 | |
| Founded | 2013 |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Gildo Pallanca Pastor |
| Folded | 2022 (2022) |
| Former series | Formula E |
| Noted drivers |  Nick Heidfeld Stéphane Sarrazin Jacques Villeneuve Mike ConwayMaro EngelTom Dillmann Edoardo Mortara Felipe MassaNorman NatoLucas di Grassi |
| Races | 100 |
| Wins | 8 |
| Podiums | 21 |
| Poles | 2 |
| Fastest laps | 9 |
| Points | 811 |
| First entry | 2014 Beijing ePrix |
| Last entry | 2022 Seoul ePrix |
| First win | 2019 Hong Kong ePrix |
| Last win | 2022 Seoul ePrix (R2) |
| Website | www |
Venturi Racing[1] (formerlyVenturi Formula E Team[2]) was aMonegasquemotor racing team controlled by Scott Swid (Chairman and principal owner) and José M Aznar Botella. The team competed in theFIA Formula E World Championship. Venturi Racing competed with a single-make chassis built bySpark and initially built its own powertrains, before partnering with Mercedes from the2019–20 season. The team was renamed toMaserati MSG Racing from the2022–23 season.
Venturi was founded byGildo Pallanca Pastor and became one of Formula E's founding teams by committing to the championship in December 2013. For the series'inaugural season, it was announced that the team had signedNick Heidfeld andStéphane Sarrazin as its drivers, with Franck Baldet as team coordinator.[3]
In Formula E's debut race at theBeijing ePrix, Heidfeld was running in second place and attempted to overtakeNicolas Prost for the lead on the final lap. In the last corner, the pair collided and both failed to finish, with the accident causing Heidfeld's car to alarmingly fly through the air and land on the roll hoop. This handed the win toLucas di Grassi.[4] Prost was given a 10-place grid penalty for the next round inPutrajaya.
At theBuenos Aires ePrix, Venturi was again in contention for victory with Heidfeld. With three laps to go, Heidfeld received a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane. This handedAntónio Félix da Costa his maiden Formula E victory.[5]
Venturi took its largest points haul of the season at theBerlin ePrix. Heidfeld took the team's only podium finish of the season at theMoscow ePrix, taking third behind eventual championNelson Piquet Jr. and di Grassi.[6]
Sarrazin won thefinal race of the season from pole position but was penalised for exceeding the maximum energy usage, dropping him to 15th.[7] Heidfeld ended the season in 12th position in the Drivers' Championship with 31 points while Sarrazin was 14th on 22 points, leaving the team ninth in the standings. Heidfeld left the team at the end of the season to joinMahindra.
For the2015-16 season, Venturi supplied powertrains to customer teamDragon Racing[8] and signed1997 Formula One World ChampionJacques Villeneuve as a teammate to Sarrazin.[9] After thePunta del Este ePrix, however, theCanadian left after 'disagreeing on the direction of the team'. He was replaced byMike Conway.[10]
Sarrazin outperformed both drivers over the season, scoring points at every race and finishing second behind di Grassi inLong Beach, which was also the scene of Conway's first points finish of the season in 10th place.[11]
Venturi finished in sixth position in the Teams’ Championship with 77 points. Sarrazin claimed 70 of these to also rank sixth in the Drivers’ Standings while Conway claimed the remaining seven points to rank 16th. Villeneuve ranked 20th with zero points.
With a run of 10 points-scoring races, Sarrazin became the first driver in Formula E to record points at every round in one season.
Sarrazin was retained for a third consecutive season by Venturi and was partnered byFIA GT World Cup driverMaro Engel who replaced Conway at the team.[12]
Venturi commenced the campaign with a double points finish at the2016 Hong Kong ePrix, however, an uncompetitive car resulted in a difficult season. The team's best result came inMonaco, where Engel recorded fifth position.
For the2017 Paris ePrix,Formula V8 3.5 Series championTom Dillmann filled in for Engel who was racing in the2017 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters round at theEuroSpeedway Lausitz.[13] One race later inBerlin, Dillmann replaced Sarrazin who moved toTecheetah to replaceEsteban Gutiérrez for the final six races.
Venturi recorded 30 points to finish ninth in the Teams’ Championship. Engel recorded 16 of these points to take 17th in the Drivers’ Standings while Dillmann recorded 12 for 19th and Sarrazin, 2.
