Roborace keen to hold demonstration at Formula 1 grands prix
The autonomous racing series Roborace is not limited to running alongside Formula E and would be open to demonstrating its driverless car technology alongside Formula 1 and other series
Roborace's inaugural season is due to commence next spring, with its 'Season Alpha' calendar running partially alongside FE as both categories are all-electric.
But Roborace CEO and 2016/17 FE champion Lucas di Grassi told Autosport that the series' relationship with its electric cousin is not exclusive.
He said he would be happy to work with other categories, including F1, to showcase technology and boost Roborace's profile.
"It won't be at all the FE events," di Grassi said. "Some races will be with Formula E, and some on our own.
"There are no limitations to partnering other championships.
"If Formula 1 wants to showcase with us to show artificial intelligence, we can do that.
"Or WEC, we could create a series where you can race 24 hours with one driver and artificial intelligence alternating in the car in the future.
"We're not limited to FE. We can spread towards different categories.
"We like FE because we'd like the future to be fully electric.
"[But] we'll talk with series in the US, like IMSA, and in Japan, like Super GT."
The series will use an evolution of the development car that can also be driven by a human.
'DevBot 2.0' retains the LMP-inspired design of the original Roborace test mule but will be rear-wheel drive instead of all-wheel drive and has updated styling and hardware.
The new DevBot will be used for the first two seasons, known as 'Alpha' and 'Beta' after the nomenclature used by developers for software testing ahead of a full release.
After evaluating how the concept will work in those seasons, Roborace plans to switch to the Robocar for the category's 'full release' and first proper season in 2021.
The current Robocar, launched officially in early 2017, is completely autonomous and has a bold, unique design with no cockpit, but this is likely to change because Roborace wants the final car to be able to be controlled by a driver as well.
Di Grassi, who has said the 2021 car would be "like the son of Roborace and DevBot together", said Roborace was focused on building something unique.
"It'll be more of a show, less of a competition in the first few seasons," said di Grassi.
"It's a tech event, for tech companies to showcase what they are developing.
"We will not compete with any existing series. We want to create our own area of motorsport."
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
The driver who can wreck F1's "super exciting" 2020 silly season
Red Bull's Verstappen now has basis for first F1 title challenge
Ferrari: Mick Schumacher a good candidate for seat in Formula 1
New Time Attack competition for 1990s F1 cars launched by AGS successor
Red Bull in no rush to finalise 2025 F1 line-up
Oliveira reckons MotoGP “looks too easy” on TV now
The short-term pain that hides a very real Williams improvement
The short-term pain that hides a very real Williams improvement
How a Shanghai to Sheffield journey paved the way for China’s F1 hero
Why F1 2026 worst case fears could be key to new rules success
How the F1 driver market situation sits for each team with 2025 openings
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments