3.5 Series champion Tom Dillmann filled in for Engel who was racing in the 2017 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters round at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz.[15] One race later in Berlin, Dillmann replaced Sarrazin who moved to Techeetah to replace Esteban Gutiérrez for the final six races.

Venturi recorded 30 points to finish ninth in the Teams’ Championship. Engel recorded 16 of these points to take 17th in the Drivers’ Standings while Dillmann recorded 12 for 19th and Sarrazin, 2.

2017–18 season

For the fourth season of Formula E, Venturi re-signed Engel and hired seven time Macau World Cup winner Edoardo Mortara.[16]

On his debut weekend in Formula E in Hong Kong, Mortara claimed the team's first podium since the 2016 Long Beach ePrix. The Swiss-Italian driver led for most of the race, however, span out of first position with three laps to go when trying to set the fastest lap. Mortara finished third but was promoted to second following the disqualification of race winner Daniel Abt.[17]

Due to commitments in the DTM championship with Mercedes, Dillmann filled in for Mortara at the Berlin and New York City races.[18]

Mortara's podium in the season-opener marked Venturi's highest finish in Formula E's fourth season in which the team recorded 72 points to rank seventh in the Teams’ Championship. Engel finished 12th in the Drivers’ Standings with 31 points while Mortara was 13th with 29. Dillmann notched 12 points in his three race appearances to finish 18th.

2018–19 season

In May 2018, Venturi signed a three-year deal with 11-time Formula One race winner Felipe Massa[19] and rehired Mortara for a second season. Norman Nato was named as the team's Reserve Driver. Former professional racing driver Susie Wolff became the Team Principal[20] while Franck Baldet became Technical Director.

Venturi supplied powertrains to the Mercedes-affiliated HWA Racelab team over the 2018–19 season, with the outfit preparing for the official entry of the Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team in the 2019-20 season.[21]

At Formula E's landmark 50th race at the 2019 Hong Kong ePrix, Mortara recorded Venturi's maiden victory.[22]

Venturi took further podiums at the Mexico City E-Prix[23] and Monaco E-Prix which was also the site of Massa's first podium finish in Formula E.[24] With 88 points, the team took eighth in the championship. Mortara finished 14th in the Drivers’ Standings with 52 points while Massa was 15th with 36 points.

2019–20 season

In October 2019, Venturi confirmed that Mortara would again partner Massa while the team entered a powertrain partnership with Mercedes-Benz.[25]

On the eve of the 2019-20 season opener, the team announced a three-year Title Partnership with global telecommunications company ROKiT,[26] and also confirmed the retention of Norman Nato as Reserve Driver and the appointment of Arthur Leclerc, brother of Ferrari Formula One driver Charles Leclerc, as Test Driver.[27]

The team recorded five consecutive points finishes in the first five races, prior to the season's five-month suspension as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After the season resumed in August with six races at the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit in Berlin, Mortara took 14th in the Drivers' Championship with 41 points while Massa was 22nd with 3 points. Venturi finished in 10th in the Teams' Standings with 44 points. At the final race of the season, it was announced that Massa would be retiring from Formula E.[28]

2020–21 season

For Formula E's seventh season and first as a World Championship, Venturi re-signed Mortara and promoted Norman Nato to a full-time race seat, with the Frenchman replacing Massa.[29]

Jérôme d'Ambrosio joined the team as Deputy Team Principal after deciding to retire from professional competition at the end of Season 6.[30]

In December 2020, Venturi announced a take over in ownership, with a US investor group led by Scott Swid and Jose M Aznar Botella purchasing the team. Susie Wolff remained as Team Principal and retained an interest in Venturi alongside Founder Gildo Pallanca Pastor.[31]

Sponsors
Sponsor[N 1] 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21
ROKiT[32][N 2] T T
Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation
Brasserie de Monaco
SMEG
Ars Technica[33]
Mario Bertulli[34]
ROHM Semiconductor[35]
Pix Associates[36]
Monster Energy[37]
ZF Friedrichshafen[38]
DELTA[39]
Farasis Energy[40]
Andbank
Ethereum
COUP Mobility
Hewlett Packard Enterprise[41]
Becker Carbon
Richard Mille[42]
Acronis[43]

Next Gen Programme

In March 2018, Venturi became the first Formula E team to establish a junior programme.[44] As of May 2018, there are eight drivers in the programme:

