DS Techeetah

DS Techeetah (/təˈtʃitə/, Chinese: DS钛麒; pinyin: DS tài qí) was a Sino-French^[3][4][5] motor racing team under ownership of SECA - China Media Capital that competed in the electric racing series, Formula E.^[6]

DS Techeetah

Founded	2013[N 1]
Folded	2022
Base	Shanghai, China[2]
Former series	Formula E
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
Website	http://www.dstecheetah.com

Formula E

Team Aguri principal Aguri Suzuki announced he would leave the team in April 2016 as senior personnel entered "a period of consultation" over a future change in ownership.^[7] In the week before the 2016 London ePrix, the Chinese public equity and venture capital firm China Media Capital announced its purchase of Team Aguri and established a new entity named Techeetah in its place.^[8][9] Senior personnel from Team Aguri, including team principal Mark Preston, retained their jobs with Techeetah,^[10] and the cars ran a custom Renault powertrain.^[11]

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.^[12] 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.^[13] 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.^[14] 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.^[15]

2017–18 season

Techeetah signed André Lotterer to partner Vergne for its second season in the series.^[16] 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.^[17][18] The team got overtaken by Audi at the last second, missing out on Teams' Championship by only two points.^[19]

2018–19 season

André Lotterer during the 2019 Hong Kong ePrix.

In July 2018, Peugeot Sport with DS Automobiles-rebadged partnered with Techeetah and the team renamed to DS Techeetah.^[20] Techeetah switched powertrain from Renault to DS Automobiles powertrain,^[21] which also makes Techeetah a manufacturer team with its own DS E-TENSE.^[22] In October 2018, DS Techeetah introduced its new headquarters in Versailles. James Rossiter and Zhou Guanyu were announced as the development drivers for Techeetah the 2018/2019 season.^[23]

Techeetah's other line-up remained unchanged for the 2018–19 season. After the first race in New York City, Jean-Éric Vergne secured enough points to become the Drivers' Champion, winning his second Formula E championship.^[24][25] Techeetah won their first ever team championship in Formula E.^[26] Lotterer subsequently left the team, switching to Porsche.^[27]

2019–20 season

In September 2019, it was announced that António Félix da Costa would replace Lotterer in the team (as he had departed for the new Porsche Formula E Team).^[28] Vergne was set to continue with the team as he signed a long-term contract back in 2018.^[29]

2021-2022

António Félix da Costa testing his Spark SRT05e in Valencia

In the 2021-2022 season DS Techeetah was registered as a French team, though the ownership were still under SECA and China Media Capital.^{[citation needed]}

Records

DS Techeetah has earned various record results following the 2019/2020 season.

Team records

Most pole positions in a row in one season

Driver	Race	Round
DAC	Marrakesh	S6RD5
DAC	Berlin	S6RD6
DAC	Berlin	S6RD7
JEV	Berlin	S6RD8
JEV	Berlin	S6RD9

First team to do two front row lock outs

Season	Race	Team
S2	Beijing	Renault e.DAMS
S2	Punta del Este	Dragon Racing
S3	Hong Kong	NEXTEV NIO
S5	Paris	Nissan e.DAMS
S6	Berlin RD6	DS Techeetah
S6	Berlin RD9	DS Techeetah

• It's the first time a team get the most points on 5 consecutive races in a single season.
• It’s the first time that team has led with more than 64 points
• First team to score a 1-2 finish (Santiago 2018)
• Second team to score all possible points in one race (Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler did previously in Berlin 2018)
• Second team to win it twice
• Second team to win it twice in a row
• Only team to have two champions
• First team to score 48pts in a single race
• 5 poles in a row
• Only team to have two 1-2 finishes / Santiago 18 (with Renault) and Berlin 20 (with DS)
• Only team to win both championships twice
• Only team to win both championships back to back
• Third team to do 3 consecutive wins for a team/manufacturer (shared with Audi and Renault)
• Only team to win Drivers and Teams championships before the last race (RD9 out of 11).
• Team with the largest lead to 2nd in the championship: 77 points

Season six saw the largest end of season gap in both Drivers (71 points) and Teams (77 points).

