FIA on part development for Gen4 race cars: "They need to understand Formula E better"

Behind the scenes, the development of Formula E's Gen4 cars continues to progress. The Italian company Podium Advanced Technologies, which has been selected as the single-source supplier for the Gen4 battery system, recently conducted a crash test of the first module. Future tyre supplier Bridgestone is also well advanced in its development, although only simulations are currently taking place because the real Gen4 vehicle is not yet ready.

The FIA's decision to commission the very small company Podium Advanced Technologies to develop the battery for the fourth generation of Formula E came as a surprise. After all, the company from Pont-Saint-Martin in north-west Italy did not even have the necessary infrastructure required for the project at the time.

The FIA selected the company "with some criteria which I think is confirmed on the way the project is developed," describes FIA technical director Vincent Gaillardot to The Race. "They have moved facilities, they have a new building, new machine, automatic machine to perform all the assembly. They're doing the investment which is required for the project because it's different to the previous projects they have been dealing with."

Of course, the situation is different at Bridgestone: as a large company, the infrastructure for the development of Formula E tyres, which will be used at the end of 2026, is of course in place. However, there is a lack of reliable data on the final Gen4 vehicle, which is currently still under development at Spark Racing Technologies (SRT). It is therefore not yet possible to make a final decision on which specification of tyres will be used.

"We still wait to have the proper Gen4 car," confirms Gaillardot with regard to the tyre specification. Unlike before, there will be two different tyres in the Gen4 era: An all-weather tyre for dry and wet tracks, but also a pure rain tyre. "The initial thing is obviously for Bridgestone to start to ramp up and understand Formula E better."

"The final call will be done with manufacturers"

To this end, the company initially tested with a Gen3 development car. The data obtained here is used as the basis for simulations of the Gen4 vehicle, which are used to develop the tyres.

"They've got a good database so far to run on Gen3, which was just to confirm where they were in simulation," Gaillardot continues. "I think this was a good correlation, so now they are developing a specific Gen4 tyre that we will obviously make evaluations for and the final call will be done with manufacturers."

Even though the first test drives of the Gen4 racing cars are due to take place in two to three months, Gaillardot believes that Bridgestone is currently well on schedule with its work: "We still have time at least to complete the development."

Before the manufacturers start testing the Gen4 cars, however, the next race of the 2024/25 Formula E season is coming up: On 12 April, the racing series will contest the fifth of 16 rounds of the season in Miami.