Porsche’s Florian Modlinger: “Jakarta will be a big challenge for us”

The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team head to Jakarta this weekend for an all-important double-header, on the back of having lost the lead of both championships at the Monaco E-Prix three weeks ago.

Even Monaco’s beauty couldn’t make up for what was a dark and gloomy weekend at the Circuit de Monaco for the German manufacturer, with the side having left the ninth round of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship having scored just a single-point. That came thanks to Pascal Wehrlein after António Félix da Costa was forced to pit due to a puncture, adding to the team’s woes.

Their abysmal performance at the legendary venue saw Wehrlein lose the lead of the Drivers’ Championship, whilst Porsche lost the lead of the Constructors’. The Germans now find themselves thirteen points behind Envision Racing ahead of a vital Jakarta E-Prix, where the Stuttgart-based outfit must ensure they don’t allow Envision to build a sizeable advantage.

With this weekend being a double-header the standings could change considerably come the end of Sunday, with Team Principal Florian Modlinger noting that “very little” separates Envision, Porsche and Jaguar TCS Racing.

“The top teams are separated by very little in the championship. The teams are extremely evenly matched, and every tenth of a second counts. Jakarta will be a big challenge for us. We’ll have to combine what we’ve learned in the first nine races of this season and continue to implement that knowledge. At the inaugural E-Prix last year, we adapted well to the extreme conditions.”

Porsche had taken the lead of the standings back in Hyderabad during the second week of February, meaning they led the championship for roughly three months. The team will have likely felt disappointed to have dropped to second having at one point boasted a forty-two point lead, which seemed to vanish in rapid fashion.

Should the Germans want to win the title then it’s imperative that they bounce back in Jakarta, with Modlinger admitting that the goal this weekend is to score “significantly more points” than they did at recent events.

“Nothing is decided in the championship yet. We still have seven races to go, so a lot can happen. Of course, we’d hoped for more in Monaco, but our sights are set on the rest of the season and we’ll work hard to continue to have a say in the battle for the championship titles, for both teams and drivers. We’re expecting to take another big step in Jakarta and bring home significantly more points again.”