Formula E hand F1 bombshell claim: ‘We will be faster’

Formula E Gen4 test and development driver James Rossiter believes the new machine will be faster than F1 cars in wet conditions thanks to the new 'typhoon tyre.'

In recent years, F1 cars have seldom used the full wet tyres during green flag running in such conditions.

Rather, the blue-walled Pirelli tyres have been used under safety car periods or when grands prix have started behind the safety car, before drivers immediately switch across to the green-walled intermediate rubber. 

This scenario played out after the long red flag delay at the 2022 Japanese GP, where drivers immediately bailed from the full wet tyre to the intermediates once green flag running resumed. 

Bridgestone is returning as a tyre supplier to an FIA world championship in 2026, as it joins forces with Formula E for its all-new Gen4 era, with the cars capable of producing around 815bhp - or 600kw of energy.

Speaking when asked by RacingNews365 at a Q&A session at the unveiling of its Formula E tyres in Rome, Rossiter who has sampled the Gen4 machine in a variety of conditions indicated that the new 'typhoon tyre' would see FE machines faster than F1 in wet weather.

"With the typhoon tyre, I am willing to say this on record, that if it rains heavily, and you have a Formula 1 car on a full wet tyre, and I, a 43-year-old man, went out in a Gen4 car with a set of Bridgestones on it, I'm very confident that I'm comfortably faster than a Formula 1 car in the wet," Rossiter said.

"I think that the technology that Gen4 has, but also what Bridgestone have made in terms of the typhoon tyre, is truly remarkable with the amount of work that they put into it. 

"You will see cars driving on circuits where the FIA would normally always put a red flag or end the session or do something, and the [Formula E] drivers will be perfectly happy. 

"The drivers will be complaining this time that they want to drive, whereas in the past they were having the opposite. So we've got a very exciting transition point, I would say, in terms of the championship. 

"In terms of steps forward, we've really created something spectacular with Gen4, and in collaboration with Bridgestone, we're able to put all that performance on the road in every condition."