Driver Years Current Series Titles
Dorian Boccolacci 2018 GP3 Series French F4 Junior Champion (2014)
Pierre-Louis Chovet 2018 French F4 Championship n/a
Arthur Leclerc 2018 French F4 Championship n/a
Benjamin Cartery 2018 Karting n/a
Louis Iglesias 2018 Karting n/a
Gaetan Gorant 2018 E-Sport World Championship E-Sport World Championship
Kevin Leaune 2018 E-Sport World Championship E-Sport World Championship
Maxime Paine 2018 E-Sport World Championship E-Sport World Championship

Results
Year Chassis Powertrain Tyres No. Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Points T.C.
Venturi Formula E Team
2014–15 Spark SRT01-e SRT01-e1 M BEI PUT PDE BUE MIA LBH MCO BER MSC LON 53 9th
23 Nick Heidfeld 13† DSQ 10 8 12 11 10 5 3 13 Ret
30 Stéphane Sarrazin         9 12 Ret 10 Ret 10 7 6 14 10 15
2015–16 Spark SRT01-e Venturi VM200-FE-01 M BEI PUT PDE BUE MEX LBH PAR BER LON 77 6th
4 Stéphane Sarrazin         9 4 9 4 9 2 5 10 10 5
12 Jacques Villeneuve 14 11 DNS
Mike Conway 15 12 10 14 8 9 13
2016–17 Spark SRT01-e Venturi VM200-FE-02 M HKG MRK BUE MEX MCO PAR BER NYC MTL 30 9th
4 Stéphane Sarrazin 10 12 12 15 15 10
Tom Dillmann 18 15 13 7 10 10
5 8
Maro Engel 9 Ret Ret Ret 5 9 Ret Ret Ret 12 18
2017–18 Spark SRT01-e Venturi VM200-FE-03 M HKG MRK SCL MEX PDE RME PAR BER ZUR NYC 72 7th
4 Edoardo Mortara 7 2 17† 13 8 17 10 13 Ret
Tom Dillmann 13 4 Ret
5 Maro Engel 13 7 12 Ret 16 10 8 4 8 11 8 Ret
2018–19 Spark SRT05e Venturi VFE05 M ADR MRK SCL MEX HKG SYX RME PAR MCO BER BRN NYC 88 8th
19 Felipe Massa 17 18 Ret 8 5 10 Ret 9 3 15 8 16† 15
48 Edoardo Mortara 19 13 4 3 1 13 Ret Ret Ret 11 Ret Ret Ret
ROKiT Venturi Racing
2019–20 Spark SRT05e Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 01 M DIR SCL MEX MRK BER I BER II BER III 44 10th
19 Felipe Massa 12 17 9 Ret 17 Ret Ret 19 10 13 16
48 Edoardo Mortara 7 4 Ret 8 5 17 8 14 14 8 10
Notes
  • ^1 – In the inaugural season, all teams were supplied with a spec powertrain by McLaren.
  • † – Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

Other teams supplied by Venturi
Year Team Chassis Powertrain Tyres No. Drivers Points T.C. Source
2015–16 Dragon Racing Spark SRT01-e Venturi VM200-FE-01 M 143 4th [45]
6 Loïc Duval
7 Jérôme d'Ambrosio
2018–19 HWA Racelab Spark SRT05e Venturi VFE05 M 5 Stoffel Vandoorne 44 9th [46]
17 Gary Paffett

Notes
  1. This list only includes companies whose logos have appeared on the team's cars. Mandatory logos of series' partners are also excluded from the list.
  2. Including various ROKiT Group subsidiaries in ROKiT Cities (2019–present), Bandero (2019–20) and ABK Beer (2019–20).

