James Rossiter is one of the most knowledgeable people in the all-electric paddock. Not only has he got experience as a driver, working in a reserve role for DS Techeetah, he has also been a Sporting Director before graduating to a race-winning Team Principal at Maserati MSG Racing.
With all that information to hand, Rossiter is now making the jump to broadcast as he joins the incredible team we’ve got lined up for the 2023/24 Season. New additions include respected Formula E veteran driver André Lotterer; rally driver Catie Munnings; and tenacious racing driver, Billy Monger. Former F1 veteran David Coulthard and inaugural W Series champion Jamie Chadwick will also make guest appearances through the season.
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“I am looking forward to it a huge amount,” Rossiter said of his new role with the Formula E squad for the new season. “It's an amazing opportunity, an amazing challenge. I've been very fortunate in Formula E to have been the development driver for the GEN3 car, being a Sporting Director and I’ve been a Team Principal. I'm really, really excited about the opportunity to help get the message across and ultimately paint the picture for the audience as best as I can about how exciting Formula E is!”
GEN3, the third generation of Formula E car, made its debut last season. The lighter, faster and most sustainable machine yet proved to be a big learning curve for drivers and team that required a whole new kind of driving style.
“I learned that it's an incredibly tricky car, both to drive and to set up,” the former Team Principal continued about GEN3. “I think there's a huge opportunity for teams to make big steps from Season 9 to season 10. It's a massive challenge for the drivers to put a season together. We saw what Jake Dennis (S9 World Champion with Andretti) did was incredible, especially if you look in comparison to how Andre Lotterer (Andretti) fared in the same car [last season].
“We are never guaranteed anything except for excitement in Formula E.”
In Season 9, Rossiter worked closely with Maximilian Guenther and Edoardo Mortara at the Maserati MSG Racing team. He knows how to manage drivers, and what to look out for across the talented 22-car grid. So who does he have his eyes on for next year?
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“You have to look at a Jaguar TCS Racing with Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans. I think it's going to be an incredible battle and you're going to see a massive inter-team rivalry. They are two childhood friends from when they were five to six years old, going head to head for a championship. Certainly we know that they've got the car to do it.
“A few others have also got the car to do it. I think there's going to be a big fight back from TAG Heuer Porsche. I think they're clearly quite bitter about losing the championship to their customer team. I've worked with Antonio Felix da Costa in the past, and I think he's going to come back swinging this year now that he's fully focused on Formula E and not competing in the World Endurance Championship. I think you're going to see the beast of Antonio that came in and really took command of the championship during his winning season.
“Formula E has been growing steadily over the last sort of six years. It's been ramping up and it's steadying a little bit. But I think getting the context of the racing across to the fan is a key part right now. The races are unbelievably exciting; the characters are amazing; the personalities that we have inside the paddock are unbelievable; many of the drivers have the talent to have raced in F1 and to potentially to have won championships in F1.”