Neel Jani joins Faraday Future Dragon Racing for 2017/2018 Formula E season

It was announced yesterday that Porsche’s World Endurance champion and Le Mans 24 Hours winner Neel Jani will make his Formula E debut in 2017/18 with Faraday Future Dragon Racing.

Jani won the 2016 edition of Le Mans on his way to clinching the WEC title while sharing the Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 with Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb.

The 33-year-old, who has tested the Faraday-backed Dragon team’s second powertrain already, replaces Audi’s LMP1-turned-DTM driver Loic Duval alongside Jerome d’Ambrosio.

Janis employer Porsche is due to enter FE with a works team in 2019/20. He has driven for Porsche since its return to the top class of sportscar racing in 2014, and it is likely that the desire for one of its key assets to learn the electric single-seater series was behind Porsche giving him approval to join Faraday/Dragon.

In interviews with the media yesterday, Jani said he was “thrilled” to be joining the American team, which is looking to bounce back from an extremely disappointing 2016/17 season.

Dragon had been a leading team in FE but had a poor first campaign aligned with emerging American manufacturer Faraday Future. After winning a race in each of the first two seasons it slumped to eighth in the teams’ championship, with a best finish of fifth, last season.

In an interview with the media yesterday Jay Penske, Faraday Future Dragon Racing team owner, said the following about singing Jani for the new season ahead:-

“As a team, we have set our target of winning races and competing for the championship in the coming season, and Neel was an essential component of that equation.

“When you look at the best drivers in the world, from both a racing and car development perspective, Neel is at the top of the list. He’s an excellent fit within our programme.”
Jani will make his FE race debut in Hong Kong on December 1-2.

Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa