FREDERIC ESPINOS : "WE DON'T WANT TO BE ALMOST READY, WE WANT TO BE READY"

With extensive experience in Formula E and a career that has allowed him to see the championship from several different perspectives, Frédéric Espinos joins Citroën Racing at the start of a new era. As Competition Director and Deputy Team Principal, he will help lead the team into GEN4 with a clear objective: to get the best out of the group and create the conditions to fight at the front. He reflects on what attracted him to the project, the role he will play within the team and the challenges ahead for Citroën Racing in Season 13.

• You have known Formula E from several different perspectives and for many years. What made you want to join the Citroën Racing project at this particular stage of its development?

What attracted me first of all is that, in my view, this project brings together all the ingredients needed to win. Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate enough to experience Formula E from several different perspectives. Over the past four years, I’ve been part of a team that was not yet in a position to fight regularly for victories, and naturally that was something I was missing. When you work in competition, you want to win. There are many important elements around a project, but in the end, what people remember are the results.
I know the level of investment that has gone into Citroën Racing, but also the brand’s motorsport heritage and its genuine winning culture. Once you have experienced the podium, you naturally want to go after more.
The people involved in the project also played a big part in my decision. I’ve known Jean-Éric for a very long time and we’ve always shared this desire to win together. Nick is also an excellent driver, with an outstanding understanding of races, and he is one of the benchmarks in the championship. I already knew several other members of the team as well. All of that creates an environment that immediately makes you want to commit yourself fully to the project.”
 

• As Deputy Team Principal, where do you think you can have the greatest impact on the team’s day-to-day performance?

My role will be mainly focused on competition and the way the team operates on the racing side. My first objective will be to make sure we are ready, and that begins with an important phase of discovery: understanding the people, everyone’s role, what already works very well and the areas where we can still improve.
I see my role a little like that of a conductor. The experts are the people within the team. My job is to create the best possible conditions for them to fully express their skills and work effectively together.
You also need to understand the processes that are already in place before trying to introduce your own. The objective is to have a rigorous organization that can deal with difficulties while minimizing their impact on the group. But performance is not only about processes. It is also essential that people want to work together, enjoy being together and build a genuine team spirit.
That is the dynamic I want to help create. If we are well organized and united as a team, we will have what it takes to win.
 

• GEN4 represents a major change for the championship. In your view, what will be key to being competitive from the beginning of this new era?

The first step will be to fully understand and master the car we have. Significant investments have been made to give us the tools to be competitive, which already gives us a very positive foundation. Now it is up to us to understand that tool, extract the maximum from it and, above all, improve faster than our competitors.
The beginning of the season will be particularly important. With a new generation of cars, the teams that are immediately operationally effective will have the opportunity to gain a valuable advantage. That is why the next few weeks will be essential for me. I have a limited amount of time to understand how the entire team operates. Most of the people here have already been working together for a long time and have a very solid foundation.
My objective is therefore to learn quickly, understand where we are and use Jarama to make everything increasingly concrete. When we arrive at the first race, we don’t want to be almost ready. We want to be ready.