“Blown Away by the Acceleration”: Formula E Boss Jeff Dodds Challenges Max Verstappen to Test the All-New Gen4 Race Car
Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds has issued an open invitation to four-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen to get behind the wheel of the all-electric championship’s next-generation Gen4 machine—predicting its explosive off-the-line pace would leave the Red Bull star stunned.
While Verstappen has long been vocal in his skepticism toward electric single-seaters, his recent willingness to branch out beyond F1—including competing in GT machinery and the Nürburgring 24 Hours—coupled with his positive reaction to the Gen4 car’s public unveiling at Paul Ricard (where he dubbed the new design “cool”), has sparked renewed interest in a potential crossover test.
Why Formula E Bosses Think Gen4 Would Impress Verstappen
Speaking to Express Sport, Dodds challenged top F1 drivers—including Verstappen and Lando Norris—to experience the Gen4 car firsthand ahead of its competitive debut in the 2026/27 season:
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Unmatched Launch Acceleration: Powered by 600kW (roughly 804–815bhp) of peak output in Attack Mode and qualifying trim—a 71% power increase over the outgoing Gen3 Evo car—alongside permanent all-wheel drive, the Gen4 is projected to sprint from 0–60 mph (0–100 km/h) in just 1.8 seconds, faster off the line than a current Formula 1 car.
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V10-Era Comparisons: Dodds pointed to the feedback of Formula E development driver James Rossiter, noting that despite having driven F1 machinery stretching back to the celebrated V10 era, Rossiter maintains that “there is nothing that compares to how it feels to accelerate in that Gen4 car” with permanent four-wheel drive.
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Turning Critics into Advocates: “Of course I’d love Max and Lando and all of the guys to have a go in that car because I think they would become advocates for the engineering,” Dodds said.
Why Any Appearance Would Likely Be a Test—Not a One-Off Race
Even if Verstappen accepts Dodds’ open invitation to sample the car, fans should not expect to see the Dutchman lining up on a Formula E grid for a guest race anytime soon:
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Up to the Teams, Not Championship Organizers: Dodds emphasized that Formula E management cannot place a driver into a race seat on its own, explaining that driver lineups rest strictly with individual teams.
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Championship Point Implications: Because Drivers’ World Championship points are tied directly to individual competitors rather than shared across a car, bringing in a star driver for a single cameo appearance would complicate a team’s title campaign—making a private test session far more realistic than a competitive debut.
