The second year of the GEN3 era, Season 10 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship also marked the completion of a decade of racing in Formula E. As both the reigning world champions and one of the most successful teams in the sport’s fledgling history, Envision Racing had high hopes of another strong campaign.

With Nick Cassidy making the switch to Jaguar Racing in the off-season, the returning Robin Frijns joined Sebastien Buemi to form an experienced duo for the Green Machine. And the campaign certainly got off to a fine start: Buemi finishing second at the season-opener in Mexico City, before Frijns made his own return to the podium at the following stop in Riyadh (a result that saw the team become the first in Formula E history to achieve 50 podium finishes).

Unfortunately, a combination of team struggles and increasing competition across the grid meant replicating those results across the middle part of the season became much harder – and, as a consequence, saw points become increasingly hard to come by.

The team never got discouraged, however, and come the end of the season the hard work of drivers, engineers and mechanics began to see its rewards. Frijns enjoyed back-to-back second place finishes in Portland, the penultimate stop of the season, before Buemi also got on the rostrum in London (where he celebrated with his three kids).

While not quite the highs of the previous year, the Season 10 haul nevertheless ensured that Envision leapfrogged up the final team standings and also finished the decade as the Formula E team with the most podium finishes and championships points in history – a record of success to take on into the second decade of the sport!

Season 9 of the ABB Formula E World Championship saw the all-new GEN3 car make its competitive bow, with speed, energy and downforce available to teams than ever before. For this cycle of the sport Envision Racing switched to Jaguar as powertrain providers – with the i-Type setup immediately proving one of the most competitive on the grid.

The changing nature of the machinery also had an impact on the style of racing, with energy management proving increasingly crucial. Races quickly took on a more tactical nature, with teams and drivers working out the best moments to take Attack Mode in order to leave themselves with the most energy possible for a late charge to the finish line.

With former champion Sebastien Buemi joining Nick Cassidy for the campaign, the Green Machine were poised for a strong showing – and, indeed, consistency was a hallmark of the team’s performances all season. A string of podium finishes in the early part of the year – Hyderabad, Cape Town, Sao Paulo – were then followed by a flurry of brilliant victories, as Cassidy showed his command of the new style of racing with awe-inspiring wins in Monaco, Portland and Berlin.

With Buemi also chipping in key results across the calendar, that meant the circus arrived in London for the final races of the year with Cassidy in the hunt for the drivers’ championship and the team also narrowly ahead in the teams’ standings. While the New Zealander was agonisingly unable to achieve his personal dreams, a dominant individual win on Sunday nevertheless helped seal the world championship for the team – as Buemi also edged past Sam Bird in the rival Jaguar to help confirm the victory.

Champions of the world for the first time, Envision Racing ultimately finished the season with a team-record 304 points, including four wins, five podium finishes and three pole positions.

The final season of the GEN2 edition of Formula E cars was also the first with the team rebranded as Envision Racing – with the team also switching to a predominantly green livery as part of the change. With Nick Cassidy and Robin Frijns continuing in the cockpit, the team certainly stood out on the grid in its new colours.

A new qualifying system was also introduced for the first time ahead of the season, splitting the field into two groups – with the four fastest qualifiers from each group conceding to a knockout-style, head-to-head ‘Duels’ phase that would decide the eventual pole-sitter. Cassidy would take advantage of the new system to clinch P1 in New York later on in the season– the site of undoubtedly the team’s best moment of the season.

There were many others, however: Frijns opening the season with three podiums across the first five races, including back-to-back top three finishes in the Rome double-header. Cassidy had to wait for his own moment but it finally came for the Kiwi in the Big Apple – as he took advantage of wet weather conditions to be named the winner as Frijns also finished in P3.

Another podium for Cassidy in London followed, capping off a strong finish to the campaign, as the team ultimately finished fifth in the teams’ standings for the second season in succession.

Nick Cassidy joined the team ahead of Season 7, partnering with Robin Frijns after previously impressing the team during a Rookie Test following some impressive results in Japan’s Super Formula. The New Zealander would go on to have a season of highs and lows – perhaps not surprising, for a rookie – that could probably be best illustrated by his experience in Round 4 in Rome, where he qualified on pole position for the first time but then unfortunately failed to finish the race.

