Jaguar Racing facts for kids
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| Founded | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Base | Kidlington, Oxfordshire |
| Team principal(s) | James Barclay |
| Current series | Formula E |
| Former series | Formula One |
| Current drivers |  Mitch Evans Nick Cassidy Tom Dillmann Joel Eriksson |
| Teams' Championships |
2023–24 |
Jaguar Racing is the name for all the exciting car racing activities of Jaguar Land Rover. Today, Jaguar competes in a special electric car race series called Formula E. They are known as Jaguar TCS Racing because of their main sponsor. They are also the current champions of Formula E, winning the team title in the 2023–24 season!
Before Formula E, Jaguar also raced in Formula One from 2000 to 2004. Their best finish in Formula One was 7th place for the team. After 2004, the team was sold and became Red Bull Racing. Jaguar also has a long and successful history in sportscar racing, especially with their XJR cars in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Contents
Formula E: Electric Racing Adventures
In December 2015, Jaguar announced they would join Formula E. This meant they would build their own electric race cars and engines. Panasonic became their main sponsor. They even had Gorillaz guitarist Noodle as a team ambassador!
Starting Strong: 2016–17 Season
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Jaguar started racing in the 2016–17 season. They signed drivers Adam Carroll and Mitch Evans. The team finished 10th overall. Their best race was in Mexico City, where both drivers scored points, finishing 4th and 8th. Adam Carroll was one of only two drivers to finish every race that season.
Big Changes: 2017–18 Season
Before this season, Jaguar partnered with GKN and Viessmann. They signed Nelson Piquet Jr., who was a former Formula E champion, to race alongside Mitch Evans. At the first race in Hong Kong, Mitch Evans earned Jaguar's first podium finish, coming in third place. Later, at the Zürich ePrix, Evans also got the team's first pole position, meaning he started the race from the very front.
Jaguar finished 6th in the team championship this season. Both drivers, Evans and Piquet, finished in the top 10 of the drivers' championship.
First Victory: 2018–19 Season
Mitch Evans and Nelson Piquet Jr. continued as drivers. In March 2019, Piquet left the team and Alex Lynn took his place. In the very next race in Rome, Mitch Evans won! This was Jaguar's first ever win in Formula E.
Even though Evans had a great season with several podium finishes, the team finished 7th overall. Evans himself finished 5th in the drivers' championship. He was also the only driver to finish every race that season.
Tough Times: 2019–20 Season
For the 2019–20 season, Mitch Evans stayed with Jaguar, and James Calado joined him. They also introduced a new car, the I-Type 4. At the Mexico City ePrix, Evans won again, giving Jaguar their second Formula E victory.
However, the season ended with some challenges, and Jaguar finished 7th in the team championship once more.
Climbing the Ranks: 2020–21 Season
Jaguar announced Sam Bird would join Mitch Evans for the 2020–21 season. They also unveiled the new I-Type 5 car. In the first race weekend in Diriyah, Evans got a third-place finish. In the second race, Sam Bird won his first race for Jaguar! After this, Jaguar led the team championship for the first time ever.
Jaguar Racing had their most successful season yet, finishing second in the team championship. They won two races and had six other podium finishes. Mitch Evans had the most podium finishes of any driver that season.
New Name, More Wins: 2021–22 Season
For the 2021–22 season, the team changed its name to Jaguar TCS Racing. Sam Bird and Mitch Evans continued as drivers. After a slow start, Jaguar bounced back at the Rome ePrix, where Mitch Evans won both races! He also won another race in Jakarta.
The team finished 4th in the team championship this season.
Close Calls: 2022–23 Season
Mitch Evans and Sam Bird stayed on for the new Gen3 era of Formula E. The cars got a new look, with white and black colors. At the Berlin ePrix, Jaguar achieved its first ever 1-2 finish, with Mitch Evans winning and Sam Bird coming in second!
Jaguar-powered cars became very strong, winning many poles, podiums, and races. The team finished second in the team championship, just 12 points behind the winners. Mitch Evans finished third in the drivers' championship.
Champions Again: 2023–24 Season
For the 2023–24 season, Nick Cassidy joined Mitch Evans as a driver. This was Jaguar's best season ever! Both drivers won two races each. They were very close to winning all three titles (team, manufacturer, and driver) in the final race in London.
They successfully won both the team championship and the new manufacturers' trophy. However, they just missed out on the drivers' title, with Evans finishing second and Cassidy third.
Formula One: A Brief History
In 1999, Jaguar's parent company, Ford, bought the Stewart Grand Prix Formula One team. They renamed it Jaguar Racing in September 1999. The team raced for five seasons, from 2000 to 2004.
During this time, Jaguar Racing faced many challenges. It was seen as a big project that didn't quite succeed, even with a lot of money spent. There were often changes in leadership, which made it hard for the team to find its footing.
At the end of the 2004 season, Ford sold the team to Red Bull for a very small amount of money. Red Bull then changed the team's name to Red Bull Racing, which is still a very successful team today.
Sports Car Racing: A Legacy of Wins
Jaguar has a fantastic history in sports car racing, especially with their XJR cars. These cars were very successful in major championships during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Famous XJR Sportscars
Some of the most famous wins for the XJR cars include:
- The XJR-8 winning the 1987 World Sportscar Championship.
- The XJR-9 winning the 1988 World Sportscar Championship, including the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race. It also won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1988.
- The XJR-12 winning the 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 1990 24 Hours of Daytona.
- The XJR-14 and XJR-12 winning the 1991 World Sportscar Championship.
Modern GT Racing
Jaguar cars also competed in more modern GT (Grand Touring) races. The Jaguar XKR GT2 raced in the American Le Mans Series in 2010 and 2011.
Later, the Switzerland-based team Emil Frey Racing used special Jaguar XK Emil Frey G3 cars in the Blancpain GT Series. These cars were developed to meet FIA GT3 rules. In their final season in 2018, one of these cars won the Silver Cup championship.
GT4 Racing
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In 2018, a new team called Invictus Games Racing entered the British GT Championship with two Jaguar F-Type SVR GT4 cars. These cars were specially developed by Jaguar Land Rover. The team raced in 2018 and 2019 before stopping their operations.
I-Pace eTrophy: Support Series
For the 2018–19 Formula E season, Jaguar Racing created its own support race series called the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY. This series featured electric Jaguar I-PACE cars and allowed up to 20 drivers to compete at each race, including a different special VIP driver. The series ran for two seasons but was canceled after the 2019–20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Images for kids
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Pedro de la Rosa driving the Jaguar R2 at the 2001 Canadian Grand Prix.
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Eddie Irvine driving the R3 at the 2002 United States Grand Prix.
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Mark Webber driving the R5 at the 2004 United States Grand Prix.
See also
In Spanish: Jaguar Racing para niños
