How Formula E has gone from 'fad' to strong motorsport career route
Formula E has gone from being a "fad" to the ideal long-term motorsport career path, says one of its leading team bosses
DS Techeetah team principal Mark Preston has been involved in FE from the outset, and his team took Jean-Eric Vergne to the 2017/18 drivers' title and only narrowly missed out on the constructors' championship to Audi.
Preston told Motorsport Jobs both the public and industry perception of FE has changed since its inaugural season in 2014 - when people "thought it was a fad" - and that this has had a big impact on recruitment.
"The overall professionalism of the sport has increased and therefore it brings in a larger amount of experienced people from other sports," said Preston.
"At the beginning, there were not many manufacturers and now we are heading towards a full grid - which brings with it other challenges."
But Preston is quick to point out that FE still has some way to go before it can rival the employment draw of Formula 1.
"Currently, F1 has larger workforces given the difference in rules," he said.
"For example, changes in hardware are allowed all through the season, which then drives more requirements [for employment].
"The budgets are still a lot higher in F1 and that comes with extra requirements for people.
"But electrical power is certainly the future and most series, including F1, have a large element of electrical knowledge required."
There have been major technical changes to FE machinery ahead of its fifth season in 2018/19, including the introduction of the mandatory halo and technology upgrades that mean an end to mid-race car changes.
Preston says this, and the increasing manufacturer presence in the field, has presented both an extra challenge to the now DS-affiliated Techeetah team and created further job opportunities.
"S5 car has more capability and the competition keeps getting tougher," he said.
"And therefore away from the track there is an increased level of engineering and organisation required and that will just keep increasing as the competition gets hotter."
Ex-DTM driver Lucas Auer to join Dan Ticktum in 2019 Super Formula
Mick Schumacher joins 2019 Race of Champions, partners F1's Vettel
Rating the best drivers of the century so far
Autosport's Top 50 feature has been a staple of the magazine for the past two decades since its first appearance in 2002. Here are the drivers that have featured most prevalently during that time
The best motorsport moments of 2021
Motorsport produced one of its greatest years of all-time in 2021 despite a backdrop of ongoing COVID-19 challenges and an ever-changing racing landscape. Through the non-stop action Autosport has collected the finest moments from the past 12 months to highlight the incredible drama and joy motorsport generates
The racing comeback artists who resurrected long-dormant careers
Making it in motorsport can be tough, and sometimes drivers move elsewhere before their best chance arrives. Here are some of those who made it back
The hidden racing gem attracting ex-F1 heroes
It’s rarely mentioned when it comes to assessing the best national contests, but the Brazilian Stock Car series that reaches its climax this weekend has an ever-growing appeal. Its expanding roster of ex-Formula 1 names has helped to draw in new fans, but it's the closeness of competition that keeps them watching
The one-time Schumacher rival rebooting his career Down Under
Joey Mawson made waves in the middle of the last decade, beating future Haas Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher - among other highly-rated talents - to the 2016 German F4 title. A run in F1's feeder GP3 category only caused his career to stall, but now back in Australia Mawson's S5000 title success has set that to rights
The lesson football’s would-be wreckers could learn from racing
OPINION: The greed-driven push for a European Super League that threatened to tear football apart is collapsing at the seams. Motor racing's equivalent, the football-themed Superleague Formula series of 2008-11, was everything that the proposed ESL never could be
The F1 and Indy 'nearly man' that found contentment in Japan
Having had the door to F1 slammed in his face and come within three laps of winning the Indianapolis 500, the collapse of a Peugeot LMP1 shot meant Japan was Bertrand Baguette's last chance of a career. But it's one which he has grasped with both hands
The female all-rounder who arrived "too early"
From Formula 3 to truck racing, Dakar and EuroNASCAR via a winning stint in the DTM, there's not much Ellen Lohr hasn't seen in a stellar racing career that highlights the merit in being a generalist. But she believes her career came too early...