Jörg Schrott is no stranger to Opel, having started work at the German automobile manufacturer in 1997. Since joining, he was notably involved in setting up the brand’s former motorsport arm and has been head of Opel Motorsport since 2012.
Now Team Principal to their new Formula E team, Schrott detailed the timeline of Opel’s entry into all-electric single-seaters whilst at this month’s Paris Motor Show.
Opel’s GEN4 timeline explained
“We started the GEN4 programme over two years ago, and the programme progressed through all the development areas in the meantime,” Opel’s Team Principal Schrott began. “Starting with the design of the vehicle, of the components, all the work on the test benches, on the dino, on the simulation, the incorporation of the systems into the car, and then we started the test sessions on track. First proving the reliability, the validation of the package, and then, finally, the optimisation of the performance.
“Now, the whole programme is shifting, increasingly to prepare the whole package for race operation.
“We have a few milestones to pass by in the upcoming weeks, so we have the FIA homologation and we have to build up the cars. We have to do the shakedown of the cars, and then very important is the final test sessions in Spain, especially the full [official pre-season] testing in Jarama. This is very important to us, not only, you know, to check and to optimise the little things on the car, but also the whole team has to demonstrate the performance in terms of race operations under real race conditions.
“The goal is pretty clear. We have to arrive in Jarama with two fully prepared cars and with a team which is able to deliver in terms of race organisation, in terms of race operation on a very high performance level from the very beginning.”
How testing has been for Evans and Pourchaire
Opel have signed one of the most talked about line-ups on the current grid, with Mitch Evans and Théo Pourchaire confirmed for 2026/27. For Evans, it’s a huge move as he leaves Jaguar TCS Racing after a decade together – and as the driver with the most wins in Formula E’s history – for a new venture, whereas Pourchaire will be a rookie but comes with heaps of experience as the 2023 FIA Formula 2 Champion.
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“To date we completed 12 test days and were running approximately 6,000 kilometres and that is a good number, by the way, because our package demonstrated very solid reliability from the very beginning.
“Mitch and Théo played a very important role in our test and development programme, not only the work in the simulator, but also in the real car in the test session. I really can say that the guys, you can feel that they would like to push the whole project forward.
“They are very focussed in terms of feedback to the engineers, and have a very close full collaboration with the whole team. So I can say that they both have arrived in the Opel team, in the Opel family, and of course they are looking forward now to driving their own race car for the very first time, which is a special moment for the drivers.”
It’s been a big few years for the team, who proudly showed off their Opel GSE 27FE machine at the 2026 Paris Motor Show, with Evans, Pourchaire and Test and Development Driver Sophia Flörsch all present.
FIRST LOOK: Opel steps into Formula E's GEN4 era with the GSE 27FE
“It is an awesome [livery] design, I like it and I guess this design brings everything together. Three strong and bold colours – black silver and yellow – pay homage to Opel’s motorsport history, but the design also represents our brand in a fresh and bold way. It also shows the dynamism of racing, and it highlights also the pure performance of our GEN4 race car, so I can say our designers did a fantastic job.”
The livery certainly received a lot of positive feedback from fans, who loved the bright and bold livery that will be seen across the 2026/27 Formula E World Championship campaign.
“The reactions have been very positive since the official announcement that we will enter Formula E,” Schrott concluded, when asked about the general reaction from Opel staff to their new motorsport challenge. “You can feel and see this as the people – regardless of who we are talking about, so the people in the headquarters or in the markets or in the plants, or even our fan community – are really happy and proud that Opal is coming back to the big stage in motorsport.”
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