Electric car manufacturer moves up the grid Wednesday, 06 July 2016

American electric car manufacturer Faraday Future has announced a technology and sponsorship partnership Formula E team Dragon Racing.

Formula E began in September 2014 and is run by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) which oversees most motor sport including Formula 1. Formula E drivers include famous names such as Jacques Villeneuve, Nick Heidfeld, Bruno Senna, Nicolas Prost, Nelson Piquet Jnr and newly crowned champion Sebastian Buemi.

Dragon Racing is an American team which finished fourth in the 2015-16 championship after taking second place in the inaugural title. The partnership between Faraday Future and Dragon Racing covers the next two seasons.

For the 2016/17 season, Faraday Future’s R&D team will look for opportunities within the Dragon Racing platform to improve overall drivetrain performance. Additionally, they will refine data acquisition and analytics to improve vehicle simulation models, which will aid in more accurate predictions of vehicle performance and efficiency.

In the following season, the two organisations will work together to implement various Faraday powertrain components, software, firmware, and other hardware as the team sees fit. This could include Faraday Future motors, gearbox, and the FF Echelon Inverter – the same inverter that will be installed into every future Faraday Future production vehicle.

Faraday Future feels the Formula E World Championship Series will allow their technology to encounter some of the most challenging and strenuous conditions the world has to offer.

“Formula E has placed a significant emphasis on electric performance and connectivity, which makes it a great fit for Faraday Future,” said Faraday Future executive Marco Mattiacci.

“Formula E has leveraged a community of fans and embodies the competitive spirit that we also share.”

FIA Formula E President Alejandro Agag said they were thrilled to welcome Faraday Future into Formula E.

"Faraday Future is a brand that is targeting the highest standard in terms of design, R&D, and manufacturing of electric cars,” said Agag.

“We couldn’t be happier that they have chosen Formula E to challenge some of the greatest car companies in the world. This announcement again proves that Formula E is truly the future of motorsport.”

[The Faraday Future Dragon Racing car design. Image: Faraday Future]

Don't forget to register for the Australian Engineering Conference 2016 in Brisbane on November 23-25.