Training Brooklyn Beckham to race in Formula E

Despite the gap between the Jeddah double-header (February 14-15) and the Miami ePrix (April 12), it’s been a busy time over the last month for Jaguar TCS Racing and Formula E generally. Digesting Jeddah was key for us because for the second event in succession it was a tale of what might have been. We came away with a solid fifth for Nick Cassidy after he and his side of the garage executed a very accomplished race, coming through the pack to take 10 valuable points.

But when you are used to winning, as Jaguar is, you naturally want to come away with more. At the same time, you can’t be complacent. Generally that’s good motivation for us and we feel that there is a strong package we have formed with the Jaguar I-type 7.

“Since Jeddah we’ve been looking at the data to find areas we can improve”

Formula E is so competitive that sometimes you have to dig extra deep and that is what we intend to do now. We have spent the time since Jeddah regrouping, looking at the data to find areas we can improve, and completed positive testing. Next we head to Homestead, a new track for everyone on the outskirts of Miami, where there will be an element of parity.

Jaguar TCS Racing has got a great heritage of success in the US with wins and podiums in New York and Portland in recent seasons, so we’ll be aiming for more of that in Miami.

The eight-week gap meant that Formula E took the initiative and created the Evo Sessions, a special event to see how celebrities and influencers could go on a journey of driving a Gen3 Evo car and being mentored by one of the regular race drivers. In my previous column I revealed we were going to welcome Brooklyn Peltz Beckham, son of David and Victoria Beckham, to Jaguar TCS Racing. Brooklyn really gelled with his mentor, Mitch Evans, and the entire team.

I’ve got to applaud Formula E for creating this event – a new and innovative concept. Formula E is a relative newcomer to motor sport, only 11 seasons in, and I think it’s important to appeal to new audiences. Events like the Evo Sessions effectively embrace how younger generations consume their sports and tap into that alongside traditional media too.

Engagement is key and I think Formula E delivered that with a great deal of social media interactions across two days. As well as all the content collated and issued there is also a feature-length documentary coming too.

Brooklyn was impressive for a complete novice. His focus and level of understanding surprised us. His previous experience was only the odd track day here and there with his dad – not much to prepare him for driving Mitch’s Jaguar I-type 7.

Brooklyn came to our technical HQ in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, where we spent two days working to get him ready for the Evo Sessions in Miami, including sim work and a seat fitting. We gave him some proving ground time in a Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy and a Jaguar F-type just to see where he was in terms of his driving ability. Some basic techniques were applied and there then followed a more in-depth day on the sim which really allowed us to explain the I-type 7’s operation.

Mitch was alongside him for all that track and sim time and helped him with the basics of what to watch out for. But the biggest message to him was how he needed to build up this base level of knowledge, gradually improve his performance and step the pace up. That acclimatisation helped, and he got into a rhythm quickly on the first day in Miami.

By the second day he was looking good, and with his confidence rising he achieved a really strong lap. He was very proud of that achievement, and it was an unforgettable experience for him and the team. He showed a deftness of touch with his feet which his dad would have been proud of!

While we hope there aren’t big gaps in the racing calendar in seasons to come, there is scope for having events like Evo Sessions at other stages of the year. Obviously we need to see the results from this event first, but if it’s proved to have put Formula E in the spotlight then we’d be very supportive of doing something similar again.

We want to grow our sport and we want to bring in new fans from the around the world. Of course, we don’t want to compromise our sporting aspirations as a team or as a world championship series, so we just need to find that harmony for when an event like Evo Sessions should be taking place. We were using our real race cars in Miami which makes you a bit nervous as a team in the middle of a season.

The landscape of motor sport is changing. As we’ve seen with Formula 1 the racing product is reaching a wider audience. Formula E is following a parallel path and although there was some early criticism about us doing things differently, the proof of the pudding is in how many people are engaging with us.

The broadening of its audience has been fantastic for Formula 1, so it is natural that Formula E would want to follow a similar course. The more we can showcase what an amazing sport we have, the better. Wherever we visit, we’re giving world-class racing – with excellent teams, manufacturers and drivers all fighting for supremacy.