Driver records

António Félix da Costa

• Is the only driver to win a race for three different Formula E teams.
• Is now the first driver to win the Formula E championship with two races remaining.
• Is the only driver to have won the championship with two races to go
• Is the driver with the largest lead to 2nd : 71 points
• 3rd driver to do a hat-trick (Berlin RD 6 2020) shared with Sébastien Buemi and Daniel Abt
• 3 consecutive pole positions in a single season
• 3 consecutive wins (Season 6) shared with Sébastien Buemi
• First driver to receive an Order of Merit as a result of winning a championship

About Antonio's 2019/2020 Formula E season

Wins: 4 (3 consecutive)

Podiums: 9 (7 consecutive)

Pole positions: 5 (consecutive)

Fastest in qualifying groups: 4

Lap lead: 174

Jean-Éric Vergne

• First back to back champion
• Only driver to win the championship twice
• Was the only driver to have won the championship with one race to go before Jake Dennis achieved the feat in the 2022-23 Formula E season

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.^[30] 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.^[31] 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.^[32] The team, however, completely withdrew from the following round held in New York City.^[33]

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	14	15	16	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		BER		BER							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
2020–21	Spark SRT05e	DS E-TENSE FE20 DS E-TENSE FE21	M			DIR		RME		VLC		MCO	MEX		NYC		LDN		BER			166	3rd
				13	António Félix da Costa	11	3	Ret	7	DSQ	22	1	6	Ret	12	3	8	Ret	7	Ret
				25	Jean-Éric Vergne	15	12	1	11	9	7	4	Ret	8	2	Ret	12	12	6G	11
DS Techeetah
2021–22	Spark SRT05e	DS E-TENSE FE21	M			DIR		MEX	RME		MCO	BER		JAK	MRK	NYC		LON		SEO		266	3rd
				13	António Félix da Costa	Ret	12	4	6	13	5	8	6	4	2	Ret	1	7	5	9	10
				25	Jean-Éric Vergne	8	6	3	4	2	3	2	9	2	4	18	Ret	14	Ret	6	6

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]

References

1. Klein, Jamie (28 June 2016). "Team Aguri concludes Chinese takeover deal". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
2. "About DS Techeetah". DS Techeetah. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
3. "OME PREVIEW: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW AS FORMULA E MAKES ROME RETURN FOR ROUNDS 3 AND 4 OF THE SEASON". FIA Formula E. 9 April 2021.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
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15. Mitchell, Scott (3 June 2017). "Sarrazin joins Techeetah from Venturi, replaces Gutierrez". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
16. Smith, Sam (26 September 2017). "Lotterer Signs for Techeetah". e-racing365. Archived from the original on 21 June 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
17. Dagys, John (14 July 2018). "Di Grassi Leads Audi 1-2; Vergne Clinches Title in Race 1". e-racing365. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
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20. "DS汽车将与钛麒车队合作，征战电动方程式赛事". DS Automobile. 24 July 2018. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
21. "Vergne, Lotterer to Test DS Performance Gen 2 Car". Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
22. "'Only a good thing' for Techeetah to supply customer team, boss says". autosport. 18 March 2021. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
23. "DS Techeetah Opens its Doors to New Factory in Versailles and Announces Jean-Éric Vergne and André Lotterer as Drivers". DS Techeetah. 1 October 2018. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
24. Dagys, John (14 July 2019). "Frijns Wins Race 2; Vergne Crowned Champion in NYC". e-racing365. Archived from the original on 13 September 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
25. Jerry Perez. "Jean-Eric Vergne Clinches Formula E World Championship in New York City". The Drive. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
26. "Da Costa joins championship-winning team DS Techeetah". Formula E. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
27. Smith, Topher. "Lotterer joins Jani at Porsche for season six". e-racing.net. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
28. Smith, Sam (17 September 2019). "Da Costa's Move to DS Techeetah Confirmed". e-racing365. Archived from the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
29. Kalinauckas, Alex (14 December 2018). "Formula E champion Jean-Eric Vergne's Techeetah contract extended". Autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Archived from the original on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
30. Kalinauckas, Alex (14 December 2018). "TWR name revived as Techeetah enters Jaguar I-PACE eTrophy". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Archived from the original on 30 January 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
31. Smith, Sam (11 February 2019). "TWR Techeetah Launches Retro Livery". e-racing365. Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
32. Smith, Sam (23 May 2019). "Carroll to Replace Rzadzinski at TWR Techeetah in Berlin". e-racing365. Archived from the original on 29 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
33. Smith, Sam (12 July 2019). "New York City Friday Notebook". e-racing365. Archived from the original on 13 July 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.

External links

• Official website