How Formula E's double-duty drivers got on at Le Mans

By:

Jake Boxall-Legge

Jun 14, 2022, 10:03 AM

Eight Formula E drivers made the 7,000-mile sprint from the streets of Jakarta to the fabled Circuit de la Sarthe and every one had a story to share at this year's Le Mans 24 Hours. Despite a range of triumphs and disappointments, each driver doubling up on the day job played a key role in their teams' fortunes

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Once a year, thousands of people trudge to a city in north-west France to become at one with the racing gods. Le Mans is a true pilgrimage that many must walk, if one is to be enrobed by the soundscape of roaring engines and the visual feast of sportscars tearing through the night with their high-beams peeking through the darkness.

For eight of the drivers in attendance, the usual pilgrimage was made increasingly longer. Inconveniently for them, the Formula E round in Jakarta was positioned in the weekend ahead of Le Mans – perilously close to the first round of practice sessions around the Circuit de la Sarthe. Those magnificent eight had to hot-foot it halfway across the world, stave off the looming spectre of jet lag, and prepare themselves for an all-nighter strapped into a devilishly fast racing car. It's not unthinkable that a considerable supply of ProPlus was ingested to keep the octet awake.

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Jake Boxall-Legge

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Jake Boxall-Legge Autosport’s Technical Editor. Having studied Automotive Engineering with Motorsport at the University of Hertfordshire, West Country-born Jake's original ambition was to design racing cars. During a year between studies in which he accidentally rekindled a love of writing, he took up a Master's in Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes. Halfway through his master's year, he was offered a place on the Autosport Academy, conducting occasional freelance duties before becoming the press officer for Formula 2 and GP3 in 2018. Autosport offered him a return to the fold later that year to serve as its Technical Editor. His voice appears on a number of videos and podcasts, and can often be found writing about terrible Formula 1 cars in excruciating detail. In his spare time, Jake enjoys baking and blames his failure to make it past the Great British Bake-Off interviews on his tenuous grasp on choux pastry. His dream is to open a brunch cafe - and his willingness to make outrageous puns in inappropriate situations has earned him the contempt of his colleagues.