Lucas di Grassi after Formula E driving career: "It's easier to multiply Formula E by 10 than Formula 1"

After twelve seasons in Formula E, Lucas di Grassi contested his final E-Prix as a driver in London. The Brazilian, however, wants to remain involved with the championship and can even imagine taking on a management role in the future. At the same time, the Formula E pioneer sees enormous room for growth: in his view, it would be easier to grow Formula E tenfold than to do the same with Formula 1.

"I would like to stay connected somehow to Formula E, maybe in a management position," Lucas di Grassi said during a media round attended by e-Formula.news. "There are a lot of things to do in Formula E, especially helping Formula E to grow. It could be inside Formula E or as an external party, it doesn't really matter."

Di Grassi believes his extensive motorsport experience could be useful in a number of areas. At the same time, he praised the work of Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds and his team. "I think the guys are doing a great job, Jeff and the crew. But there's a lot of expertise from the motorsport world that I could add to the series in many different areas."

Di Grassi has also been involved in a number of entrepreneurial projects away from the cockpit. These have included the autonomous racing series Roborace and the eSC electric scooter championship, while he has also been involved in various technology and electric mobility ventures.

Di Grassi sees Gen4 & Disney+ as growth drivers

Di Grassi certainly believes there is plenty of room for Formula E to expand. "I think Formula E still has a big upside to explore. I think it's easier to multiply Formula E by ten than Formula 1 by ten."

He sees Gen4 and new broadcast platforms as important drivers of that growth. "With Gen4, the new broadcasts on Disney+ and so on, if we do it in the right way, I think Formula E can actually grow a lot."

For di Grassi, Formula E's success should not primarily be measured by whether it eventually overtakes Formula 1 or MotoGP. "Whether Formula E is going to beat MotoGP or Formula 1, I don't think that's the comparison. The comparison is how much it's growing year over year. Is it growing ten or twenty per cent? How many fans are there, how many interactions?"

More fans, sponsors & teams: Di Grassi sees a "snowball effect"

Di Grassi believes growth can become self-sustaining, with more fans making the championship more attractive to sponsors and media, which can in turn bring greater reach, more teams and more drivers. "More fans mean more sponsors, more journalists mean communicating with more fans, more people involved, more teams, more drivers. It's always a snowball effect. If Formula E continues to grow, or starts to grow even more now with Gen4, it just creates a better ecosystem for Formula E."

He therefore does not believe the huge Formula 1 boom of recent years has necessarily harmed Formula E. "The growth of one series does not necessarily cannibalise the other. It could just increase the number of people who follow motorsport."

In his view, the expansion of motorsport in the US, the success of "Drive to Survive" and the arrival of younger fans have increased the size of the overall market. "That pool of funds became bigger with the expansion in the US, Drive to Survive and younger fans coming into the system. Now it's up to Formula E to tap into this new market and grow within this new audience."