Mahindra's Formula E stay a long-term strategy, not an up-and-down manufacturer cycle: Bertrand

London, Mahindra Racing's decision to remain committed to Formula E while several heavyweight manufacturers have walked away is not a gamble on the championship's short-term fortunes but the continuation of a long-term strategy to use electric racing as a technology laboratory, said CEO and Team Principal Frederic Bertrand.

Audi and Mercedes have exited Formula E, while McLaren also decided to leave the championship after the 2024-25 season.

Mahindra, however, has committed to the Gen4 era until at least 2030, extending a relationship with Formula E that began even before the championship's first race in 2014.

The Indian manufacturer was one of the founding teams and the first original equipment manufacturer to commit to the championship at its inception.

Bertrand said the contrasting decisions reflect the normal cycle of manufacturers entering and leaving motorsport, but Mahindra's presence is rooted in a much longer-term vision.

"It's a mix of a bit of everything. First thing is, it's the life of motorsport, the up and down of manufacturers, changes with their strategy," Bertrand told PTI ahead of the season finale.

"But what is very strong in my eyes is that from day one, even before electric cars were produced, the vision from Anand Mahindra himself and his group was: this is the place where we have to showcase what we can do and what we will be able to do in the future."

Bertrand believes Mahindra's recent transformation provides evidence that the investment can work if the team maintains the right structure and consistency.

"We need to go for Gen4. That means all what we have done the last 24-36 months, then we can capitalise on for the next four years to make sure that we are even more able to compete at the highest level."

Mahindra endured a prolonged period away from the front before its recent revival.

In Season 11, Nyck de Vries and Edoardo Mortara combined for five podiums as Mahindra finished fourth in the teams' championship, its best result since its third-place finish in 2016-17.

That earlier third-place finish, with 215 points in Season 3, remains Mahindra's best championship result.

This season has offered further evidence of the team's progress. Mortara has taken four pole positions, matching the record for most poles by a driver in a single Formula E campaign, while de Vries won the Tokyo E-Prix.

Bertrand said the next challenge is not simply to produce occasional wins or podiums but to create a team capable of competing for the championship year after year.

"The satisfaction will be full when we are fighting for the title," he said.

He also warned that Formula E's competitive environment leaves little room for complacency.

"This game doesn't forgive the small mistake. So sometimes you do a small mistake in strategy, and that small mistake just prevents you from winning the race."

For Mahindra, however, the value of Formula E goes beyond results.

Bertrand outlined three major areas in which the racing programme feeds into the wider automotive business: software, hardware and people.

The team gathers knowledge from race strategy, data analysis and energy management that can be applied to software development. Its high-performance electric powertrains provide lessons in efficiency that can influence the development of road cars, particularly in improving energy consumption and range.

"We are racing with very high-performance powertrains and the efficiency is very high. Everything we can learn on how to manage high-level efficiency is directly able to impact the development of the future cars, to give the customer a car with better efficiency and better autonomy for their drive."

The third element is human capital, with engineers exposed to the pressure and performance demands of top-level motorsport before taking that experience back to the wider Mahindra Group.

Mahindra has also used the Formula E to build closer links between its racing operation and its technology businesses, including work on software and strategy tools.

The approach fits the company's "Race to Road" philosophy and was one of the reasons it opted to continue into Gen4, which begins in 2026-27.

For Bertrand, that next phase offers an opportunity to turn the lessons of the last two years into a sustained challenge for the world championship.

Mahindra's long-term commitment also carries a strong national dimension. Bertrand said the company wants its Formula E participation to demonstrate that an Indian manufacturer can compete at the highest level of international motorsport and electric technology.

"We want them fully integrated in the race team and fully transferred to the people that are watching the way we are behaving and we are performing.

"Having Mahindra being able to perform at that level of the motorsport scene should be something that makes every Indian proud."

And while other manufacturers may view motorsport through changing strategic priorities, Bertrand said Mahindra's philosophy has remained consistent: learn, develop and eventually transfer that knowledge to its road cars.

"It's not the up and down strategy. It's a strategy where the vision was we want to develop and understand and raise the level of the group understanding."

That, he believes, is why Mahindra is still here and why it intends to remain here long after the London chequered flag falls.

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