The sharing mentality that transformed the fortunes of two FE teams

By:

Matt Kew

Nov 30, 2021, 12:20 PM

Electing not to share data with its competitive customer team would have been a straightforward means of gaining an edge on at least one of Mercedes' Formula E rivals last season. But by reciprocating the relationship forged under its initial HWA guise, when it was a customer to Venturi, both teams have reaped the rewards

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The 2021 Formula E season was just 27 hours old when Nyck de Vries made series history. By topping both practice sessions in Saudi Arabia, heading group qualifying before romping to pole, leading every lap on his way to victory and snaring fastest lap, he became the first driver to complete a total clean sweep.

With Edoardo Mortara crossing the line in second aboard his Venturi Racing car – the pair eventually ranked 1-2 in the final standings 14 races later – a clear warning shot had been fired. Mercedes had told its rivals that the Brixworth-based High Performance Powertrains site had developed one hell of an electric engine.

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Matt Kew

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Matt Kew is Autosport's F1 Editor, a role he has held since March 2022 after stints covering Formula E, Extreme E and the British Touring Car Championship.

Matt joined Autosport in 2018 to work predominantly on the magazine, but his relentless quoting of Alan Partridge meant office colleagues soon thought he would be better suited to increased field work.

Needless to say, Matt had the last laugh when he won the Motorsport UK Young Journalist of the Year Award in 2019.

His interest in motorsport was sparked by regular trips to watch ASCAR crash around Rockingham's banked oval.

Matt read politics and philosophy at the University of Sheffield - receiving first-class honours for his dissertation assessing the lack of female participation in top-tier motor racing.

He covered a wide variety of national race and rally meetings for Autosport as a freelancer before joining full-time. His best efforts to argue the merits of historic racing is undone by a questionable taste in music and James Bond actors.