A further pole in New York followed, where he also finished on the podium (although his first came in Mexico two races’ prior). But it was Frijns who was the more consistent scorer over the course of a full year, acquiring 89 points to Cassidy’s 76 despite finishing on the podium on the same number of occasions.

The fact that measly 13-point difference meant the drivers were separated by a full 10 places in the standings underlines just how close the racing was for much of the season, with the team ultimately finishing fifth in the overall team standings.

Season 6 of the Formula E championship once again saw Sam Bird and Robin Frijns partnered together for Envision Virgin Racing, as the team opted for continuity heading into the second season of the GEN2 era. Changes to the regulations were also minimal, with a slight increase in the power available in Attack Mode the most notable amendment.

Alas, global events would conspire to impose more significant changes on the campaign – with the Covid-19 pandemic ultimately meaning the final six races of the season would all take place around Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport. It certainly provided for an action-packed seven days, even if neither Envision driver were in any real position to challenge runaway title winner Antonio Felix da Costa by that stage.

It had all started so well for the team in Diriyah, with Bird winning Round 1 of the championship and Frijns coming home in fifth. But both would then retire from Round 2, as further top five finishes would then elude both drivers until the championship arrived in the German capital to salvage the remainder of the season.

Both Bird and Frijns (twice) enjoyed podium finishes during the course of that unusual Berlin finale, with the former ultimately finishing 10th in the drivers’ standings on 63 points, as Frijns trailed in five points and two places further back. That was enough for the team to finish fourth in the team standings.

Season five saw the introduction of the Gen2 car and Attack Mode to Formula E.

The new Attack Mode was also introduced, allowing drivers to gain an extra 25kw during the race if running off-line. The team ended their partnership with powertrain supplier DS and became an independent team. They then entered a technical agreement with OEM Audi Sport who supplied their homologated Gen2 car to the team. At an official launch event at the team’s new Silverstone Headquarters it was announced that team owners, Envision Group, would also act as title sponsors and the team became Envision Virgin Racing.

Dutchman Robin Frijns, who had previously spent two seasons racing in Formula E, joined the team alongside Sam Bird at the launch event. The e-tron FE05 proved to be a very competitive car, with Bird winning the hottest race on record in Santiago. Frijns got his first FE win during the first official wet-race of the championship in Paris and then ended the season on a high – finishing the final race of the season on the top spot. After a bout of non-points scoring races, the team ended the season in third place.

Impressive rookie, Alex Lynn, joined the team full-time for season four to accompany Sam Bird in the DS Virgin Racing car.

Winning the first race of the season, despite a controversial incident in the pitlane during the car swap, Bird started the season on a high. Winning again at the historic Rome E-Prix, Bird then went on to secure a further four podiums in season four. Entering the final rounds of the Formula E championship contesting the title, Bird battled against ex-teammate JEV to be crowned season four champion but was unable to gain the points needed in NYC to win.

Battling technical issues with the car throughout the start of the season, Lynn struggled with performance and was plagued by penalties. Lynn continued to have difficulties throughout the rest of the season. Despite this, the British duo were able to secure third place in the team’s championship.

Bird was retained for a third season and was joined by Argentinian driver Jose Maria Lopez, a.k.a Pechito, at DS Virgin Racing.

Pechito showed great pace in the DSV-02 car, scoring points in all but three races that he competed in, he was also hugely supported by his South American fan base and was hugely popular at these races. The Briton, Bird, continued to show his true racing skill and his talent in Formula E by gaining four podiums in the third season of the championship, including two incredible wins at the New York City double header weekend.

The team had spent race week lighting up the Empire State Building, held their first large-scale Innovation Summit and were joined by team boss Sir Richard Branson for the occasion. Alex Lynn replaced Pechito during the double- header in New York City, due to a clash in racing calendars with WEC. Lynn scored a pole position in the first race, an incredible feat for a rookie driver, but unfortunately was forced to retire in both races due to technical difficulties. Following the season finale at the inaugural Montreal circuit the team finished in fourth place.