Jaguar unveils new Formula E challenger for 2020-21 campaign

The Jaguar Racing team has revealed its new Formula E car for the 2020-21 campaign as it aims to bounce back from a late fall down the championship table last season.

After the Marrakech E-Prix, the team sat third in the constructors’ standings – on course for its best-ever finish in FE – behind only eventual champion DS Techeetah and BMW Andretti.

But when the season resumed following the initial COVID outbreak, a dip in form at Berlin – attributed to a loss of car balance – meant Jaguar fell to an eventual seventh.

It has now launched its I-Type 5, which features a new powertrain developed in-house and revised suspension, and that has been homologated for the next two seasons.

Jaguar Racing team director James Barclay told Autosport: “There’s over 1000 new components. There’s some really cool technology in the car – we actually use 24-karat gold in the invertors.

“We looked at all the areas not only to improve efficiency, but to reduce weight and lower the centre of gravity.

“We’ve not only looked at the marginal gains, every area we can find an opportunity, but also, where possible, if there are any bigger steps to achieve, we’re looking to try and find those as well.”

The global health crisis has pushed back some teams’ development path, meaning they will delay the entry of an all-new car until April under revised regulations aimed at cutting costs.

Barclay added that Jaguar had always planned to start the new season with a fresh package.

“The championship is getting more competitive every season,” he told Autosport.

“We do feel that, although we had a competitive car early on last season, no one is going to stand still.

“Our view was to introduce a new car and that’s what we’ve worked towards.”

Dominant Mexico City E-Prix winner Mitch Evans and new signing Sam Bird have extensively tested the I-Type 5 at the Abingdon airfield during the off-season.

Bird, who joined from Audi customer team Envision Virgin Racing, said: “It does feel like a bigger team. No disrespect to my previous team, who were very solid.

“The first day walking into Jaguar, the resources that they have on tap are far greater than what I’ve experienced previously. We do utilise many of those.

“We’ve got the tools capable of potentially producing some really great results.”

Bird, who previously held talks with Jaguar but deferred joining until the seventh season of the all-electric championship, said he had not waited too long to switch.

“The timing is actually perfect,” he said, “every single year they’ve improved and now is the right time to be joining.”

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