Techeetah

DS Techeetah (/təˈtʃitə/) is a Chinese motor racing team under ownership of SECA - China Media Capital that competes in the electric racing series, Formula E.[2]

DS Techeetah
Founded2013[N 1]
Team principal(s)Edmund Chu
Mark Preston
Current seriesFormula E
Current drivers António Félix da Costa
Jean-Éric Vergne
Teams'
Championships		FIA Formula E:
2018–19
2019–20
Drivers'
Championships		FIA Formula E:
2017–18: Jean-Éric Vergne
2018–19: Jean-Éric Vergne:
2019–20: António Félix da Costa
Websitehttp://www.techeetahfe.com

Formula E

2016–17 season
Jean-Éric Vergne before the start of the 2017 Mexico City ePrix.

The team entered the sport following the acquisition of Team Aguri in 2016.[3] In July 2016, Jean-Éric Vergne and Qinghua Ma (who competed with Team Aguri in the final rounds of the previous season prior to CMC's takeover) were confirmed as the team's drivers.[4] With Renault providing powertrains for Techeetah's debut season, Vergne scored the team's maiden podium with a second place at the Buenos Aires ePrix. In March 2017, Techeetah announced former F1 driver Esteban Gutiérrez would replace Ma from round four onwards.[5] However, after Gutiérrez left the team after only three races after being given an opportunity with Dale Coyne Racing to compete in the IndyCar Series, the team then signed Stéphane Sarrazin to compete with the team for the remainder of the season.[6]

The season proved to be successful, especially in the second half. The team scored seven overall podium finishes, five of them with Vergne, including his win in the second race in Montreal. Techeetah placed fifth in Teams' Championship with 156 points.

2017–18 season

Techeetah signed André Lotterer to partner Vergne for its second season in the series.[7] Vergne was supremely consistent over the whole course of the season, finishing on points in every race, accumulating 198 points and winning the Drivers' Championship.[8] The team got overtaken by Audi at the last second, missing out on Teams' Championship by only two points.[9]

2018–19 season
André Lotterer during the 2019 Hong Kong ePrix.

Techeetah's line-up remained unchanged for the 2018–19 season. This time, they were able to win both championships in the final round in New York City.[10] Lotterer subsequently left the team, switching to Porsche.[11]

2019–20 season

In September 2019, it was announced that António Félix da Costa will replace Lotterer in the team (as he had departed for the new Porsche Formula E Team).[12] Vergne is set to continue with the team as he signed a long-term contract back in 2018.[13] JEV did not participate in all FP1 sessions so far in his season, as he got a fever prior to the 2020 Marrakesh ePrix, thus he got replaced by James Rossiter driving his no. 25 Spark SRT05e.

Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy

Techeetah became the first Formula E team to join the Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy support series, fielding one car for the inaugural 2018–19 season with Stefan Rzadzinski behind the wheel. The team competed under the name TWR Techeetah and was part of the Pro class.[14] The eTrophy entry included an arrangement with Ryan Walkinshaw to return his late father Tom's TWR brand to international motorsport.

2018–19 season
Stefan Rzadzinski's car at the 2019 Rome ePrix.

A plain white livery was used during the first round in Ad Diriyah. Before the second round in Mexico City, a retro Silk Cut-based livery was introduced, which has been in use ever since.[15] Rzadzinski's deal with the team came to end before the Berlin ePrix. Former Panasonic Jaguar Racing driver and 2008–09 A1GP champion Adam Carroll was announced as his replacement.[16] The team, however, completely withdrew from the following round held in New York City.[17]

The team's best result came at the Paris ePrix, where Rzadzinski finished second. For the majority of the season, the TWR Techeetah team was consistently behind the likes of Jaguar Brazil Racing and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, whose drivers were regularly competing for wins. It was also the only team in the Pro class to not win a race during the season.

