How Formula E's double-duty drivers influenced their Le Mans teams' fortunes

Eight Formula E drivers made the 7,000-mile sprint from the streets of Jakarta to the fabled Circuit de la Sarthe and every one had a story to share at this year's Le Mans 24 Hours. Despite a range of triumphs and disappointments, each driver doubling up on the day job played a key role in their teams' fortunes

Jake Boxall-Legge Jun 14, 2022, 9:49 AM

Upd: Jun 14, 2022, 5:59 PM

Once a year, thousands of people trudge to a city in north-west France to become at one with the racing gods. Le Mans is a true pilgrimage that many must walk, if one is to be enrobed by the soundscape of roaring engines and the visual feast of sportscars tearing through the night with their high-beams peeking through the darkness.

For eight of the drivers in attendance, the usual pilgrimage was made increasingly longer. Inconveniently for them, the Formula E round in Jakarta was positioned in the weekend ahead of Le Mans – perilously close to the first round of practice sessions around the Circuit de la Sarthe. Those magnificent eight had to hot-foot it halfway across the world, stave off the looming spectre of jetlag, and prepare themselves for an all-nighter strapped into a devilishly fast racing car. It’s not unthinkable that a considerable supply of ProPlus was ingested to keep the octet awake.

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Author Jake Boxall-Legge

Jake studied engineering at university, as his original ambition was to design racing cars. He was bad at that, and thus decided to write about them instead with an equally limited skillset. The above article is a demonstration of that. In his spare time, Jake enjoys people, places, and things.