For the fourth season of Formula E, Venturi re-signed Engel and hired seven timeMacau World Cup winnerEdoardo Mortara.[14]
On his debut weekend in Formula E inHong Kong, Mortara claimed the team's first podium since the2016 Long Beach ePrix. The Swiss-Italian driver led for most of the race, however, span out of first position with three laps to go when trying to set the fastest lap. Mortara finished third but was promoted to second following the disqualification of race winnerDaniel Abt.[15]
Due to commitments in theDTM championship with Mercedes, Dillmann filled in for Mortara at theBerlin andNew York City races.[16]
Mortara's podium in the season-opener marked Venturi's highest finish in Formula E's fourth season in which the team recorded 72 points to rank seventh in the Teams’ Championship. Engel finished 12th in the Drivers’ Standings with 31 points while Mortara was 13th with 29. Dillmann notched 12 points in his three race appearances to finish 18th.
In May 2018, Venturi signed a three-year deal with 11-timeFormula One race winnerFelipe Massa[17] and rehired Mortara for a second season.Norman Nato was named as the team's Reserve Driver. Former professional racing driverSusie Wolff became the Team Principal[18] while Franck Baldet became Technical Director.
Venturi supplied powertrains to the Mercedes-affiliatedHWA Racelab team over the 2018–19 season, with the outfit preparing for the official entry of theMercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team in the2019-20 season.[19]
At Formula E's landmark 50th race at the2019 Hong Kong ePrix, Mortara recorded Venturi's maiden victory.[20]
Venturi took further podiums at theMexico City E-Prix[21] andMonaco E-Prix which was also the site of Massa's first podium finish in Formula E.[22] With 88 points, the team took eighth in the championship. Mortara finished 14th in the Drivers’ Standings with 52 points while Massa was 15th with 36 points.
In October 2019, Venturi confirmed that Mortara would again partner Massa while the team entered a powertrain partnership withMercedes-Benz.[23]
On the eve of the2019-20 season opener, the team announced a three-year title sponsorship with telecommunications companyROKiT,[24] and also confirmed the retention of Norman Nato as reserve driver and the appointment ofArthur Leclerc, brother ofFerrari Formula One driverCharles Leclerc, as test driver.[25]
The team recorded five consecutive points finishes in the first five races, prior to the season's five-month suspension as a result of theCOVID-19 pandemic.
After the season resumed in August with six races at theTempelhof Airport Street Circuit inBerlin, Mortara took 14th in the Drivers' Championship with 41 points while Massa was 22nd with 3 points. Venturi finished in 10th in the Teams' Standings with 44 points. At the final race of the season, it was announced that Massa would be retiring from Formula E.[26]
For Formula E'sseventh season and first as a World Championship, Venturi re-signed Mortara and promoted Norman Nato to a full-time race seat, with theFrenchman replacing Massa.[27]Jake Hughes, in turn, joined the team as Reserve Driver whileJérôme d'Ambrosio was appointed as Deputy Team Principal after deciding to retire from professional competition at the end of Season 6.[28][29]
In December 2020, Venturi announced a take over in ownership, with a US investor group led by Scott Swid and Jose M Aznar Botella purchasing the team. Susie Wolff remained as Team Principal and retained an interest in Venturi alongside Founder Gildo Pallanca Pastor.[30]
Mortara commenced the season with a podium at the2021 Diriyah ePrix in which he secured second place behind Nyck de Vries.[31] One day later, the Swiss-Italian driver was involved in a high-speed frontal collision during practice for Race 2 when an incorrect software parameter caused a brake failure. Although Mortara was released from hospital, he did not take part in the second leg of the season opener.[32]
Mortara returned to the cockpit one race later in Rome and scored a further three podiums over the remainder of the season, including a second career victory at the inaugural Puebla ePrix – Venturi’s first win since the Season 5 Hong Kong ePrix, 834 days earlier.[33]
Amassing 92 points, Mortara was a key championship protagonist in the season’s finale in Berlin, however, was removed from contention following a collision withMitch Evans on the opening lap of the final race of the year in which he sustained a microfracture of his fourth vertebra.[34]
Mercedes’ de Vries went on to win the Season 7 championship while Mortara became Formula E’s first vice-World Champion by claiming second place in the Drivers’ Standings.
In his rookie campaign, Nato steadily improved and won the final race of the season in Berlin, standing on the Formula E podium for the first time after being stripped of a second and third-placed finish in Valencia and Rome.[35][36][37] With this result, and outside of Formula E's inaugural campaign, Nato became only the third driver to win a race in their rookie season. The Frenchman ended the season as Venturi’s most successful rookie on record, amassing 54 points and finishing 18th in the Drivers’ Championship.
