Obrigado por tudo, Lucas!

In my mind Lucas di Grassi will always be “Mr Formula E”. A true innovator and founding father of the sport, not only as the first driver to commit to all electric racing, but he also won the inaugural race back in Beijing in 2014 and di Grassi has gone on to be one of only five drivers to win in all three generation of Formula E car.

📸: Lintao Zhang/LAT Images

The Brazilian announced his retirement from professional racing earlier this year, and after an emotional send off last weekend in London, I thought now would be a perfect time to look back at what makes him so good – some might say the perfect all-round driver of this generation.

For me, his on-track brilliance is a small part of what makes him so competitive. di Grassi is known for having one of, if not the sharpest mind of any driver. A known investor in Brazilian startup companies, di Grassi is genuinely fascinated in how technology can be driven forward to help our daily lives. And Formula E is the ultimate testbed to do just that. Working as Pirelli’s Formula 1 test driver in 2011, after a season in F1 with the unsuccessful Virgin team, di Grassi was approached by his former GP2 team boss Alejandro Agag. The proposition was simple – join the future of racing. Alejandro and then FIA President Jean Todt had created Formula e after realising companies were becoming increasingly reluctant to invest in fossil fuelled racing. Their idea, create a “Green Formula 1”. He chose di Grassi because of his expertise and knew he’d be up to the job to develop a fully electric racing car.

After almost a year as official test driver, Audi Sport ABT announced him to compete in the inaugural season – and a new chapter of his racing career began. Reuniting with his old rivals Nelson Piquet Jr and Sébastien Buemi, di Grassi found himself in a title fight heading toward the latter half of the season. Had it not been for a disqualification from his win at Berlin, di Grassi would have claimed the title, instead losing out to bitter rival and fellow Brazilian Piquet Jr.

The following two seasons saw a straight head-to-head title battle between the Audi sponsored, privately entered ABT car of di Grassi and the full factory backed Renault of Sébastien Buemi. The pair won three races each and scored a total of 13 podiums across the ten races – entering the final race tied on points. The race didn’t last long. The two Renaults took off in the lead on the run down to turn 1 and boxed in di Grassi behind at the first braking zone. A collision followed resulting in di Grassi driving up and over the top of his title rival.

📸: Zak Mauger/LAT/Formula E

What happened next was unlike any other championship decider in racing as both drivers were able to limp their cars back to the pits after the collision and jump into their second car in an attempt to claim the bonus points for fastest lap. Buemi had the dominant car and was able to claim the fastest lap to win the title in the most bizarre way. This was a flashpoint in their rivalry – a rivalry not only in Formula E but also in WEC as both drivers were racking up LMP1 endurance racing wins at that period for Audi (di Grassi) and Toyota (Buemi).

Season Three, 2016-17, was a prime example of consistency proving key as Lucas was finally able to claim an emotional title. He did this through fantastic, calculated driving, staying calm during the opening three events as Buemi won them all in the dominant Renault. Everything came together for di Grassi at Mexico after the infamous energy strategy gamble paid off – after pitting early with a broken wing, he cycled back to the lead through the pit stops and safety car sequence before stretching his battery a staggering 28 laps to victory. After Buemi’s infamous “Montréal meltdown” at the title deciding weekend, di Grassi kept a calm head and despite only winning two races (compared to Buemi’s six) won the championship. This grabbed the attention of his boss, Audi Sport, who decided to fully commit to Formula E providing Lucas with all the Research and Development (R&D) and resources he’d need for the following seasons. This worked in Season Four as Audi Sport put an end to the three-year winning streak held by Renault of Constructors’ titles to claim a narrow championship over Techeetah. Season 4 also proved di Grassi’s maturity and mental resilience as a driver – a horrific start to the year suffering four DNFs in the first four races, all due to mechanical failures. But the comeback was mighty as he finished no lower than second for the final seven races to finish runner-up in points.

As Formula E moved into the GEN2 era, di Grassi always remained competitive scoring multiple victories including the notable “last-lap-last-corner” over the line win at Mexico. When Audi pulled out of the sport at the end of Season 7, di Grassi floated between teams – first driving for Venturi and winning in London, then moving to the uncompetitive Mahindra to score an emotional first pole and podium finish of the GEN3 era at Mexico.

After returning to the ABT family, Lucas spent the last two years of his career building the new Lola Yamaha ABT team. The team have grown and become more competitive, Lucas using his expertise to help the team overcome energy management issues to harness the speed underneath. And then came Shanghai. If anyone needed a reminder of exactly why Lucas di Grassi has been such a special driver throughout Formula E's history, Shanghai provided it. Starting deep in the field and driving for a Lola Yamaha ABT team that had spent much of the season fighting in the midfield, few would have predicted victory. But as the track dried and strategy became increasingly important, di Grassi once again demonstrated the qualities that have defined his career: patience, energy management and an ability to spot opportunities before anyone else. Predicting pre-race about the drying track, Lucas’ tyre pressure setup was perfect for the closing stages and after using his final Attack Mode in the closing stages, he carved his way through the leading group and produced a stunning final-lap overtake on Jean-Éric Vergne to secure both his first victory since London 2022 and Lola Yamaha's first Formula E win. A fitting place to score his final win – more than a decade on from his first Formula E victory also in China, it truly was a full circle moment.

📸: Alastair Staley/LAT Images

Statistics alone will never fully explain Lucas di Grassi's impact on Formula E. He was a race winner, world champion and title contender across multiple eras of the championship, but he was also one of the key figures who helped shape what Formula E became. From developing the original Spark-Renault car to guiding new manufacturers and teams through the sport's rapid technological evolution, his influence stretches far beyond the results sheet.

And so, as this chapter of racing history closes, I think we're all more than entitled to shed a tear. For me, Lucas was one of the most inspirational figures both on and off the track. He shaped my perception of what a great racing driver should be: fast, intelligent, innovative and always looking toward the future.

Obrigado, Lucas!

BY DAVID TAYLOR