Racing to the future

Although he’s well known around the globe as a racing driver for Audi, Lucas di Grassi is also a Clean Air Ambassador of the United Nations and a strong advocate for the environment. Although it may seem that the two are at odds, it is his passion for the future that first attracted him to Formula E as the obvious way forward for m motorsport well into the future.

To that end, di Grassi addressed the UN at the recent Climate Week New York, emphasising the role of Formula E in the transformation of mobility, especially in urban areas.
“A few years ago, I helped shape Formula E because for me it was clear that the future will belong to electric cars – on the road and on the race track,” says Lucas di Grassi. “Advancing new technologies and inspiring people’s enthusiasm for the relevance of electric mobility regarding the climate and our health is an important concern of mine. Events such as the Climate Week here in New York City provide ideal opportunities for keeping this topic at the top of the agenda. I am proud of being able to contribute my share to this effort.” 

Lucas di Grassi, together with Daniel Abt, has been competing in Formula E for the Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler team since 2014, making them the longest and most successful driver pairing in the electric series. di Grassi is himself a former Formula E champion having won the title in 2016/2017 season. He came tantalisingly close to repeating that feat is the recently concluded fifth season and with a new car, has his sights set on the coming series.

Audi, together with the Volkswagen Group is among the first automobile manufacturers to have committed to the Paris Agreement and the company has set itself the ambitious goal of a successive 30-percent reduction of vehicle-specific CO2 emissions by 2025 – compared to the reference year of 2015 and along the entire product lifecycle. In addition, the company is actively involved in the development of Greenovations – innovations for the protection of the climate and the environment. An example of a promising technology is CO2 capture, a method for extracting carbon dioxide from the air and Audi has already installed such a facility near Zurich.
In the long term, Audi pursues the vision of carbon-neutral mobility and intends to achieve company-wide climate neutrality by 2050.