F1 branded a ‘smelly old dinosaur’ by Formula E billionaire: ‘It should be a museum'

Fortescue founder Dr. Andrew Forrest has launched an extraordinary attack on Formula 1, branding the championship a "smelly old dinosaur", that "it should be a museum" and calling for a head-to-head race against Formula E machinery.

The Australian mining billionaire made the comments at the launch of Fortescue Zero Racing's Gen4 livery, the team he has built after his green energy firm acquired Penske Autosport in September. 

Fortescue Zero enters Formula E's 2027 season as the series' first Australian-licensed outfit, running customer Jaguar Gen4 powertrains from its Kidlington base under team principal Jim Wright.

The new outfit traces its roots back to Fortescue's 2022 acquisition of Williams Advanced Engineering, and the group has previously worked within Formula E as the championship's official Pit Boost charging provider as well as a technical partner to Jaguar. 

That background in battery and powertrain technology appears to have fuelled Forrest's confidence that his new venture can close the gap on Formula 1 far quicker than many would expect.

Speaking to select media, including RacingNews365, Forrest set out his ambitions for the new team in typically combative fashion.

"The other race which we're going to win is this dream I have," said Forrest.

"I want to see that old dinosaur: noisy, smoky, smelly. Oh, sounds like the fossil fuel sector. No, it's Formula 1! 

"I want to see Formula 1 go head-to-head with Formula E, and then I want to say: how many decades did they have to get this right, and how many months did we have to get it right? And let's see how we go."

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Formula 1 issued 'time is ticking fast' warning

Asked directly whether F1 still has a place in motorsport, Forrest did not hold back.

Forrest replied: "No, I think Formula 1 has a place. It should have a very large building with Formula 1 on the front of it, made out of limestone, with lights on it, and it should be a museum because the younger generation are going to go to the highest-performance, greatest, technically advanced and kindest-to-the-environment racing there is, and that's going to be Formula E. 

"Now, Formula 1 is fantastic, but the time is ticking fast."

Pressed on how such a contest might actually be staged, Forrest pointed to the car unveiled behind him.

"Ah, well, look, you do a head-to-head," he said. "You can take a car like this [the Gen4]. Anyway, it's not up to me, but I'd like to see a car like this go head-to-head with any Formula 1 car in the world, and just see how we go, baby. 

"Let's just put it to the test. And I don't care if we come first or second. What I know is that we're doing in months and years what they've taken decades to do. And if we come anywhere near, it's over."