23/06/2025 17:55
Formula E veteran Sebastien Buemi confirmed to RacingNews365 that
talks have taken place with Envision surrounding a new contract,
with the introduction of Gen4 being of interest. The Season 2 FE
champion had been heavily linked with a potential exit from the
all-electric series ahead of the approval of the Season 12
calendar, due to fears of clashes with the World Endurance
Championship (WEC). However, FE and WEC have managed to avoid a
clash for the 2025/26 season, meaning the upcoming clash between
the Berlin E-Prix and the Six Hours of São Paulo is the last for
the foreseeable future. For Buemi, this is a crucial moment, given
his commitments to Toyota in WEC. Now, the Red Bull simulator
driver is open to remaining in FE, particularly due to the arrival
in 18 months of Gen4. "Yeah, there is some good discussions, and I
cannot deny that obviously doing well lately it's been a very big
boost," Buemi told RacingNews365 during a recent podcast episode.
"And also, the fact that, the Gen4 coming in, with everything I
know about it, I'd be really happy and tempted to drive that car if
I could." The introduction of Gen4 at the end of 2026 will see FE
move to its fastest and most powerful car yet, expected to be much
faster than Formula 2 and potentially very close to F1. Whilst
Buemi is keen to race in the next generation of the all-electric
series, it is the FE and WEC calendars not clashing in the upcoming
years which remains key to his future. "If we could have a bit of
continuity with the calendars and not have any clashes, that would
be, obviously, extremely important, because regardless of how many
clashes we have, if we have one, it's already too much," he
explained, ahead of both FE's and WEC's calendars being approved.
"People are not willing to have drivers that will have to miss
races. And of course, I have to agree with that." Gen4 versus 2026
F1 regulations Next year marks a fascinating period for motorsport,
given the start of 2026 will see the introduction of the new
Formula 1 power unit regulations, before FE's Gen4 in the final
months. Not only has Buemi seen major details of the Gen4, he is
also working on the new F1 regulations with Red Bull. The big
question surrounding the new regulations for both championships is
the lap time difference, with initial suggestions being that very
little will split the two. "Yeah, the Gen4 will be a huge step,
because it's going to be a lot of power, and it's going to be
four-wheel drive, and it's going to be bigger tyres and more
downforce," said Buemi. "So it's just difficult to know exactly
how much faster that will be. Formula 1, even though there is a
very strong development, it's difficult to predict because the
development is hard. You never know what the teams can do. "Many
times it looks like it's going to be a lot slower, and then by race
one it's nearly as fast as the previous car. So it's difficult to
predict, but it still looks like 2026, will be quite a bit slower.
"So let's see where those two cars end up being. But I'm looking
forward to it, I'm obviously very interested to see it."
