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The partnership between British insurance company Amlin and well-known former racer Michael Andretti has already started to bear fruit after the opening stop of the 2015-16 FIA Formula E Championships on Saturday in Beijing.
Though Amlin Andretti Formula E Race Team's female Swiss driver, Simona de Silvestro, finished last in the the 18-driver field, former Formula One test driver and 24-year-old Dutch Robin Frijns picked up a point for the team when he finished 10th.
"Formula E is all about future technology, and we also look to the future," said team president Andretti. "We have a good team, good drivers and our engineering is strong."
The opening stop around the iconic Bird's Nest was won by Sebastien Buemi of Renault e. Dams, followed by Lucas di Grassi of ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport and Nick Heidfeld of the Mahindra Racing Formula E team. Buemi and Heidfeld are former Formula One drivers while di Grassi won last year's inaugural race at the same venue.
Formula E is a ground-breaking FIA single-seater championship and the world's first fully-electric racing series. It sees 10 teams, each with two drivers, racing on temporary city-center circuits. Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet Jr. is the current world champion after winning Formula E's first season, which began in Beijing last year and concluded in London in June.
The championship is being contested in the heart of 10 of the world's leading cities. After Beijing, the drivers move on to Putrajaya, Malaysia, Punta del Este, Uruguay, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Long Beach, in the US, Paris, Berlin, Moscow and finally London.
A talented IndyCar driver, Andretti retired from full-time racing career in 2003 and the 1991 series champion left as the most successful driver in CART history with 42 victories. He is also second on the list of IndyCar laps led, right behind his father, Mario, with 6,702.
When asked if he had wished to get back into the driver's seat again, one of the US's best well-known racing personalities said: "No. I'm so out of shape now. I don't want to push myself to the limit again."
He said Formula E is a "nice event" and no more less exciting than IndyCar racing. It is more unpredictabe than Formula One, which he said is a "dull race" and more about qualifying for pole position than the actual race day.
Amlin has returned to the FIA Formula E Championship for a second season in partnership with Andretti Formula E. With Andretti's excellent motor sport pedigree, the team is looking forward to major success in the years to come.
"We're going to win," said Adrian Britten, director of Global Communications at Amlin. "This relationship will last for several years. We'll be together for three to four years, at least."
Amlin sponsored Aguri last season and changed to Andretti in August. Both organizations are data driven and tech-focused, meaning there is much to look forward to this season.
Experts from Amlin's insurance modeling and analytics team will work with Andretti Formula E race engineers to develop an in-depth understanding of what the capabilities of the new Andretti ATEC-01 car are and how the team can maximize its performance in the first season of fully open technological development among the teams and new eMotor manufacturers.
"When we choose partners, we have only one criteria, that is for the team to win." Britten said.
