“We want to bring innovative technologies and sustainability to motorsport and stand at the forefront of new developments.” For Thomas Laudenbach, Formula E plays a major role as the electric racing series offering the most cutthroat competition. In his view, the differences to other racing series are not that big. “In Formula E, it’s also about coming first. It’s about efficiency, and, above all, about competing,” he says. What he finds exciting about Formula E are the races in major cities and the management of energy: “You don’t get that in many other series.” He regards the changes for season 8, especially the new qualifying format, as a positive step forward – and it commits the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team to an obligation: “Our goal must be to win races and fight for the championship. Porsche will tackle the series with this aspiration.”
“Virtual reality belongs to the future of motorsport. We have to be prepared for that." Thomas Laudenbach
Thomas Laudenbach names Le Mans as another important future project for Porsche. He looks forward to returning to the legendary endurance classic, where Porsche aims to score its 20th overall victory in 2023 with its LMDh prototype. “This success story is something extraordinary,” he says, and builds the bridge to customer sport, which he regards as the basis of Porsche motorsport, “from clubsport to one-make cups right through to top-level professional GT racing.” In this area, too, he is eager to press ahead with electrification. And then there is esports. “It’s a fascinating topic for us,” he says. “We live in a virtual world. I didn’t grow up with it, but it’s part of my children’s everyday life. Virtual reality belongs to the future of motorsport. We have to be prepared for that.”
For Thomas Laudenbach, being at the helm of Porsche Motorsport is “the greatest challenge and most wonderful job” that he can imagine. “We live in interesting times and we have the chance to help shape the future of motorsport,” he says. Several important steps have already been taken but there is a lot more to come. His goal? “We want to make sure that motorsport remains relevant for Porsche. I see this as my biggest task. Motorsport is an important part of Porsche’s DNA and it should remain so in the future.”
Info
The Porsche Formula E podcast is published in English and can be downloaded from the Porsche Newsroom. “Inside E” is also available on other platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts.