References
  1. "ROKiT Venturi Racing Welcomes Jérôme D'Ambrosio". ROKiT Venturi Racing. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  2. "Full Formula E team names revealed ahead of season opener". FIA Formula E. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  3. "Venturi Formula E Team". Formula E. Archived from the original on 9 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  4. "Leonardo DiCaprio forms racing team to help speed up electric car sales". BBC News. BBC. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  5. "Ex-F1 racers Heidfeld and Sarrazin to race for Venturi in Formula E". Autosport.com. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  6. "Formula E opens with spectacular crash with Nick Heidfeld and Nicholas Prost as Lucas di Grassi claims win". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  7. Glendenning, Mark. "Buenos Aires Formula E: Antonio Felix da Costa takes first win". Autosport.com. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  8. "Moscow smiles on Piquet Jr". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  9. Smith, Sam. "London ePrix: Piquet takes title, Bird wins as Sarrazin is penalised". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  10. Smith, Sam. "Exclusive: Dragon Racing to become Formula E manufacturer". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  11. Hensby, Paul. "Villeneuve joins Sarrazin at Venturi Grand Prix". The Checkered Flag.
  12. Mitchell, Scott. "Jacques Villeneuve replaced by Mike Conway at Venturi Formula E". Autosport.com.
  13. Bradley, Charles. "Long Beach ePrix: Di Grassi wins frantic race, title rivals hit trouble". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  14. "Engel joins Sarrazin at Venturi in Formula E". Crash.net.
  15. Smith, Sam (24 April 2017). "Tom Dillmann to make Formula E debut with Venturi in Paris". Autosport. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  16. "Mortara joins Venturi for Formula E season four". 20 October 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  17. "FORMULA E – ROSENQVIST WINS AS MORTARA SPINS". 3 December 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  18. "Tom Dillmann to replace Mortara in Berlin". 30 April 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  19. Smith, Topher (24 May 2018). "Venturi announces Massa for season five". e-racing.net. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  20. Alex, Kalinauckas. "Ex-Williams F1 tester Susie Wolff becomes Venturi FE team principal". Autosport.com. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  21. Kalinauckas, Alex. "Mercedes specialist HWA enters Formula E 2018/19 with Venturi". Autosport.com. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  22. Church, Ben. "Edoardo Mortara wins controversial Hong Kong E Prix". CNN.com. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  23. "Formula E: Lucas di Grassi wins dramatic Mexico E-Prix". BBC Sport.
  24. Errington, Tom. "Monaco E-Prix: Vergne becomes first repeat winner of 2018/19". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  25. "New Beginnings for Venturi in Season 6". venturiracing.com.
  26. Smith, Luke. "ROKiT becomes title sponsor of Venturi Formula E team". Crash.net. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  27. "Venturi retains Norman Nato and Arthur Leclerc as test/reserve drivers". Motorsport Week. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  28. Smith, Topher (13 August 2020). "Massa in shock split with Venturi FE team". motorsport.com. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  29. Kew, Matt. "Nato to replace ex-F1 driver Massa at Venturi for 2020-21 Formula E season". Autosport. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  30. Kew, Matt. "D'Ambrosio joins Venturi FE as deputy team principal, retires from driving". Autosport. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  31. Smith, Sam. "Venturi Formula E Team Under New Majority Ownership". The Race. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  32. "Introducing... ROKit Venturi Racing". Venturi Automobiles. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  33. Anthony, Sebastian (29 June 2015). "Formula E's dramatic conclusion in London". Ars Technica. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  34. "Venturi FormulaE accueille un nouvel investisseur". La Tribune (in French). 12 October 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  35. "ROHM and Venturi strive for electric car future". Rohm. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  36. @pixassociates (4 April 2016). "Logo de P&A sur la voiture #Venturi lors de l'E-prix de Long Beach aux USA samedi dernier !" (Tweet) (in French) – via Twitter.
  37. "Venturi Formula E team is partnering with Monster Energy for the FIA London E Prix". Venturi Formula E Team. 1 July 2016. Archived from the original on 9 July 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  38. Smith, Topher (23 August 2016). "Venturi launches VM200-FE-02; announces partnership with ZF". e-racing.net. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  39. @VenturiFE (11 November 2016). "Our family is getting bigger. Welcome #Delta, integrated automotive group" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  40. Chan, Roberta (7 September 2018). "Farasis Energy to Establish Battery Manufacturing Center in Europe". The Korea Times. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  41. "VENTURI Formula E Team announces new technology partner: Hewlett Packard Enterprise". Hewlett Packard Enterprise. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  42. "Venturi Formula E team partners with Richard Mille". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  43. "Venturi Teams Up With Acronis For Cyber Protection". Acronis. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  44. "Venturi establish the first academy for electric motorsport drivers". 29 March 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  45. Smith, Sam (15 July 2015). "Exclusive: Dragon Racing to run Venturi powertrain". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  46. Kilshaw, Jake (9 May 2018). "HWA Confirms Season Five Entry as Venturi Customer". e-racing365. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
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