Results

Formula E
2015–16: Team Aguri
Year Chassis Powertrain Tyres No. Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Points T.C.
Techeetah
2016–17 Spark SRT01-e Renault Z.E. 16 M HKG MRK BUE MEX MCO PAR BER NYC MTL 156 5th
25 Jean-Éric Vergne Ret 8 2 2 Ret Ret 8 6 2 8 2 1
33 Ma Qinghua Ret 15 16
Esteban Gutiérrez 10 8 12
Stéphane Sarrazin 11 14 3 12 3 8
2017–18 Spark SRT01-e Renault Z.E. 17 M HKG MRK SCL MEX PDE RME PAR BER ZUR NYC 262 2nd
18 André Lotterer DSQ 13 Ret 2 13 12 3 6 9 4 7 9
25 Jean-Éric Vergne 2 4 5 1 5 1 5 1 3 10 5 1
DS Techeetah
2018–19 Spark SRT05e DS E-TENSE FE19 M ADR MRK SCL MEX HKG SYX RME PAR MCO BER BRN NYC 222 1st
25 Jean-Éric Vergne 2 5 Ret 13 13 1 14 6 1 3 1 15 7
36 André Lotterer 5 6 13 5 14 4 2 2 7 Ret 14 17 Ret
2019–20 Spark SRT05e DS E-TENSE FE20 M DIR SCL MEX MRK BER I BER II BER III 244 1st
13 António Félix da Costa 14 10G 2 2 1 1G 1 4 2 Ret 9
25 Jean-Éric Vergne Ret 8 Ret 4 3 Ret 10 3G 1G 18 7
Notes
  • G – Driver was fastest in group qualifying stage and was given one championship point.
  • † – Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy
Year Car Class Tyres No. Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points D.C.
TWR Techeetah
2018–19 Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY P M ADR MEX HKG SYX RME PAR MCO BER NYC
18 Stefan Rzadzinski 126 Ret Ret 33 55 22 105 WD WD 43 6th
77 Adam Carroll 55 WD WD 6 7th
Notes
  • † – Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

Footnotes
  1. Techeetah took over Team Aguri prior to the 2016–17 season rather than entering the sport as a new entity.[1]
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References
  1. Klein, Jamie (28 June 2016). "Team Aguri concludes Chinese takeover deal". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  2. "Techeetah: The inside line on Formula E's newest team". July 27, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  3. "Formula E Accepts 10 Teams For Third Season 2016-17 And Adds 5 New Cities". July 9, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  4. "Vergne, Qinghau form Techeetah Formula E line-up". July 7, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  5. "Gutierrez to Techeetah". March 9, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  6. Mitchell, Scott (June 3, 2017). "Sarrazin joins Techeetah from Venturi, replaces Gutierrez". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
  7. Smith, Sam (26 September 2017). "Lotterer Signs for Techeetah". e-racing365. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  8. Dagys, John (14 July 2018). "Di Grassi Leads Audi 1-2; Vergne Clinches Title in Race 1". e-racing365. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  9. Dagys, John (15 July 2018). "Vergne Wins Race 2; Audi Claims Teams' Title in New York". e-racing365. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  10. Dagys, John (14 July 2019). "Frijns Wins Race 2; Vergne Crowned Champion in NYC". e-racing365. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  11. Smith, Topher. "Lotterer joins Jani at Porsche for season six". e-racing.net. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  12. Smith, Sam (17 September 2019). "Da Costa's Move to DS Techeetah Confirmed". e-racing365. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  13. Kalinauckas, Alex (14 December 2018). "Formula E champion Jean-Eric Vergne's Techeetah contract extended". Autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  14. Kalinauckas, Alex (December 14, 2018). "TWR name revived as Techeetah enters Jaguar I-PACE eTrophy". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  15. Smith, Sam (February 11, 2019). "TWR Techeetah Launches Retro Livery". e-racing365. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
  16. Smith, Sam (May 23, 2019). "Carroll to Replace Rzadzinski at TWR Techeetah in Berlin". e-racing365. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  17. Smith, Sam (July 12, 2019). "New York City Friday Notebook". e-racing365. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
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