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2021/04/15 | Stuttgart | Motorsports | Press Release

“Inside E” podcast: Alberto Longo, Chief Championship Officer and Co-Founder of Formula E

“Formula E will be the reference in motorsport”

Stuttgart. It was through searching for new challenges that the lawyer and investment consultant Alberto Longo came to motor racing a good 20 years ago. His first project in motorsport was the purchase of Formula 1 TV rights together with his partner Alejandro Agag; but his biggest and most important mission was to create Formula E with Agag. In the latest “Inside E” podcast, the Spaniard talks about the unusual inception and rapid growth of the world’s first electric racing series, about Porsche’s strong performance with a podium result in Rome recently and why doubleheader events are the best solution for everyone during a global pandemic.

“There’s a lot of gossip in Formula E. And believe me – most of it is true.” Alberto Longo smiles when he tells how Formula E’s course was mapped out at a dinner in a Parisian restaurant in 2011. With him at the table was the FIA President Jean Todt and Alejandro Agag, the Formula E founder and its current chairman. The gentlemen talked about the future of mobility and quickly agreed that it would definitely be electric. At some point during this notable evening, these visionaries came up with the idea that the FIA should spearhead this initiative and launch the world’s first electric single-seater championship. “Alejandro recognised the potential immediately and offered himself as a promoter. The others agreed. That serviette is framed and now hangs over the table in that restaurant.”

The old friends Alejandro Agag and Alberto Longo received the official go-ahead from the FIA to found Formula E on August 27, 2013. “The first race was planned for 2015. That alone would’ve posed a massive challenge. At that time, we had absolutely nothing, no technology, no teams, no drivers, no cities or partners,” explains Alberto Longo. Ultimately, however, they were given even less time. In January 2014, just after the first teams had signed up, a call came from the FIA headquarters in Paris asking that they bring the start forward to autumn. “That was the biggest challenge of our lives, but our dream turned to reality with the first race in Beijing on 13th September.”

Formula E continued to evolve much faster than anticipated. “If someone had told us seven years ago that we’d be where we are now, I would’ve said they were absolutely crazy,” says Alberto Longo. “The fact that we’ve come this far so quickly is an absolute highlight.” Still, with success comes responsibility. “We need to live up to these responsibilities every day and hopefully do right by the many people who have placed their trust in us.”

As Chief Championship Officer, his everyday business is first and foremost to organise the series. This also involves the racing calendar, which is particularly challenging in times of a global pandemic. In this regard, another update will be announced towards the end of April. For him, it is important to keep a global perspective. “The whole world is affected, not just sport.” The way out of such a crisis is to forge strong and trusting ties with partners. “We’re working as a team and we’re very flexible. That’s our big advantage. This flexibility allows us to keep the series thriving, even in difficult times.“ An example of this flexibility: in order to ensure safety in view of the uncertain development of the pandemic and because the doubleheader event worked so well in Diriyah, the decision was made to hold two races in Rome – and again in Valencia. “To reach the planned number of 15 races for this season, we’ll probably need as many doubleheaders as possible.” This is not a problem, on the contrary: “It’s a very efficient format. We have the racetracks and the superstructures and the teams with their equipment – why wouldn’t we use that for two days instead of one?”

With the Gen3 racing cars, Formula E will enter a new era in the 2022/23 season. For Alberto Longo, it is an honour that Porsche is following this pathway. He says: “To have a manufacturer like Porsche on board is a massive achievement and helps us convey our most important messages such as environmental protection and sustainability to people in a credible way.” He feels that the first podium of the season, claimed by Pascal Wehrlein for Porsche in Rome, is “a huge success. After all, Porsche is the newest team in Formula E, a bit like being the new kid in the class.” The performance of the Porsche 99X Electric and the squad in just their second Formula E season is impressive. It’s a huge challenge to compete against such strong and seasoned rivals on totally unfamiliar circuits in the heart of cities. “To be honest, I didn’t expect Porsche to compete for podium places so soon.”

Aside from his day-to-day business, one of Alberto Longo’s strengths is undoubtedly the ability to anticipate developments and plan for the future. The question of where he sees Formula E in five years does not faze him in the least: “That’s easy,” he smiles. “I firmly believe that Formula E will be the reference in motorsport in terms of innovation, technology, sustainability, inclusion and equality. Obviously, there is still a lot of work to do before that happens, but Formula E was born for this role.”

The Porsche Formula E podcast is published in English and can be downloaded from the Porsche Newsroom. “Inside E” is also available on other platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts.


More information, film and photo material is available in the Porsche Newsroom: newsroom.porsche.com

Viktoria Wohlrapp

Communications, Sustainability and Politics

Spokesperson Corporate Strategy and Procurement

+49 (0) 170 / 911 4979

Text

English (Porsche AG)

M21_0787

2021/04/15

    • Motorsports
    • Season 2020 / 2021
    • Formula E
    • Press Releases
    • Germany \ Stuttgart
    • Racingcars
    • 99X Electric

"Inside E" podcast - episode 20: "Formula E will be the reference in motorsport"

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210.38 KB M21_­0787_­en.pdf
2021/04/15
    • Motorsports
    • Season 2020 / 2021
    • Formula E
    • Germany \ Stuttgart
    • Racingcars
    • 99X Electric
File type: Sound (MP3)
File name: M21_0789.mp3
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