Venturi finished in seventh position in the Teams’ Standings with 146 points, completing its most successful season in Formula E to date in terms of points scored.
In September 2021, Venturi re-signed Mortara for a fifth successive season while Season 3 champion Lucas di Grassi joined the team, replacing Nato who, in turn, joinedJaguar Racing as Reserve Driver.[38] Susie Wolff, meanwhile, was promoted to the position of CEO while Jérôme D'Ambrosio took over as Team Principal.[39][40]
In Race Two of the2022 Diriyah ePrix, Venturi scored its first double podium in Formula E, with Mortara taking his third victory while di Grassi secured his first podium for the team.[41] Mortara later secured his first Formula E pole position at the 2022 Berlin ePrix – a result that marked Venturi Racing's first pole position since the2015 London ePrix, 2,512 days earlier.[42]
Mortara went on to win Race 1 in Berlin to commence a four-race podium run, taking second in Race 2 in Berlin, third in Jakarta and winning inMarrakesh.[43] This stint ended in New York, although di Grassi returned to the podium by finishing third in Race 1.[44] Di Grassi secured his 13th Formula E win at the 2022 London ePrix one weekend later.[45]
Di Grassi became the first driver in Formula E to score his 1,000th point in the series in Race One of the 2022 Seoul ePrix.[46] Mortara secured his fourth win of the season in the final race, which also marked Formula E's landmark 100th race.[47]
As a result, Venturi completed its most successful season to date, amassing 295 points to finish second in the World Teams' Championship behind Mercedes-EQ. Mortara finished third in the World Drivers' Championship with 169 points while di Grassi was fifth with 129 points.
At the close of the season, Venturi confirmed the departure of Wolff and D'Ambrosio from its senior management team, ahead of its transition toMaserati MSG Racing inSeason 9.[48][49]
| Sponsor[N 1] | 2014–15 | 2015–16 | 2016–17 | 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2020–21 | 2021–22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROKiT[50][N 2] |  | | | | |  T | T | T |
| Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation | | | | | | | | |
| Brasserie de Monaco | | | | | | | | |
| SMEG | | | | | | | | |
| Ars Technica[51] | | | | | | | | |
| Mario Bertulli[52] | | | | | | | | |
| ROHM Semiconductor[53] | | | | | | | | |
| Pix Associates[54] | | | | | | | | |
| Monster Energy[55] | | | | | | | | |
| ZF Friedrichshafen[56] | | | | | | | | |
| DELTA[57] | | | | | | | | |
| Farasis Energy[58] | | | | | | | | |
| Andbank | | | | | | | | |
| Ethereum | | | | | | | | |
| COUP Mobility | | | | | | | | |
| Hewlett Packard Enterprise[59] | | | | | | | | |
| Becker Carbon | | | | | | | | |
| Richard Mille[60] | | | | | | | | |
| Julius Baer Group[61] | | | | | | | | |
| Acronis[62] | | | | | | | | |
| Ecoalf[63] | | | | | | | | |
| Dorchester Collection[64] | | | | | | | | |
| New Era Cap Company[65] | | | | | | | | |
| Lukka[66] | | | | | | | | |
| elit Vodka[67] | | | | | | | | |
| Craft 1861[68] | | | | | | | | |
In March 2018, Venturi became the first Formula E team to establish a junior programme.[69] There were eight drivers in the programme:
| Driver | Series | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Dorian Boccolacci | Porsche Supercup | French F4 Junior Champion (2014) |
| Pierre-Louis Chovet | Formula Regional Asian Championship | n/a |
 Arthur Leclerc | FIA Formula 3 Championship | Formula Regional Asian Championship Champion (2022) |
| Benjamin Cartery | Karting | n/a |
| Louis Iglesias | Karting | n/a |
| Gaetan Gorant | E-Sport World Championship | E-Sport World Championship |
| Kevin Leaune | E-Sport World Championship | E-Sport World Championship |
| Maxime Paine | E-Sport World Championship | E-Sport World Championship |
| Year | Team | Chassis | Powertrain | Tyres | No. | Drivers | Points | T.C. | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 |  Dragon Racing | SparkSRT01-e | Venturi VM200-FE-01 | M | 143 | 4th | [70] | ||
| 6 | Loïc Duval | ||||||||
| 7 |  Jérôme d'Ambrosio | ||||||||
| 2018–19 | HWA Racelab | SparkSRT05e | Venturi VFE05 | M | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne | 44 | 9th | [71] |
| 17 | Gary Paffett |
|