Modlinger cut his teeth across a number of race series with different manufacturers, including the FIA GT1 World Championship, BMW Motorsport and the DTM Championship with Audi Sport. It could be said that he served his apprenticeship at a time when the internal-combustion engine was king, although the experience he gained has undoubtedly helped him become the complete team leader today.

Challenges on and off the track

As the driving force behind Porsche’s entire Formula E project, a key element of his role is guiding and motivating the team. “This is much easier when performances are strong,” Modlinger explains, “but it’s even more important when one of the drivers crashes and the whole team needs to pull together and work long hours to get two cars onto the next grid.”

Modlinger knows that new electric technologies tend to develop exponentially in the early years because software and battery technology advances so quickly. Indeed, the most modern internal-combustion engines are only around 40% efficient, but the Gen3 racing cars already achieve 95% power efficiency. “They represent a technological milestone in terms of all-electric racing,” he adds. “The biggest challenge for us is to monitor the development of the cars so we can extract the best performance on the track from car and driver.

“We need to develop a car that can take us to the next level and then we can put ourselves in a position to fight for wins and hopefully the title this season. This is our fourth year in Formula E but it took until last year to get our first win. My aim now is to take the team and drivers forward and show that Porsche can be consistently competitive on all tracks. I always want to find the extra tenth of a second that makes the difference at the highest level.”

It’s all about teamwork

The regulations only allow a certain number of people to work for each team. Given that the cars are such complex feats of engineering, this places a lot of responsibility on every team member. Everyone from the driver down needs to interact seamlessly, not just during the race itself but also during the set-up phase. Having won three of the first six rounds of the 2022-23 season, Modlinger’s TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team are delivering on his expectations.

“We’ve had a very successful start to the season,” Modlinger continues. “This has been down to our execution and race performance, as well as our spirit and tenacity. We’ve made fewer mistakes than the competition and have got close to our potential in the races, although we still have work to do in qualifying.”

Part of the team’s success is due to the collaboration with sponsors like Julius Baer. As a founding global partner of Formula E, Julius Baer can use the series to promote the transition towards a fully electric future. This will include developing new battery technologies to provide sustainable alternatives to existing power sources. It is these technologies that we will all benefit from as they filter down into the road cars of tomorrow.

Formula E tech and how it will find its way into Porsche’s road cars

Having only launched in 2014, Formula E is still a young series in motorsport terms. The batteries in the first-generation cars couldn’t last the whole distance so the drivers had to swap cars during the race. The sport’s third-generation cars are now lighter than ever, they soon will be boost-charged mid-race, and the energy recovered during braking now accounts for around 40% of that required to run the car for the whole race. The maximum output of the Porsche 99X Electric is also up from the previous generation, 350kW instead of 250kW in the Gen2 cars.

“The racing cars are now much more complex,” Modlinger continues. “To get the most out of them and gain an advantage over the other teams is one of the biggest challenges we face. You have engines at the front and rear, you’re recovering energy from the brakes, you’re incorporating complex software engineering, and it’s all about delivering extra performance so that the drivers can race to their limits. This is, of course, completely different from the challenges you face with traditional internal-combustion-engine race cars and with EV road cars.”

Modlinger estimates that half of all Porsche’s road cars will be either hybrid or fully electrified by 2025. “When designing and developing new road cars, we need to focus on recovering as much energy as possible during braking. The Formula E series is the perfect testbed for EV and energy-recovery technology because it will eventually filter down into everyday cars. The entire development process from physical components to complex software will also deliver benefits for the end user.”

The future of mobility

Modlinger champions alternative mobility solutions, although he believes there shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all approach because different markets, infrastructures and geographies will require bespoke solutions. “As electric vehicles become more widespread, personal mobility must develop rapidly,” he concludes. “We all want to get from point A to point B in the shortest possible time, but we need flexibility in our approach. If you live in a future megacity, for example, your mobility needs will differ from someone who has a long commute in the country. The solutions we develop must reflect these differences.”