Formula E has invited Max Verstappen to test its car after the four times Formula One world champion said his latest Red Bull was not a lot of fun to drive and felt like something from the electric series 'on steroids'.
The Dutchman made clear during F1 testing in Bahrain on Thursday that he was not a fan of the latest generation of F1 cars because of the 50-50 balance between electric and combustion engine and the need for energy management.
Formula E chief executive Jeff Dodds told Reuters he had invited the 28-year-old to Saudi Arabia, where the electric series is racing in Jeddah on Friday and Saturday, to come and find out what the cars were really like.
"I cheekily messaged him last night to say Jeddah is not far from Bahrain, so I'll come and get you myself if you want to have a go," he said.
Dodds said Formula E's next generation of car would be faster than the current one and the Gen 5 after that likely faster than a Formula One car.
The series is also moving further from its city origins, as speeds increase, and looking at circuits familiar to Formula One fans. A slightly longer version of Jeddah's floodlit Corniche circuit also hosts the Saudi Arabian F1 Grand Prix.
"This is probably becoming something Max would really enjoy racing in," said Dodds.
NEVER DRIVEN A FORMULA E CAR
Verstappen has never driven a Formula E car, and showed little desire to do so, but Dodds hoped that might change.
"I would absolutely welcome him to come and spend some quality time in a Gen 4 car and give us some feedback," he said. "I think he'd be really impressed. He's also clever enough to know if that's Gen 4, the Gen 5 car is likely to be blowing away what he's currently driving."
Formula E has several ex-F1 drivers and current test and development drivers on its grid and Dodds said Formula One teams and drivers were tapping their expertise as they got to grips with the techniques needed to get the most out of the new grand prix cars.
Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad, the only rookie in Formula One this season, is managed by reigning Formula E champion Oliver Rowland while Formula E drivers Sebastien Buemi, Norman Nato, Jake Dennis, Jake Hughes and Stoffel Vandoorne all have testing links to F1 teams.
"It wouldn't surprise me one bit if some of these drivers in Formula E are picked up by Formula One teams over the coming years because I think the style of driving is converging," said Dodds.
"We've always driven all-electric, it's always included some form of regeneration. Formula One is not used to driving in this style and the drivers are not used to it. So for them it feels like a compromise. For us it feels completely natural."