Jaguar arrival will entice more manufacturers - Prost
Formula E team owner Alain Prost believes a manufacturer of Jaguar's stature joining the all-electric championship will attract more big names.
Photo by: Gisela Schober/Getty Images for Jaguar Land Rover
The Indian-owned automotive OEM announced its season three Formula E entry last week, its first foray to international racing since the end of the ill-fated Jaguar F1 team in 2004.
“It is something very interesting, I'm very, very positive with this and it is great news for Formula E,” Prost told Motorsport.com.
“It is going to attract newcomers and new constructors, but having said that it is a positive, the other side is that they are going to be one of the main competitors.
"They are going to be very tough and that for sure is a good thing for the sport. It is going to be a great challenge for us next season.”
However, four-time F1 champion Prost believes there is some concern over battery supplier Williams Advanced Engineering having a technical partnership with a particular team.
“I know that a lot of people are concerned about the fact that they made the batteries,” said the Frenchman. “We have to be careful about that.
"We have to fix some rules, because on the other side there is a F1 team that have done many different things, sports cars, endurance and now with the Williams Advanced Technology, they are a different company.”
But Prost believes that the addition of his old team to Jaguar’s operation will make for a formidable challenger to his own Renault e.dams operation.
“I know they are coming to Formula E using all their efforts with the facilities from F1," he added, "and that's why they are going to be the main competitors.
“Not only because they know the batteries, that could be a very little advantage, but the whole philosophy behind it is going to be very difficult to beat.”
Motorsport.com can also reveal that Jaguar and Williams Advanced Engineering also held talks to buy in to an existing Formula E team at the beginning of 2015, before opting to wait until an opportunity became available for season three.
Interview by Federico Faturos
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