Porsche Formula E chief Modlinger on first Berlin visit: "People in the stands were asleep"

Florian Modlinger has since led Porsche to four world championship titles in Formula E, but his first impressions of the all-electric series were anything but positive. Speaking exclusively to e-Formula.news, Porsche’s current Director Formula E recalled cars that appeared painfully slow, spectators dozing in the sunshine and why he initially ruled out ever working in the championship.

Modlinger was still working for Audi in the DTM when he consciously watched a Formula E race for the first time. With the two championships competing on the same weekend, he followed the inaugural E-Prix from Audi’s DTM truck at the Lausitzring.

"I have two very vivid memories," says Modlinger. "The first was the very first Formula E race. I remember it extremely well because we had a DTM race at the Lausitzring at the same time. Because of the time difference, we were able to watch Formula E in the Audi DTM truck that morning."

"The formation lap did not look particularly good, with the cars almost crawling around the circuit. That was changed for the second race. On television, the cars looked extremely slow."

Modlinger did not want to judge the new championship solely on its television coverage. Later in Formula E’s inaugural season, he therefore travelled to the first Berlin E-Prix at Tempelhof Airport as a spectator.

"I went straight to Berlin in Season 1 because I wanted to see the cars for myself and form my own impression," he explains. "Unfortunately, it confirmed what I had seen on television. It was a beautiful summer’s day, and Lucas di Grassi drove an excellent race that he dominated by a huge margin."

"But the cars looked slow on the circuit, and some of the spectators in the grandstand behind me were asleep in the sunshine."

Di Grassi crossed the finish line with a commanding lead at the inaugural Berlin E-Prix, but was subsequently disqualified over a technical infringement. Jerome d’Ambrosio therefore inherited the victory.

"That was my first impression of Formula E," Modlinger adds. "I drove home and wondered whether I could see myself working there in the future. At that point, my answer was a very clear no."

From Formula E sceptic to four world titles with Porsche

Only a few years later, Modlinger’s career took a very different direction. In early 2018, he joined ABT Sportsline as Technical Director and was also responsible for Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler’s Formula E programme. In his first season with the team, Audi completed a remarkable comeback to win the Teams’ Championship.

Modlinger joined Porsche’s Formula E project in 2022 and has since overseen the most successful period in the manufacturer’s championship history. Porsche first won the Drivers’ World Championship with Pascal Wehrlein before adding the Teams’ title and the inaugural Manufacturers’ World Championship one season later.

Porsche has now successfully defended the manufacturers’ crown, taking the total number of world championship titles won under Modlinger’s leadership to four.

The man who once returned home from Berlin convinced that Formula E was not for him ultimately became one of the most successful team leaders of the championship’s modern era.