Although not technically a Formula E rookie on account of his later-than-late and frankly weird cameo for Dragon Penske in Seoul last August, it’s fair to say that Sacha Fenestraz has turned heads in 2023.
His recruitment by Nissan came as something of a surprise last summer but what hasn’t been a shock has been his aptitude for pulling out occasionally exceptional performances in both qualifying and races.
Two pole position laps in Cape Town and Monaco – the latter being taken away over a power spike technicality – and two fourth-place finishes have been the highlights. But perhaps more impressive than that has been the way that the Franco-Argentinian has put some much more seasoned Formula E racers in their places this season.
From joining Formula E with “zero expectations” Fenestraz has gathered momentum up like he does the occasional snap-oversteer that has punctuated the early phase of the Gen3 era.
His speed and results in a Nissan that has struggled to find consistency have turned heads and metamorphosed Fenestraz from a quirky rookie to a hot property in less than six months.
So, the big question now is, what next?
The 24 year-old will stay at Nissan for a sophomore season in 2024, but the intriguing question is what he will do in 2025.
Should Sam Bird and Jaguar agree for one more season alongside Mitch Evans in 2024, then Fenestraz will be a logical and desired fit for the Big Cat as the second homologation of Gen3 dawns for the 2025 campaign.
Jaguar coveted Fenestraz’s skills when he worked for the team from 2019 to last season as a test and development driver. While his output for Jaguar was fitful thanks to the pandemic and then his Super Formula commitments, engineers within the Grove-based operation openly lauded his skill on the Williams simulator.
The only doubt in the Fenestraz-to-Jaguar theory is a considerable one, however. Nicholas Robert Cassidy.
Two Kiwis in one team might seem fanciful to some but with a season’s experience of the Jaguar I-Type 6 at customer team Envision and a bunch of stellar performances that have made him a 2023 title contender, there are degrees of inevitability about the idea of Cassidy joining fellow Aucklander Evans right now.
Cassidy’s representatives have held several talks with Jaguar and the outcome of those are said by one source close to the situation to likely have “an imminent resolution”.
Adding extra to fervour to a driver market that is fermenting slowly but explosively is the fact that Cassidy and Fenestraz’s relationship is rather on the cooler side.
The exact reasons for the needle are believed to go back to the Super Formula days, but while there was an altercation between the two in Cape Town which denied Fenestraz a potential podium, it didn’t really ignite. Perhaps though, a full realisation of their rivalry will become a defining feature of Formula E seasons to come.
“I never try to look at it that way,” says Fenestraz on answering the question on whether he would race for Jaguar one day.
“Sometimes I love to think about it, but I try to stop myself very quickly.
“Of course, they’re strong, you can also see ‘Cass’ being very consistent, you can see Mitch being there, but still a little bit of up and down.”
Jaguar team principal James Barclay didn’t seem too surprised to be quizzed about the prospect of getting Fenestraz back in the fold one day.
“I know what you’re asking, and he’s a great character, but I’m not going to be drawn on whether he’s an option for us in the future“, Barclay told The Race in the Portland paddock yesterday.
Envision chief Sylvain Filippi wouldn’t be drawn in detail on the current driver negotiations either, saying only “we’re talking” when asked by The Race about the likelihood of retaining the present Cassidy and Sebastien Buemi line-up next season – and emphasising that he thinks Cassidy should sit tight with his current employer.
“Obviously it’s a nice place to be here, in the right car,” said Filippi. “As you know, we don’t comment on the drivers stuff too much, but he’s in the right place.”
Should Cassidy elect to move on, probably to Jaguar, it would potentially make for an awkward situation between the two teams that have become inexorably linked over the last year. The frisson of Cassidy racing for the manufacturer that supplies his current team is a tantalising one.
And if he does ink a deal with Jaguar then the natural knock-on intrigue of who would step into his green-tinged overalls is equally absorbing.
There exists an Envision template that helped form Cassidy when he joined the team at the end of 2020 as a stone-cold rookie.
Next out of that mould may come sometime Williams Formula 1 reserve (and one-time grand prix starter) Jack Aitken, who was confirmed last week as being in one of the Envision seats for the Rome ‘rookie’ free practice session next month.
The British-Korean driver impressed the team in Berlin back in April, and while he is likely to be offered a sportscar deal for 2024, he could also dovetail it with a maiden Formula E programme as well.
“He’s a really great guy, he’ll get better and better,” said Filippi of Aitken.
So, a mini FE driver market now exists within the Jaguar/Envision axis. It’s a crucial one that in the coming days and weeks will start to unfurl itself to an expectant paddock, and the butterfly effect of it could spark movements elsewhere.
